122 Musa Vale Rd - MCU Planning Report - Code

Summary of Alignment with the Purpose and Overall Outcomes of the Bushfire Hazard Overlay
Code

The proposal is consistent with the purpose of the Bushfire Hazard Overlay Code and relevant
overall outcomes as contained within Appendix F – Code Tables, particularly overall outcomes (a),
(b), (c), (d), (e) and (g).

The purpose of the code is to ensure that development avoids or mitigates the potential adverse
impacts of bushfire on people, property, economic activity and the environment. In this case, the
application does not involve any new building work, reconfiguration, earthworks, vegetation
clearing, new access, or new mitigation works. Rather, it seeks approval for short-term
accommodation within an existing approved small dwelling that is already lawfully established on
the site.

The proposal is compatible with the nature of the bushfire hazard affecting the land. The existing
small dwelling is not located within a mapped medium or high bushfire hazard area, but within the
Potential Bushfire Impact Buffer only. It is also sited with substantial separation from hazardous
vegetation, being more than 100 metres from mapped hazardous vegetation, which supports an
acceptable level of bushfire safety for the proposed use.

The planning material further identifies that this achieves a BAL 29 outcome and that the dwelling
was previously subject to building certification, including consideration of relevant bushfire siting
and construction requirements.

The proposal also minimises risk to people, property and the natural environment. The existing
siting of the dwelling, together with established setbacks, managed open space and existing
access arrangements, enables safe access and egress for occupants and emergency services
and supports an appropriate emergency response outcome.

The planning material confirms that access roads are well maintained, provide all-weather access,
and are capable of accommodating emergency vehicles and personnel. It also confirms that the
site has an independent water supply for firefighting purposes through an onsite rainwater tank
fitted with standard fire brigade fittings.

Importantly, the proposal does not materially increase the extent or severity of bushfire hazard
and does not introduce any adverse environmental consequences associated with bushfire
mitigation. No vegetation clearing, new firebreaks, new access tracks or other physical mitigation
works are proposed.

Bushfire mitigation instead relies on the existing cleared setting, setbacks and access
arrangements already established on the subject property. In this way, the proposal maintains
bushfire safety outcomes without encroaching into ecological areas or relying on adjoining land
for mitigation measures.

The proposal also supports, and does not unduly burden, disaster management response
capacity. It does not involve essential community infrastructure or any hazardous materials
manufacturing or bulk storage. Further, the proposal reduces the scale of approved short-term
accommodation on the land by relocating that use from the existing five-bedroom main dwelling
to a one-bedroom small dwelling.

In practical terms, it is a low-intensity residential use within an existing approved building,
supported by established bushfire safety measures and existing site infrastructure.


RG Strategic                  Town Planning Report – MCU to establish Short-Term Accommodation          22