State of Environment Report 2007-08 - Wollongong City Council

Land (murum) | State of the Environment Report 2007-2008Land (murum)inclusion into the WDCP 2009, withcompletion anticipated for the end of thenext financial year.Illawarra EscarpmentOne of the recommendations of theIllawarra Escarpment Commission ofInquiry was the preparation of anIllawarra Escarpment StrategicManagement Plan (IESMP). FollowingMinisterial endorsement in 2006, Councilengaged consultants to prepare a reviewof land use in the escarpment.The Illawarra Escarpment Land UseReview Strategy (IELURS) examined landuse on the escarpment in accordance withsustainability objectives defined in theIESMP. The IELURS was informed by anIndigenous and non-Indigenous HeritageStudy and a Visual Quality Analysis. TheIELURS, along with its recommendedamendments to the draft Wollongong LEP2007, was presented to Council forendorsement in August 2007. The draftWollongong Development Control Plan2009 was also amended based on therecommendations arising from theIELURS.Council is working with state governmentagencies on the implementation of theIESMP through a working group consistingof members from the Department ofClimate Change, Southern RiversCatchment Management Authority and theDepartment of Lands. The objectives ofthe group include the attraction andadministration of funds for implementingon-ground works on the IllawarraEscarpment. Council is currentlydeveloping a Vertebrate Pest ManagementPolicy to help guide the management ofvertebrate pests on the IllawarraEscarpment and coastal plain.Community LandUnder the Local Government Act 1993,Council is required to categorise allcommunity land into five categories: park,sportsground, general community use,cultural significance and natural areas.There are 538 sites categorised as naturalareas, which are further divided into anadditional five sub-categories: bushland,wetland, escarpment, foreshore andwatercourse. Council has approximately784 sites of community land, coveringapproximately 2,350ha. These sites ofcommunity land include Council ownedand managed land. Council also manages174 areas of Crown Reserves.In accordance with the requirements ofthe Local Government Act 1993, theGeneric Plan of Management for theCommunity Land of Wollongong City Council was adopted in March2007. This includes land categorised as park, sportsground,general community use and natural areas, unless they are coveredunder a site specific plan of management. This generic plan coversover 95% of Council’s community land.Site specific plans of management are required for approximately5% of community land across the Wollongong LGA. To date, Councilhas adopted the following site specific plans of management:Wollongong City Foreshore - covering Stuart Park, North Beach,City Beach, Osborne Park, Belmore Basin and Lang Park; BeatonPark; Bald Hill; Andrew Lysaght Park; Wollongong Botanic Garden- including Gleniffer Brae; Judbooley Parade, Windang; andColedale Beach Reserve. Site specific plans of management arebeing prepared for Stanwell Park and Sublime Point.Floodplain Management PlansCouncil is preparing floodplain management plans for all majorcatchments in the Wollongong LGA. Each plan will assess floodimpacts on the floodplain and creek environments, as well asidentify structural and non-structural flood mitigation measures tominimise these impacts. Council has completed a Plan forTowradgi, Minnegang, Allans and Hewitts creeks (incorporatingSlacky, Tramway, Woodlands and Thomas Gibson creeks). Workcarried out to implement these plans has included: one voluntarypurchase of a property in the Allans Creek catchment; twovoluntary purchases of properties in the Fairy Creek catchment;investigation of upgrading the culverts at Tramway and Woodlandscreeks, upgrading the culvert under the northern distributor atCorrimal; and upgrading the spillway at the detention basin atBarina Park, Minnegang Creek. Preparation of the Cabbage Tree/Fairy Creek, Mullet Creek and Lake Illawarra FloodplainManagement plans are also underway.Table 2 Land use zones within the Wollongong City Centre Local Environmental Plan 2007ZONESAREA INHECTARES% of CITYAREATotalR1 General residential 127 0.178B3 Commercial core 62 0.087B4 Mixed use 41 0.057B6 Enterprise corridor 29 0.041IN4 Working waterfront 3 0.004SP1 Special activities - hospitals and19 0.027medical research and developmentSP2 Infrastructure 20 0.028SP3 Tourist 7 0.010RE1 Public recreation 73 0.102RE2 Private recreation 15 0.021Total Area for Wollongong City CentreLocal Environmental Plan 2007396 ha 0.555%Grand Total for Wollongong LocalGovernment Area71,400 ha 100%Wollongong City Council 07