Rezoning proposal deferred for further report

The decision on a planning proposal to rezone land on Rosella Rd and Empire Bay Dr, Empire Bay, has been deferred until a further report is prepared by Central Coast Council.

Central Coast Council administrator Mr Ian Reynolds said he wanted to review a further report before determining whether to rezone the land from E2 Environmental Conservation to R2 Low Density Residential.

The proposal would see part of 89 Rosella Road and part of 203 Empire Bay Dr to create nine residential lots.

Mr Reynold did not accept the recommendation of council staff to decline to support the preparation of a planning proposal.

In a report to the administrator, staff had given multiple reasons for recommending refusal of the proposal.

"The land contains attributes consistent with the existing E2 zone and which are unsuitable to be included in the R2 zone," the staff report said.

"The proposed rezoning would adversely impact on the biodiversity of the locality as it would facilitate significant vegetation removal to establish access, services, construction and bushfire asset protection," the report said.

"The proposed rezoning would result in land identified in a flood planning area to be zoned to R2 Low Density Residential.

"The proposed rezoning is inconsistent with Ministerial Section 117 Direction 2.1 Environmental Protection zones which requires the protection and conservation of environmentally sensitive areas.

"The proposed rezoning is contrary to this objective as it proposes to reduce the extent of environmentally sensitive areas and habitat for threatened species.

"The proposed rezoning is inconsistent with Ministerial Direction 4.3 which requires that land must not be rezoned within the flood planning areas from Special Use, Special Purpose, Recreation, Rural or Environmental Protection Zones to a Residential, Business, Industrial, Special Use or Special Purpose zone," the report said.

In 1983 the subject land was zoned 5(a) Special Use (Sub-Station) under Sydney Regional Environmental Plan No 6 - Gosford Coastal Areas, according to the staff report.

In 2014, the Gosford Local Environmental Plan 2014 (GLEP 2014) commenced which saw the subject land zoned E2 Environmental Conservation.

"The current zoning of the subject land of E2 Environmental Conservation reflects the physical and environmental constraints of the land.

"Such constraints included Ecologically Endangered Community under Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, coastal wetland under State Environmental Planning Policy No 14 - Coastal Wetlands, Class 2 Acid Sulfate Soils, flooding (including sea level rise) and bushfire vegetation Category 1.

"At the time of preparing the GLEP 2014, it was considered that the land did not have characteristics suitable to support an R2 Low Density Residential zone.

"The current zoning still permits a dwelling house to be built on each of the two allotments which are subject to the planning proposal.

"The planning proposal application was lodged on 16 December 2013, just prior to the GLEP 2014 coming into effect and was prepared as the subject land is now surplus to Ausgrid's electricity distribution infrastructure requirements.

One lot was the site of a small substation adjacent to the Empire Bay Road frontage but Ausgrid has decommissioned and removed the substation.

"In August 2014 the applicant was advised that further detailed studies would be required to be undertaken to determine the appropriate residential lot yield.

"Following intermittent correspondence over the ensuing years, the additional information was submitted on December 1, 2016.

"Approximately 75 per cent of the site is densely vegetated and transitions from the estuarine environment of Cockle Bay and includes mangroves, saltmarsh, swamp oak forests and closed sclerophyll forests.

"Environmentally sensitive lands occur east and south of the subject site and are protected within the Cockle Bay Nature Reserve.

"Cockle Bay is recognised as one of the largest and most valuable examples of estuarine wetland on the NSW Central Coast.

"These conservation lands are owned and managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service."

The applicant also proposed to amend mapping layers within the GLEP 2014 to reflect development controls consistent with the R2 Low Density Residential zone including a minimum lot size of 550 square metres and a floor space ratio of 0.5:1.

The subdivision would include construction of a 13 metre wide road to link Kendall Rd with Empire Bay Dr and a 32 metre-wide asset protection zone along the eastern boundary of the R2 zone.

"Development of this land would result in the considerable disturbance of the natural surface levels, creating an erosion hazard," the staff report to Mr Reynolds said.

"The land lies within the catchment of Cockle Bay and increasing land use density and land disturbance within this catchment, as proposed, has the potential to increase sedimentation in this coastal waterbody and adjoining Coastal Wetland.

"Residential development involves uses with high nutrient inputs such the keeping of animals, use of pesticides and fertilisers which have the potential to increase nutrification within Cockle Bay.

"The vegetation in the central part of the site constitutes the Swamp Sclerophyll Forest on Coastal Floodplain Endangered Ecological Community (EEC) and the preliminary subdivision layout shows the road and Asset Protection Zones (APZs) encroaching into the EEC vegetation.

"The Swamp Sclerophyll Forest EEC surrounding Cockle Bay is an important food source for a range of threatened fauna and this proposal will reduce its extent.

"The clearing of existing vegetation to accommodate further residential development will result in the incursion of weeds and other exotic vegetation into the native bushland.

"The vegetation also provides potential habitat for a range of native fauna and threatened species including the Varied Sittella and two microbat species that have been recorded on site.

"Two endangered species and 10 vulnerable species have been recorded with the Cockle Bay Nature Reserve and the site is considered suitable habitat for these threatened species.

"Given the potential impacts of future development on the physical and visual environment, the proposed future development is of an intensity which is inconsistent with the environmental character of the land.

"Therefore to consent to a Planning Proposal to change the zone to R2 Low Density Residential has no strategic basis and cannot be supported," the report to Mr Reynolds said.

SOURCE:

Central Coast Council agenda 2.7, 28 Jun 2017