Meeting papers

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING                                             11 APRIL 2023



Conservation Covenant

Under the Land Act 1994, a conservation covenant is registered over the nominated conservation
area on the property and runs with the title, binding successive owners. The conservation covenant
is a legal agreement between the property owner (the covenantor) and Council (the covenantee)
and requires development of a survey plan, and preparation and lodgement of covenant documents
with Titles Qld. Compliance action in the event of breaches of conservation covenant conditions is
the responsibility of Council as the covenantee. Establishment costs for a conservation covenant
currently average $8,000 (mainly surveying and Titles Qld lodgement costs) plus Council officer time.

Program background
The VCA program commenced in Noosa during the period when it was amalgamated as part of
Sunshine Coast Council. During this time 20 VCAs were entered into with Noosa landowners. After
de-amalgamation the VCA program was continued with contractual commitments to the existing 20
VCA landowners honoured, but two major changes were made to the policy guideline for any new
VCA properties:
   1. The agreement (and associated annual incentive funding) was amended to expire after 5
      years (but the protective mechanism remains on title).
   2. Rate refunds to eligible VCA properties were removed.
This has acted as a disincentive for landowners interested in a VCA, with only 9 new VCA properties
registered since de-amalgamation. It has also created inequity with the varying levels of support
offered to VCA landowners depending on when they joined.

Proposed amendments
Agreement term
The amended Policy Guideline reinstates the agreement (and associated annual incentive funding)
in perpetuity (noting that the agreement terminates when the land changes ownership or if both
parties agree to terminate the agreement). Council will seek to engage the new landholder in a new
agreement if it is considered necessary to continue works as identified in the associated Environment
Management Plan.
Rate refunds
The amended Policy Guideline reinstates rate refunds to eligible VCA landowners to restore equity
in program delivery (see page 7 of the attached Policy Guideline for detail of how this is
governed). Any rate refunds that landowners may be entitled to will come out of the existing annual
funding allocation for that specific VCA property.
Financial incentives
The amended Policy Guideline increases the annual funding amounts for VCA properties to account
for CPI increases since the last report to Council in 2020. Currently it is as follows:
   •   Minimum amount of $1,630 per annum for conservation areas up to 5 hectares in size.
   •   For conservation areas over 5 hectares an additional $108 will be available for every extra
       hectare, up to a maximum total of $5,425 each year.
   •   Costs cannot be claimed for unexpended VCA funds from previous financial years.
Proposed increases are:
   •   Minimum amount of $2,000 per annum for conservation areas up to 5 hectares in size.
   •   For conservation areas over 5 hectares an additional $200 will be available for every extra
       hectare, up to a maximum total of $6,000 each year.
   •   Costs cannot be claimed for unexpended VCA funds from previous financial years.
This takes the annual incentive expenditure on the current 23 VCA properties from $59,597 to
$76,026, an increase of $16,429. A breakdown of the current and proposed funding on each of the




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