Lot 9 Verita Road, Rudds Gully 1 Introduction This Scheme Amendment has been prepared by Cardno (WA) Pty Ltd on behalf of the City of Greater Geraldton (CGG), the proprietor of Lot 9 Verita Road, Rudds Gully, Geraldton. Under the provisions of the City of Geraldton-Greenough Local Planning Scheme No. 5 (LPS 5), Lot 9 Verita Road is currently zoned Rural. The CGG intend to develop the Southern Districts Sports Facility, establish the road reserve for the future Verita Road and allow for the opportunity to subdivide and potentially develop the balance of the land to provide mixed business, service commercial and affordable housing lots. Therefore, the CGG seeks to rezone the site to the „Development‟ Zone. The CGG‟s landholding (also referred to as the site) covers an area of approximately 176.33 hectares and it is located to the east of the Wandina residential area, and to the west of the proposed Geraldton North- South Highway. The future land uses proposed over the site will be determined by the subsequent Structure Planning process. In accordance with LPS 5, a Structure Plan will be required for development within a „Development‟ Zone, or for any particular part or parts of a „Development‟ Zone, and will have to be approved by the Council and the WAPC before recommending subdivision or approving development of land within the „Development‟ Zone. Notwithstanding this, a concept design plan is included within the report to demonstrate how the site could potentially be developed. This report provides an environmental overview of the site, advice concerning the provision of relevant servicing infrastructure, as well as an overview of the strategic and statutory planning framework applicable to the site. Prepared for the City of Greater Geraldton P12004 DJN120001.20 Page 1 Lot 9 Verita Road, Rudds Gully 2 Site Location 2.1 Location The site is situated within the City of Greater Geraldton, approximately 6 kilometres south of the Geraldton Central Business District (CBD) in the suburb of Rudds Gully as identified in Figure 1 below. The site abuts the unmade Scott Road to the east and the future Verita Road reserve to the west of the site, which adjoins the Seacrest Estate in Wandina. Figure 1: Location of Subject Site in Rudds Gully Prepared for the City of Greater Geraldton P12004 DJN120001.20 Page 2 Lot 9 Verita Road, Rudds Gully The City of Greater Geraldton‟s landholding is approximately 176.33 hectares (ha) and is located immediately east of the Wandina residential area. Cleared rural land adjoins the site to the north, east and south. A portion of land immediately south of the site is zoned Development which is a part of the future Rudds Gully residential development. The land immediately to the north of the site is included in the Old Acre‟s Structure Plan, with land further north of the site being the proposed Karloo residential area, to be developed by the Department of Housing. Further to the east of the site lies the Narngulu Industrial Area. 2.2 Ownership and Description The registered proprietor on the Certificate of Title is “The City of Greater Geraldton” (refer Appendix A). The site is located wholly within LPS 5. The subject site is legally described as: Table 1: Land Ownership and Site Details Land Owner Lot Plan / CT Street Area Easements / No. Diagram No. Address (Total) Encumbrances The City of Greater 9 30205 2076-506 Verita Road 176.33 None Geraldton ha 2.3 Existing Land Use The subject site is currently vacant cleared land with a single shed structure in the southern portion of the site. The site retains a portion of scattered bushland in the south east of the site. The site does not contain any wetlands or other areas of significant environmental values (refer to Section 3 of the report). An aerial photograph of the site is shown in Figure 2. Figure 2: Aerial View of Lot 9 Verita Road and Surrounds Prepared for the City of Greater Geraldton P12004 DJN120001.20 Page 3 Lot 9 Verita Road, Rudds Gully 2.4 Surrounding Land Use Existing residential development occupies land to the west of the site which comprises predominately low density residential development with a split coding of R5/12.5/20/30/40. To the west also lies the „Seacrest‟ residential area which is currently under development. Due to the expected increase in the number of residents, „Seacrest‟ makes provision for a primary school to be located in close proximity to the north- western periphery of the site. The Narngulu Industrial Area is located to the east of the site. The Industrial Estate comprises the Narngulu Waste Disposal Facility and the Narngulu Wastewater Treatment Plant. Respective buffers are in place for the Waste Disposal Facility, the Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Industrial Estate. A 38db noise contour has been modelled