2022-08-09 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                          9 AUGUST 2022


Consultation
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
The draft policy was put out to public consultation for a two-week period from 10 June 2022 to
25 June 2022. Feedback was sought from the public on the proposed amendments in the policy
which were asked via a series of survey questions relating to the key amendments.

The consultation was advertised via the following:
    Media release issued 10 June 2022 – “Have your say on Council’s Tree Management
      Policy”
    3 x social media posts on Noosa Council Facebook page
    1 x E News Story
    Media coverage in Noosa Today newspaper
    Included in key messages in Mayoral interviews during the consultation period.

A total of 98 survey responses were received. Responses to the seven (7) questions asked
regarding the proposed key policy amendments were in the majority agreed with, ranging from
59% to 85% support (either ‘somewhat agree’ or ‘definitely agree’) – refer to the Community
Survey Response Report in Attachment 2.

An “Additional Feedback” free-text section was also provided within the survey, and 81
responses were provided. The responses were widely varied as expected, and this highlights
the range of sentiment and value placed on trees by the community. Some of these related to
trees on private land and/or private developments and some related to other vegetation issues
such as weed management, which are not covered under the scope of this policy. Of the 68
responses that were within the scope of the policy, they have been themed and quantified within
the following table below.

 Theme                                                                                      Number of
                                                                                            Responses
 Support conservation of trees where possible due to the natural benefits trees provide        18
 Support removal of trees (especially large trees) in urban areas due to risk                   5
 Want better management of tree issues e.g. traffic visibility, bushfire mitigation,            34
 damage to infrastructure etc.
 Discuss specific operational issues (resulting from current or previous customer               6
 requests)
 Support continued tree planting to occur in the Shire, especially native species               5


The responses to the survey questions and the additional feedback received therefore support
the proposed policy amendments.

Once endorsed, the current Tree Management section of the Council website will be updated
and enhanced to promote Council’s position on tree management with links to the new policy
and the Guiding Principles for Tree Management (Attachment 3), as well as a ‘Frequently Asked
Questions’ section relating to trees which will address some of the commonly encountered
issues. This will serve to better educate the community about tree management by Council.

Internal Consultation
The Draft Tree Management on Public Land Policy was circulated to staff within Environmental
Services (Natural Areas), Local Laws and Governance, to the Director Infrastructure Services
and the Chief Executive Officer, as well as discussed at a Councillor workshop on 9 May 2022.
Comments received have been incorporated in the revised policy.


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