Sea level rise decision could have implications for all coastal councils
A decision by Victoria’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal to overturn South Gippsland Shire Council’s approval of the development of six coastal homes due to the potential impact of rising sea levels could have ramifications for coastal councils across Australia.
The tribunal's decision sends a strong message to Victorian coastal councils that the predicted impacts of climate change should be taken into account when considering development applications in coastal zones.
Environment Defenders Office Victorian Principal Solicitor, Brendan Sydes, says the tribunal’s decision that the likelihood of sea level rises should be considered by councils when making planning decisions could have significance within Victoria and nationally.
Mr Sydes says VCAT’s decision may be an indication of the approach planning tribunals nationally could take when considering planning decisions made in coastal areas.
South Gippsland Shire Council CEO, Paul Bawden, says the decision by VCAT not to allow the construction of the dwellings in the coastal zone due to predicted impacts of climate change is “potentially significant” for all coastal councils.
Mr Bawden says the case demonstrates a need for councils to obtain scientific information to assist them to make planning decisions that could be affected by the predicted impacts of climate change.
He says there is a need for councils to work with the State Government to develop standards and principles - including standard sea level rise figures - that councils can use when assessing development applications in coastal areas.
The case before VCAT involved the assessment of six planing permits granted by the regional South Gippsland Shire Council for dwellings located in a farming zone close to the coast.
In making its decision to overturn the council’s planning approval of the dwellings, VCAT considered the potential impact of sea level rises caused by climate change on the proposed developments.
To this end, the tribunal found increases in the severity of storm events and rising sea levels would create a “reasonably foreseeable risk” of inundation of the land and proposed dwellings, which VCAT deemed to be “unacceptable”.
While the tribunal noted the relevance of climate change considerations to planning decision-making processes is presently in an “evolutionary phase”, it concluded that sea level rise and the risk of coastal inundation are “relevant matters to consider in appropriate circumstances”.
The tribunal said climate change would lead to extreme weather conditions beyond the historical record that planners rely on when assessing the potential future impact on proposed developments. To view VCAT’s decision, visit here.
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