for the noise emissions from the Industrial Estate. As such, the buffers for the Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Industrial Estate and the 38db noise contour impact the site (refer to Section 3.7, 5.2 and 5.3 for further discussion on buffers and the 38db noise contour). The proposed Geraldton North-South Highway which intersects the Geraldton Southern Transport Corridor (GSTC), is to be located adjacent to the eastern portion of the site and to the west of the Narngulu Industrial area. The proposed extension of Verita Road will border the entire western portion of the site The land uses immediately to the north and east of the site are subject to the Old Acre‟s Structure Plan, which identifies the adjoining land for future mixed business and large format retail purposes. The land further north of the site which abuts the GSTC is subject to the proposed Karloo Structure Plan, which occupies an area of approximately 130 ha. The land located immediately to the south of the site is subject to the Rudds Gully Structure Plan which identifies the land for residential purposes at a range of densities including some rural smallholdings. Prepared for the City of Greater Geraldton P12004 DJN120001.20 Page 4 Lot 9 Verita Road, Rudds Gully 3 Environmental Overview 3.1 Topography Topographic contours of the Site show the site consists of hilly undulations and some depressions within different areas of the site, with topographical contours of the south eastern area showing a high ridge and peak. The contours of Lot 9 are represented in Figure 3. Figure 3: Topography Prepared for the City of Greater Geraldton P12004 DJN120001.20 Page 5 Lot 9 Verita Road, Rudds Gully 3.2 Landform and Soils The underlying soil landscape of this area is classified as the Tamala South system, consisting of yellow sand formations. The soils landforms of Lot 9 are shown in Figure 4. Figure 4: Soil Geology Prepared for the City of Greater Geraldton P12004 DJN120001.20 Page 6 Lot 9 Verita Road, Rudds Gully The soil profile of Lot 9 consists of Tamala south 4 – yellow deep sand Phase in the northern end of the Lot, with Tamala South 5 grey-brown sand Phase in the SW corner, with Tamala South 5 shallow sand Phase in the SE ridge area and smaller areas in the SW corner. The soil geology of this area is classified as the Spearwood System which is predominantly comprised of low hills and rises of deflated dunes of residual sand (SpE) overlying calcarenite (SpEk).Geological soils for Lot 9 are shown in Figure 5 and consists predominately of Spearwood Eeolian (SpE) soils being categorised as deflated dunes quartz sand over calcarenite; rises on collovial slopes; red and yellow sands. Figure 5: Geology Prepared for the City of Greater Geraldton P12004 DJN120001.20 Page 7 Lot 9 Verita Road, Rudds Gully There are two other soil categorisations being Spearwood Eeolian (SpEk) calcarenite (limestone) soils, which are categorised as lithified eolian shell and quartz sand below calcrete and Spearwood Eeolian (SpEk) red and yellow sand. The SpEk-limestone area is located in the south east corner and is predominately covered with native vegetation as detailed in Section 3.3. There are smaller areas of SpEk-sands in the south west corner and northern end of the site. 3.3 Flora 3.3.1 Geraldton Regional Flora and Vegetation Survey Review The Geraldton Regional Flora and Vegetation Survey (2010) (GRFVS) report determines the regional and local significance of vegetation communities through two types of classifications. They have assessed vegetation in the area through the broader existing Beard vegetation association mapping and a new set of supplemental plant communities (the GRFVS plant communities). These have been developed using localised collected floristic quadrat data, statistical analysis and interpretation, which provides additional detail about the vegetation of the GRFVS area to support future planning decisions. A review of the GRFVS found that Lot 9 contains two areas of vegetation within the site (identified related quadrant GRV 0873) classified as: GRFVS plant community 10 (Near Coastal: Acacia rostellifera shrubland). This vegetation is located to a small extent at the northern end of the site, and to a larger extent in the south east corner of the site. The area of vegetation in the south east is covered by a notional Special Design Area as identified in the Narngulu Industrial Area Strategic Land Use Directions (2010) document. 3.3.1.1 Vegetation Conservation Significance The GRFVS report presents the regional and local significance of the identified vegetation in Lot 9, GRFVS plant community 10, in terms of both the related Beard vegetation associations and GRFVS plant communities. The conclusions and descriptions from the report are detailed below in Table 2.