Central Coast Council has crafted its response to the proposed Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council proposal to rezone land at 250 Reeves St, Somersby, to allow a 14-lot subdivision of about two hectares each.
The rezoning proposal would see another 150 hectares rezoned to environment conservation.
The council was asked to comment on the proposal by the State Government’s planning department which will decide on the proposal.
Deputy Mayor Jane Smith said it was an extremely sensitive location.
“It is a site with significant environmental values including threatened plant and animal species, endangered ecological communities and a key regional wildlife corridor,” she said.
“The site is also identified as part of the Coastal Open Space Strategy because of those important environmental values.
“To lose these qualities would contribute to a decline in biodiversity in our region.
“The NSW Government released a State of Environment 2018 report last year which showed that the number of species at risk of extinction continues to rise.
“One of the main threats is the clearing and disturbance of vegetation.
“Every decision we make either helps solve these problems or make them worse.”
Councillors approved the submission at their July 13 meeting.
The submission notes the area is located within the Sydney Regional Environmental Plan Central Coast Plateau Areas (SREP).
The SREP aims to provide for the environmental protection of Central Coast plateau areas and to provide a basis for evaluating competing land uses, including to protect the natural ecosystems, to maintain opportunities for wildlife movement, and to discourage the preparation of draft local environmental plans designed to permit rural residential development.
The council submission says the SREP states that “A council shall not consent to development on land to which this plan applies where, in its opinion, the carrying out of the development shall result in the destruction of sedgelands”.
“Noting that although Council is not the consent authority, Council is particularly concerned about the potential impact of development of this land upon sedgelands,” the submission says, adding that the location drained into the Narara Creek catchment and potential impacts on flooding should be considered.
The Council said its Coastal Open Space System (COSS) had identified the site for acquisition due to its significant environmental and cultural values.
Council requested further consultation with the Department of Planning on how to bring lands related to this proposal into COSS.
The rezoning request has been prepared by Urbis Pty Ltd on behalf of Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) for an area of 178.5 hectares (ha) and is located about 4.5km north west of Gosford town centre.
It involves rezoning a portion of the site fronting Reeves Road from RU2 – Rural Landscape to E3 – Environmental Management and amending the minimum lot size control to develop about 8-14 rural residential lots.
The proposed E3 zone equates to 28.5 ha or about 15 per cent of the site of which about 14ha become a no build buffer zone.
The plan includes rezoning the residual land within the existing RU2 zone to E2 – Environmental Conservation.
Darkinjung intends to explore potential use of a discrete site within this zone for a dwelling house and a building or place in which to undertake cultural activities, the rezoning application says.
“This location is expected to be towards the western side of the site near a suitable vehicular access point.
“The proposed amendments will result in the conservation of approximately 150 ha or approximately 85 per cent of land within the E2 zone on the site.”
Urbis says the site is not considered suitable for agricultural activity and the rezoning would therefore protect ecologically significant land from potentially irreversible environmental impacts associated with intensive agriculture.
The application says the site has the potential to provide a dedicated building or place for Darkinjung to undertake cultural activities to the benefit of Darkinjung members and broader Aboriginal and local community for functions, operations and cultural activities.
It says existing biodiversity values on the site would be conserved and secured through the rezoning of 150 ha (or 85 per cent) of the site to E2.
“Any loss of threatened species habitat and endangered ecological communities resulting from the development footprint can be offset through the conservation of the remaining 150ha of the site or other Darkinjung land within the region through a Stewardship Agreement,’’ the proposal states.
“The rezoning of land currently zoned RU2 to E2 will ensure that the important biodiversity habitat connectivity function envisaged by the biodiversity corridor linking Strickland Forest to the Brisbane Water National Park will be secured through the proposed rezoning.
“Biodiversity investigations have confirmed that [the] proposed E3 zone will have minimal impacts on the biodiversity corridor identified in the Central Coast Regional Plan 2036 within the eastern portion of the site.”
The site has direct access from Reeves St to the north and is bounded to the west by the M1 Pacific Motorway.
Adjoining land uses include rural residential dwellings and agricultural land uses to the north and east of the site, site containing facilities for the RSPCA and natural bushland to the north east and south of the site.
The site is vegetated and comprises a natural riparian corridor from west to east, featuring Fountain Creek.
A regional biodiversity corridor runs through the eastern portion of the site zoned RU2 Rural Landscape and E2 Environmental Conservation under Gosford Local Environmental Plan 2014.
Merilyn Vale