A 52-lot estate in Thornlands has sparked controversy after Cr Paul Gollè called on councillors to push back a development that may impact wetlands and bushland in Thornlands Road.
Council gave the go ahead in November last year to subdivide the Thornlands Road land including part of George Thorn Drive for the residential development.
Two farm dams on the land connected to wetlands will be filled in and revegetated, a third will be rebuilt to provide a new bio-retention basin to manage stormwater from the development.
Cr Gollè said the development would see the wetlands drastically impacted and called on councillors to reduce the subdivision to 40 lots retaining the wetlands.
"If trees are the lungs of the earth, wetlands are the kidneys filtering freshwater before impacting Ramsar areas of the bay.
"These wetlands have been in pace for the last 70 years fed by existing creek lines close to residential properties forming bushland habitat and mitigating flood waters," he said.
Cr Gollè met with council planning and water quality officers with a goal of changing the City Plan to reflect freshwater bodies to be left alone and preserved, not drained and backfilled for extra lots in built up residential areas.
"Allowing development to directly impact and shape the way overland flood waters move into those areas, will potentially cause flood damage to existing property in the future," he said.
He said it was the last coastal piece that was yet to be developed in the area and had been sitting for some time waiting for a contract to come forward.
According to a council planning officer the land was not a flood prone area, it was erosion prone based on state and City Plan mapping.
He said tide information provided showed the erosion prone area was not located in the development site area.
Cr Golle said: "where there's large volumes of fresh water flowing from upstream left unmanaged of course erosion would take place and that's why the wetlands need to be left alone."
The councillor is calling for an immediate review of council's City Plan. Officers will be consulting all councillors regarding changes to the City Plan by the end of February.
