Title: ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IMPLEMENTED THROUGH THE EAST GIPPSLAND PLANNING SCHEME
1OPTIONS UNDER THE VICTORIA PLANNING
PROVISIONS FOR MANAGING CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN
COASTAL AREAS
Helen Martin Gippsland Coastal Board Shearwater
Associates Pty Ltd
2CLIMATE CHANGE IN GIPPSLAND
- Impacts are likely to include
- Increased frequency severity of storm events
- Erosion loss of barrier dunes
- Increased inundation from storm surges
- Increased wave penetration of breached
estuaries - Increased saline intrusion into estuaries
changed conditions for vegetation and fauna
species - Accelerated coastal erosion changes in sediment
transport / deposition - Large scale modification to coastal landforms,
such as barrier dunes or islands
3CLIMATE CHANGE IN GIPPSLAND INFRASTRUCTURE AT
RISK
4CLIMATE CHANGE IN GIPPSLAND COMMUNITIES
INFRASTRUCTURE AT RISK
5CLIMATE CHANGE IN GIPPSLAND INFRASTRUCTURE AT
RISK
6CLIMATE CHANGE IN GIPPSLAND
- Many of the risks of climate change represent an
intensification or geographical expansion of
problems already experienced periodically in the
Gippsland area.
7PLANNING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
- Focus on planning for adaptation of the built
environment - Effects on the natural environment will be
profound and there will be strong linkages
between environmental changes and effects on the
built environment and communities - Discussion concentrates on risks associated with
physical threats flooding, inundation, erosion
not health issues from heat or disease - Synergies between adaptation strategies and
mitigation measures energy conservation, water
sensitive design
8TASKS FOR THE PLANNING SYSTEM IN RESPONSE TO
CLIMATE CHANGE
Establish risk management framework
Take a precautionary approach to development in
greenfields areas at risk, to avoid
inappropriate investment
- Identify areas likely to be at risk from
- estuarine flooding
- overland flows
- backup through reticulated systems
- seawater inflow
- beach cliff erosion
- severance of access
- coastal subsidence
Ensure appropriate set-backs in hazard areas
designate new foreshore lakeshore reserves to
replace those lost to erosion / inundation
Develop planning prescriptions for development /
redevelopment of existing urban areas in defined
hazard areas
9ADAPTATION STRATEGIES
- Any of these strategies may be appropriate in
particular places or at different times - Over the longer term, a combination of approaches
is likely to be required - May include the necessity to relocate substantial
areas of existing urban development outside
hazard areas - Issues of liability and financial responsibility
for adaptation
10Victoria Planning Provisions
- Released
- December 1996,
- revised October 1997
- occasionally since
- Toolkit for local
- government to prepare new- format planning
schemes - Operate through both State and local provisions
- Performance-based, not prescriptive
11STRUCTURE OF THE VPP
12VPP OVERLAYS
- Identify areas with special values, constraints
or particular development requirements - Many potentially relevant to planning for climate
change impacts - In principle, they control development and not
use although there are some exceptions (notably
the Airport Environs Overlay)
- In practice, may prevent uses if development not
acceptable - No coastal-specific overlay, although one was
recommended by the 1997 Advisory Committee that
reviewed the VPP
13VICTORIAN COASTAL STRATEGY
- Prepared under the Coastal Management Act 1995
- 2002 version has been reviewed, new Strategy to
be released very shortly - Climate change identified as the most
significant dynamic element that needs to be
managed in the coastal environment in future in
2002 version - 2008 Strategy has a much stronger focus on
climate change - Victorian Coastal Council has adopted a figure of
0.8 metres of sea level rise by 2100 for planning
purposes
14RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VICTORIAN COASTAL STRATEGY
THE VPP
- Clause 15.08 of the SPPF deals with Coastal Areas
- Land use development planning is to be
coordinated with the requirements of the Coastal
Management Act - VCS hierarchy of decision making on the coast is
now incorporated - Recent amendments (2006) - clearer framework for
planning for coastal areas, partly derived from
DSEs Coastal Spaces project - BUT no mention of climate change or sea level
rise in the VPP - VPP being reviewed, but more about structure than
content
15COASTAL PLANNING SCHEMES CLIMATE CHANGE
- Only 9 of the 22 coastal planning schemes contain
references to climate change or sea level rise (
2 of these are not in a coastal context) - Provisions in planning schemes not integrated
- Statements in the MSS, not carried through into
appropriate overlay provisions Greater Geelong,
Mornington Peninsula, Bass Coast, East Gippsland - Site specific controls that do not follow on from
any policy considerations in the MSS Glenelg,
Kingston, Wellington - Many schemes refer to erosion including coastal
erosion - or flood risk and utilise overlays to
address these issues. - Recent VCAT decision found that Councils have a
responsibility to consider the possible impacts
of climate change - Very difficult to do so in the absence of a clear
State framework
16HOW TO ADAPT
- Plan early many decisions made today will have
consequences for decades. - Be systematic strategic engage stakeholders,
set priorities for action, assign responsibility
monitor implementation, review adaptation
strategies regularly. - Use the best information.
