More rural comment needed
A draft rural land use review will lay on the table for a new Baw Baw Shire Council to either adopt or reject.
After two rounds of extensive consultation, council considered the draft report at a special meeting last Monday night before entering into caretaker period.
Officers recommended council adopt the draft document and place it on public exhibition as a planning scheme amendment for further consultation.
But, after receiving more than 80 submissions and holding a special meeting to hear from submitters, councillors agreed there were too many outstanding issues to be resolved.
Council instead endorsed the draft document and put it out for public consultation for a further six weeks once the new council is elected.
Three submitters again addressed council last week, again calling on council to protect broad acre farming practices in the shire.
Moving to undertake further consultation, Cr Debbie Brown said this was an important document.
Cr Brown said council wanted to give the community an opportunity to have another say on the draft document before it goes any further.
“It is very important we hear from the community and know what they want us to do,” she said.
Cr Peter Kostos said this was a very important document that will affect the shire well into the future.
“We have to get it right and we need this process for make sure everyone knows what it is,” he said.
Cr Tricia Jones said the process so far had been very good, with a number of community sessions.
“But there is still a lot that needs to be said. We need people to look at this draft,” she said.
Cr Joe Gauci said the draft represented what “we think we’ve heard” but now everyone has the chance to comment again.
The review proposed a “precinct based approach.”
Officers said this recognised that rural areas in the shire had different characteristics, but together contributed to some of the best agricultural land in Australia, and will continue to do so under project climate change scenarios.
“Existing settlement patterns and historic lot sizes throughout the shire have been considered in the precinct approach.
Officers said the review introduced the requirement for a land management plan and agriculture management plan that will be assessed by an independent expert and recommendations made to council.
“Land management plans and agriculture management plans will support council to determine when a dwelling is required to support a viable agricultural use on lots under 40ha in most precincts.
The draft document also introduced further policy regarding water catchments and the types of intensive agricultural industries that will be supported within declared water catchments.
Officers said the precinct approach addressed concerns relating to intensive animal industries, discouraging these from certain precincts. The policy sets out that these uses require larger lot sizes where the required buffer distances associated with them can be met on land.