ATTCH 2 - IR Response - Ecological and Bushfire IR Response (Cardno)

: WE17035                                                                    7
13 November 2017


development as the clearance is for an urban purpose in an urban area, it does contain Performance outcomes
(PO) that are designed to protect the ecological values and functions of watercourses. Specifically PO 11
requires that “Clearing maintains the current extent of vegetation associated with any watercourse or drainage
feature to protect:

           1. bank stability by protecting against bank erosion;

           2. water quality by filtering sediments, nutrients and other pollutants;

           3. aquatic habitat; and

           4. terrestrial habitat.”

The 1st nominated Acceptable Outcome (AO) for PO11 is AO 11.1 which is based on the “stream order” of the
subject watercourse and requires that “Clearing does not occur in any watercourse or drainage feature, or
within the relevant distance of the defining bank of any watercourse or drainage feature in table 16.3.2 of this
code”. Relevant riparian buffer distances specified in Table 16.3.2 for a coastal bioregion are:
         > 10m for a 2nd order stream; and
         > 50 m for a 5th order or larger stream.

The proposed development’s 50m wide Riparian Buffer to Burgess Creek is substantially wider than the buffer
considered necessary by the State to protect the ecological values and functions of a 2nd order coastal
waterway, a fact that provides further support to our analysis that the classification of the entire Site as a
Riparian Buffer Area on the Biodiversity Overlay Map is not appropriate nor reasonably required to protect the
values of Burgess Creek.

In respect of the Council’s request for planning grounds for supporting the proposed development within an
area classified as a Riparian Buffer Area in the Biodiversity Overlay Map the following are noted.

     a) From a planning perspective it is necessary to consider the specific conditions that exist at an individual
        site to determine the nature of constraints that an overlay may reasonably impose to the use and
        development of that site, rather than blindly relying upon broad scale overlay mapping that may contain
        errors or anomalies at the site specific scale.

     b) The site specific analysis of the broad scale Biodiversity Overlay mapping classification of the entire
        Site as a Riparian Buffer Area presented in Section 5.3.1 of the Ecological Assessment Report
        (Cardno, 8 August 2017) and supplemented by the “stream order” analysis presented above, confirms
        that the Biodiversity Overlay mapping does not reflect actual environmental conditions on the Site.

     c) Council’s decision making must be objective and give appropriate weight to Site specific information
        submitted in support a development application and should not rely on broad-scale overlay mapping
        classifications that are shown to contain errors and/or anomalies.

In respect of Council’s request for environmental grounds for supporting the proposed development within an
area classified as a Riparian Buffer Area in the Biodiversity Overlay Map the following are noted.

     a) The proposed development does not involve the intensification of use within any part of the Site that
        could reasonable be considered to function as a Riparian Buffer Area.

     b) The proposed development will retain a vegetated buffer to Burgess Creek that is of sufficient width
        and character to achieve Specific Outcome 05 of the Biodiversity Overlay which seeks to ensure that
        “The biodiversity and ecosystem values of watercourses, drainage lines, wetlands and adjacent
        riparian zones are protected by —

           a) avoiding any new development in the riparian buffer area – with the proposal locating all new
              development outside of the 50m wide vegetated riparian buffer to Burgess Creek and also




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