2021-02-09 Planning and Environment Committee Meeting Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                    9 FEBRUARY 2021


Public consultation
Council engaged Noosa and District Landcare to develop the first Draft Noosa Bushland Reserve
Strategic Management Plan 2021-2026 and discussions on the draft have been undertaken with
local Bushcare Groups. Staff have also been in contact with Queensland Fire and Emergency
Services and Safe Assure Risk Management on the Draft Bushland Reserve Strategic Fire
Management Plan 2021.
It is proposed that formal consultation on the draft Strategic Management Plans commences
immediately after Council endorsement of this report for a period of four weeks. Broad consultation
will be undertaken through Council’s Your Say Noosa webpage. Targeted consultation will be
undertaken with the key stakeholders listed in the consultation section below. Feedback from
consultation will be provided to Council in a future report.
Previous Council Consideration
Ordinary Meeting Minutes, 7 May 2015, Item 2, Page 3
That Council note the report by the Civil Operations Manager and Principal Environment Officer, to
the Infrastructure and Services Committee Meeting dated 28 April 2015 and:
A.    Approve the Noosa Bushland Reserve Fire Management Plan 2015 - 2017, shown at
      Attachment 1 to the report;
B.    Note that fire management works proposed for 2015/2016 as set out in the Noosa Bushland
      Reserve Fire Management Action Plan are subject to consideration as part of the 2015/16
      budget process and that fire management works proposed for 2016/2017 will be reviewed
      following the 2015/16 program and will also be subject to future budget consideration.
Finance
The Draft Bushland Reserve Strategic Management Plan provides a prioritisation mechanism for
funding that is provided and will not impact on the current Environmental Services operational
budget. Any requests for further resources will form part of Council’s normal budget process, and
will be based on the strategic priorities identified in the Plan.
The Draft Bushland Reserve Strategic Fire Management Plan prioritises reserves for fire
management actions. It is likely that the costs to deliver this Plan will impact on Council’s operational
budget. The actual costs to deliver fire management actions, once finalised, will be subject to
Council’s normal budget process.
Risks & Opportunities
Prioritising works inevitably means that some areas identified as lower risk will not have short-term
actions applied to them. Some residents may not agree with the prioritisation methodologies,
particularly if their local reserve is identified as a low priority for management.
The delivery of fire management actions is subject to internal and external resource availability. If
resources (such as qualified contractors or internal Council staff) are not available for delivery, then
it is unlikely the Bushland Reserve Strategic Fire Management Plan can be delivered to meet risk
mitigation objectives set by the plan.
Consultation
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
Previous consultation in the development of the Drafts:
     Noosa & District Landcare
     Safe Assure
     QFES
Proposed broad consultation: Your Say Noosa



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