Central Coast Council Comments on the Draft NSW Coastal Management State Environmental Planning Policy
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Central Coast Council comments on the Draft NSW Coastal Management State Environmental Planning Policy The Central Coast Council welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Draft NSW Coastal Management State Environmental Planning Policy and supports legislative changes to enable a simpler, consistent and more streamlined approach to coastal planning across the NSW. This submission provides comment relating specifically to the Coastal Management State Environment Planning Policy (SEPP), associated mapping and documentation to support the exhibition process. The former Wyong and Gosford Council’s have had a strong tradition of planning for coastal hazards, evident in the completed 2011 Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) for Wyong Coastlines and the 2015 Gosford Beaches CZMP and Council now has up-to-date plans for all geographic coastal catchments and beaches and coastal policy within the environmental planning instruments applying to the Central Coast Region. Council believes the streamlining of coastal and rainforest related State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) into a single new coastal management SEPP will remove duplication when managing development activities across coastal catchments. Council supports the establishment of a new Coastal Management SEPP to replace the existing SEPP 14 (Coastal Wetlands), SEPP 26 (Littoral Rainforests) and SEPP 71 (Coastal Protection). Streamlining the existing SEPPs will remove duplication and confusion when managing development and relevant activities across coastal catchment. However, the establishment of the four Coastal Management Areas and associated development controls requires further consideration due to data gaps, duplication of controls across multiple management areas and coverage of coastal hazards (i.e. hazard type and hazard area). Council’s key recommendations are as follows: Coastal Management Areas 1. The Coastal Environment Area should include the entire catchment of coastal waterways including non-developed sections of catchments which are integral to the maintenance of water quality and estuarine/waterway health. The coastal reforms should promote total catchment management as a stated aim of the Policy. 2. The mapping of Coastal Vulnerability needs to be reviewed to ensure consistency in approach by the various individual local government Councils Wyong Office: 2 Hely St / PO Box 20 Wyong NSW 2259 l P 02 4350 5555 Central Coast Office: 49 Mann St / PO Box 21 Central Coast NSW 2250 l P 02 4325 8222 E [email protected] l W www.centralcoast.nsw.gov.au l ABN 73 149 644 003 and removal of any data gaps to enable completeness across the entire NSW coastline. 3. The Coastal Use Area should be defined based on zoning and development patterns within the catchment area of coastal waterbodies rather than some arbitrary buffer. This could be taken straight from local planning instruments and could be reviewed in association with future reviews of the LEP. 4. Localised mapping held by Council be utilised to help determine the extent of the proposed Coastal Vulnerability Area across Central Coast’s beaches, lakes, and estuaries. 5. Regional CMP/CZMPs should be supported for neighbouring local government areas in order to reduce the cost, minimise inconsistencies, and reduce the length of the certification process. 6. Mapping of the four Coastal Management Areas, including technical advice on sea level rise needs to incorporate all identified coastal hazards, not merely erosion/recession. 7. Where a relevant coastal map has gone through community consultation as part of the CZMP process, further consultation during the Plan making (Amending the SEPP) should not be required. The need to re-exhibit the maps at this stage would cause confusion and duplication in the process. 8. The SEPP must recognise the role of Floodplain Risk Management Planning processes in identifying coastal vulnerability areas. 9. The NSW Government should provide policy direction in relation to sea level rise projections and climate change adaptation planning. 10. The NSW Government should provide clear and consistent instructions across NSW on the requirements, application and wording of Coastal Management Areas and the Coastal Vulnerability Areas in Section 149 Planning Certificates (property messaging). 11. The proximity area for wetlands should be expanded to include the upstream catchment. 12. Changes to the natural hydrological regime of a wetland through filling, draining or through the construction of levees should be prohibited under this policy rather than permissible with consent. 13. Development controls on certain land within the Coastal Vulnerability Area (Clause 13) be reviewed to account for risks from all of the hazards identified under the legislation. Coastal Protection 14. Clarity as to responsibility of agencies when dealing with non-compliant development where Council does not have an Authorised Officer (i.e. does compliance stay with Office of Environment and Heritage). 15. The Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP) should be the consent authority for all permanent coastal protection works proposed by private landowners on public and private land. 16. For the coastal protection works by public authority, the period of 90 days for the placing of sandbags on public land be removed or extended. 17. In the assessment process the JRPP refer applications to the Coastal Council and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage for technical coastal engineering advice and expertise. 1. GENERAL COMMENTS 1.1. Coastal Management Areas and Spatial Mapping Council supports the concept of establishing coastal management areas under the SEPP. Some issues that need to be addressed include: • the determination of coastal management areas, including the source of map data; • layering and integration of policy objectives across planning instruments; and • the application of development controls. Council notes that the coastal management areas do not cover the entire catchment of coastal waterways. It is not possible to achieve the stated aims (Part 1 Preliminary, Clause 3 Aim of Policy), in particular 3(a), without consistent governance and development controls over the entirety of the catchment. Council recommends that the Coastal Environment Area should include the entire catchment of coastal waterways including non-developed sections of catchments which are integral to the maintenance of water quality and estuarine/waterway health. The coastal reforms should promote total catchment management as a stated aim of the Policy. The State Government should show some leadership and complete consistent mapping for the Coastal Vulnerability Area to ensure consistency along the coast. Controls for development in the Coastal Vulnerability Area should be State based to ensure consistency between LGAs. The local hazard maps are all different between LGAs, and in many cases the map is only available for part of local coastline. For example, there is no hazard map for the northern coast of Wyong (from Budgewoi to the Deep Cave Bay). In case of former Gosford City Council, the hazard map is only available for Wamberal Beach, Terrigal Beach, Avoca Beach, and part of beach at Allagai Bay. Council recommends that the mapping of Coastal Vulnerability needs to be reviewed to ensure consistency in approach by the various individual local government Councils and removal of any data gaps to enable completeness across the entire NSW coastline. Council supports the application of a 1km extent from a tidal water body. However, Council recommends that the Coastal Use Area should be defined based on zoning and development patterns within the catchment area of coastal waterbodies rather than some arbitrary buffer. This could be taken straight from local planning instruments and could be reviewed in association with future reviews of the LEP. Council is encouraged by the use of its DCP mapping for coastal frontage areas as the basis for the mapping of Coastal Vulnerability Areas. This adequately addresses risks for land exposed to current or future coastal hazards for beach locations. Council recommends that the localised mapping held by Council be utilised to help determine the extent of the proposed Coastal Vulnerability Area across Central Coast’s beaches, lakes, and estuaries . Council recommends that Regional CMP/CZMPs should be supported for neighbouring local government areas in order to reduce the cost, minimise inconsistencies, and reduce the length of the certification process. However the current local coastal hazard maps do not adequately encompass all coastal hazards as defined in the Coastal Management Act 2016. In particular the mapping is deficient in regard to the impacts of the following coastal hazards and their impacts on estuaries: • the risk from coastal inundation • tidal inundation and/or erosion and • inundation of foreshores caused by tidal waters and the action of waves, including the interaction of those waters with catchment floodwaters Council recommends that mapping of the four Coastal Management Areas, including technical advice on sea level rise needs to incorporate all identified coastal hazards, not merely erosion/recession. Planning proposals and other studies and information that will be required to modify the maps can place great resource demands on local government, especially when they are already facing significant financial pressures in meeting day to day functions. Further, the suggested process would require Council to exhibit mapping at least twice, being once during the