Final Report Flora and Fauna Assessment: MacPherson Park, Toolern Vale, Victoria Prepared for Brand Architects October 2018 Ecology and Heritage Partners Pty Ltd MELBOURNE: 292 Mt Alexander Road, Ascot Vale VIC 3032 GEELONG: 230 Latrobe Terrace, Geelong West Vic 3218 BRISBANE: Level 22, 127 Creek Street, Brisbane QLD 4000 ADELAIDE: 22 Greenhill Road, Wayville SA 5034 CANBERRA: PO Box 6067, O’Connor ACT 2602 SYDNEY: Level 5, 616 Harris Street, Ultimo, NSW, 2007 www.ehpartners.com.au | (03) 9377 0100 Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 3 2 METHODS .......................................................................................................... 5 3 RESULTS ............................................................................................................ 9 4 LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS ............................................................... 15 5 AVOIDANCE AND MINIMISATION STATEMENT ........................................................ 18 6 FURTHER REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................... 19 7 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 20 8 FIGURES............................................................................................................ 21 APPENDIX 1 - FLORA ................................................................................................. 25 APPENDIX 2 - FAUNA ................................................................................................ 31 APPENDIX 3 - SITE PHOTOGRAPHS .............................................................................. 36 APPENDIX 4 – OFFSET STATEMENT ............................................................................. 40 Document Control Assessment Flora and Fauna Assessment Address MacPherson Park, Toolern Vale, Victoria Project number 11344 Project manager Matthew Lee (Technical Officer) Other staff Andrew Hill (Principal Botanist) and Cat Stephenson (Botanist) Mapping Monique Elsley (GIS Consultant), Chad Browning File name 11344_EHP_NHFF_MacPhersonPark_161018 Client Brand Architects Bioregion Victorian Volcanic Plains CMA Port Phillip and Westernport Council Melton City Council Copyright © Ecology and Heritage Partners Pty Ltd This document is subject to copyright and may only be used for the purposes for which it was commissioned. The use or copying of this document in whole or part without the permission of Ecology and Heritage Partners Pty Ltd is an infringement of copyright. Disclaimer Although Ecology and Heritage Partners Pty Ltd have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that an accurate document has been prepared, the company accepts no liability for any damages or loss incurred as a result of reliance placed upon the report and its contents. Flora and Fauna Assessment: MacPherson Park, Toolern Vale, Victoria 2 1 INTRODUCTION Ecology and Heritage Partners Pty Ltd was commissioned by Brand Architects to complete a flora and fauna assessment aimed at identifying ecological values within MacPherson Park in Toolern Vale, Victoria (the study area) (Figure 1). It is understood that Brand Architects are working with Melton City Council to facilitate redevelopment of the park to create a well-connected and active sports precinct. The purpose of the Flora and Fauna Assessment was to assess the impacts of the project on significant flora and fauna values including native vegetation, wetlands, and threatened species and -ecological communities, and determine the required environmental permits and approvals under relevant environmental legislation and policy, specifically: • Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth); • Environment Effects Act 1978 (Victoria); • Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Victoria); • Planning and Environment Act (Victoria), including the Local Planning Scheme and ‘Guidelines for the removal, destruction or lopping of native vegetation’ (herein referred to as the Guidelines) (DELWP 2017); • Wildlife Act 1975 (Victoria); and, • Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Victoria). As part of the scope of works Ecology and Heritage Partners Pty Ltd were requested to complete the following tasks: • Desktop review of relevant biodiversity databases, such as the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas and Protected Matters Search Tool; • Assess native vegetation extent and quality in accordance with the habitat hectares method; • Calculate permit and offset requirements for removal of native vegetation in accordance with Victoria’s ‘Guidelines for the removal, destruction, or lopping of native vegetation’ (DELWP 2017); • Determine the area required on site to establish a first-party offset site that can provide all the offsets required for the project in accordance with Victoria’s ‘Guidelines for the removal, destruction, or lopping of native vegetation’ (DELWP 2017); • Report on the implications of project under relevant environmental legislation and policy; • Demonstrate steps taken by the client to avoid and minimise impacts to native vegetation, and recommend any further steps to be taken during the construction phase of the project; and, • Advise whether any additional flora and/or fauna surveys are required to support project approval (e.g. targeted surveys for significant flora and fauna species). 