- Be flexible.
- Avoid under-adaptation (not recognising the real
threats of climate change), over-adaptation
(over-reacting) or mal-adaptation (making the
wrong decisions increasing vulnerability rather
than reducing it). - Avoid decisions that constrain future adaptation
options. - Use an approach such as risk management that
allows for regular review of adaptation
strategies and their outcomes. This may involve a
phased approach to implementation where more
costly options are activated as uncertainty is
reduced. - Identify adaptation options with multiple
benefits. - Source Australian Government, Dept of Climate
Change - http//www.climatechange.gov.au/impacts/howtoadapt
/index.html
17TASKS FOR THE PLANNING SYSTEM IN RESPONSE TO
CLIMATE CHANGE
Risk management framework
High level framework will be set in Victorian
Governments climate change Green Paper Climate
Change Bill
- Identify areas likely to be at risk
Some work at regional level GCB, CMAs and DSE
Future Coasts project. More detailed information
needed
Precautionary approach to new development in risk
areas
- Key issues include
- Increased height intensity of flooding from
rivers, estuaries and the ocean - Overland flow from storms - overloaded drainage
- Erosion of ocean coastline and shorelines of bays
estuaries - Options do exist under the VPP to address key
issues - Flood zones and overlays updates urgent
- Erosion salinity overlays
- Environmental significance overlay
- Design development overlay
- Public acquisition, road closure, restructure
overlays
Set-backs and new coastal reserves
Prescriptions for development / redevelopment of
existing urban areas in defined hazard areas
18ADAPTATION CATEGORIES
- Avoidance
- Most of the environmental and flood overlays fall
into this category may also have elements of
protection or accommodation (permit conditions,
etc.) - Protection
- Mostly addressed outside the planning system
(except as noted above) - Accommodation
- Flood zones overlays
- Design Development Overlay (and potentially
Restructure Overlay) - Retreat
- Public Acquisition, Road Closure, Restructure
- Incorporated Plan Development Plan Overlays may
be applicable in planning for replacement areas
for assets / settlements that need to be moved
could also be used to constrain development in
areas potentially at risk until detailed
assessment and planning is complete
19PROBLEMS WITH CURRENT OPTIONS
- Lack of an adaptation or risk management
framework in the SPPF - No advice from State Government about appropriate
responses, so likely to be uncoordinated and
duplicate effort - Major hazard categories not mutually exclusive,
so 2 or more often several - overlays would be
required to address risk issues in many areas - May want to control use as well as development to
allow for different adaptation measures over time
e.g. through time- bounded or conditional
permits. Relevant overlays do not allow control
of use. - Multiplicity of overlay purposes and decision
guidelines - confusing to responsible authorities
in the exercise of discretion
20IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED TO VPP SUPPORT
- Clear adaptation / risk management framework in
SPPF - Detailed mapping of hazard areas
- Purpose designed overlay to address climate
change risks in coastal areas - Potential State agency as referral authority at
least in short term? - Package of advice (Planning Practice Notes, etc)
on implementation for planning authorities - Interstate and overseas models may help to design
new controls