Land Division Fact Sheet 3 Water Sensitive Urban Design

3 sustainable residential subdivision design fact sheet seriesThe District Council of Mount Barker• protect the scenic, landscape andrecreational values of streams andtherefore improve amenity and thevalue of the development.The key principles of WSUD are outlined inTable 1 at the end of this Fact Sheet,along with examples of how they can beapplied in an urban development. Manyopportunities exist for WSUD elements toaddress more than one principle.Maximising the multiple benefits createdby innovative design is an essential aspectof good WSUD practice. The approach isable to add value while minimisingdevelopment costs.How does WSUD differ fromtraditional approaches?Traditional water supply, stormwater andwastewater practices have been largelybased on centralised collection,conveyance and treatment of water flows.Whilst highly effective in some areas,these methods can also have majordrawbacks, such as inefficient use ofwater resources, environmentaldegradation, flooding and risinginfrastructure costs. Conveyance does notsolve the problem but merely transfers itto the other end of the pipe and ultimatelydisturbs the local water balance.Steps in the land divisionprocessA number of steps have been identifiedwhich should be followed when submittinga development application to Council for aland division development. Followingthese steps will assist in reducing thepotential for delays in the approvalprocess.Consider relevant provisions of theDevelopment Plan and LegislationThe relevant provisions of theDevelopment Plan need to be consideredfrom the outset to ensure that Councilrequirements are met. Specialconsideration should be given to theConcept Plans for land division containedin the Development Plan. Relevant Stateand Federal Legislation must also beconsidered (see Table 1).Review the physical properties of thesite and identify specific constraintsWSUD is applicable on all sites but thedegree of application will vary according tothe site opportunities and constraints. Asite analysis will need to be conducted asdetailed in Fact Sheet One - SiteAnalysis.Included in this site analysis will be anidentification of the potential impacts ofthe development on the existingenvironment.Identify WSUD measures which areconsidered suitable for inclusion inthe development (land division scaleand allotment scale)This stage will involve matching the likelyimpacts with the most appropriate WSUDdesign elements to achieve a sustainablebalance between development and theenvironment. Depending on localconditions, suitable measures may includeswales, sand / gravel filters, landscapedfilter strips and detention basins. Thesecan be combined to form an integratedsystem, and an improved landscape.For example, streets can be designed toincorporate a variety of stormwaterdetention and treatment measures. Streetlayout should respond to site topography(where possible), with streets alignedclose to contours to eliminate the need forlarge-scale earth moving, whilst reducingstormwater velocities.Recreational areas may also incorporatewater features that have a multi-purposeof stormwater detention and treatment.However, it should be noted that areasthat are intended to be used for thepermanent retention of water withinrecreational areas cannot be considered aspart of the required open spacecontribution (see Principle 20, 46e, and166b of District Council of Mount BarkerDevelopment Plan).It is important to be aware that WSUDcannot be considered on its own - theelements in the other four fact sheets ofthis series need to be taken into accountand conflicts between the elements mayarise. Therefore, a compromise betweenthe elements may need to be made.Fact Sheet Three - Water Sensitive Urban Design Page 2 of 9