1.1 Study Area The study area is 63.2 hectares in size and is located in Toolern Vale, Victoria, approximately 35 kilometres north-west of Melbourne (Figure 1). The site is bound by Coburns Road to the east, a motor track to the west and agricultural land to the north and south (Figure 2). According to the Victorian Department of Flora and Fauna Assessment: MacPherson Park, Toolern Vale, Victoria 3 Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) NatureKit Map (DELWP 2018a), the study area occurs within the Victorian Volcanic Plains bioregion, within the jurisdiction of the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority (CMA) and the Melton City Council municipality. The study area is generally flat, with elevation ranging from approximately 90 – 80m ASL. Existing features include sporting ovals/ courts, car parks, sports pavilions, shelters, toilets, car parks, jet boat circuit, landscaping, roads and footpaths. Surrounding land uses is largely agricultural, with scattered rural residences. High density residential development is located in Melton West, approximately 1.7 kilometres south of the study area. There are no conservation reserves or significant wetlands (Ramsar or nationally-listed) located within the study area or its immediate surrounds. The study area supports ephemeral waterbodies, including a strip of wetlands along the eastern site boundary and scattered farm dams. The highly modified Arnolds Creek East Branch traverses the south-east corner of the study area. The wetlands located along the eastern site boundary are classified as a ‘Current Wetland’ by DELWP. Under the Guidelines (DELWP 2017), ‘Current Wetlands’ are classified as native vegetation and must be accounted for when applying for a permit to remove, destroy or lop native vegetation and calculating offset requirements (Figure 2) (Sections 3.2.3 Under the Guidelines, most of the study area is classified as ‘Location 1’, the lowest location category. Small areas of ‘Location 2 and 3’ are mapped within the eastern extents of the study area. 1.2 Project Description Upgrades to MacPhersons Park will feature the following: • New cricket net access, • New stands and pavilion; • Removal of earth mounds; • New Netball court; • Slab for tanks; • Water treatment and septic facility; • New and upgraded carparks; and • New synthetic oval. The location of the study area within the context of the surrounding landscape is shown on Figure 1. The project footprint is approximately 1.327 hectares. Flora and Fauna Assessment: MacPherson Park, Toolern Vale, Victoria 4 2 METHODS 2.1 Desktop Assessment Relevant literature, online-resources and databases were reviewed to provide an assessment of flora and fauna values associated with the study area. The following information sources were reviewed: • The DELWP Native Vegetation Information Management (NVIM) Tool (DELWP 2018b) for: o Modelled data for location category, remnant vegetation patches, scattered trees and habitat for rare or threatened species; and, o The extent of historic and current Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs). Note: EVCs are the standard unit for classifying vegetation types in Victoria. • EVC benchmarks (DELWP 2018c) for descriptions of EVCs within the Victorian Volcanic Plains bioregion; • The Victorian Biodiversity Atlas (VBA) for previously documented flora and fauna records within the project locality (DELWP 2018d); • The Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Energy (DoEE) Protected Matters Search Tool (PMST) for matters of National Environmental Significance (NES) protected under the EPBC Act (DoEE 2018); • Relevant listings under the Victorian FFG Act, including the latest Threatened and Protected Lists (DELWP 2015a; DELWP 2015b); • The Planning Maps Online (DELWP 2018e) and Planning Schemes Online (DELWP 2018f) to ascertain current zoning and environmental overlays in the study area; • Other relevant environmental legislation and policies as required; • Aerial photography of the study area; and, • Previous ecological or other relevant assessments completed within the project locality. 2.2