WATERFRONT property owners remain “in limbo” about their development rights after Moreton Bay Regional Council was forced to remove references to climate change-derived sea level rises from planning documents.
Moreton Bay council included a 0.8-metre sea level rise in its planning scheme, effectively barring any development below that water mark.
But deputy premier Jeff Seeney directed the council to amend its draft planning scheme to remove any assumption about “theoretical projected sea level rises” to protect the rights of existing property owners.
Redland City Council has not received a similar direction from Mr Seeney, who is currently reviewing the city’s draft Planning Scheme 2015.
A council spokesman said council would be compelled to comply with any directive from Mr Seeney.
“If a similar direction is made to council, it would need to consider the future risk profile for development in areas predicted to be affected by future flood and storm surge mapping overlays,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman said insurance companies would have to decide whether to cover new developments on land expected to be under sea level within the next 100 years.
Mayor Karen Williams said she was unable to comment on what the council included in its draft planning scheme but said it was “different” to that proposed by Moreton Bay Regional Council.
“The SEQ Council of Mayors has asked the state government for consistent direction on this issue for all councils to follow,” she said.
Councillor for North Stradbroke Island and Cleveland Craig Ogilvie said many property owners were paying higher insurance premiums because the city’s coastal management plan was not defined.
He said properties that could not be insured suffered drops in value.
“Councils are now stuck between the science, the insurers and the state government and it could be expensive for ratepayers,” he said.
“The state government wants us to believe that climate science isn't bad news for property values and insurance coverage on homes in low-lying coastal areas.”
Council’s 2006 planning scheme includes maps for flood zones, storm tides and drainage studies forecasting climate change impacts to the year 2100.
In February 2012, the Bligh government introduced the Queensland Coastal Plan, designed to ensure coastal development occurred in a responsible way.
Council officers developed plans to “adapt” existing urban areas expected to be affected by “high coastal hazard risk”.
They also drew up storm tide hazard maps and wrote climate change studies to help with coastal planning.
