Why Council is preparing a Coastal Zone Management Plan

• Council, Government and community working together
• Council decisions affecting our coastline
• Shoalhaven Coastal Zone Management Plan - stages of development

The draft Coastal Zone Management Plan will help Shoalhaven City Council identify sustainable ways to manage coastal hazards and protect our coastline. It will also reflect the most up-to-date coastal hazard information. Council will continue to review and update the Plan over time.

Council, government and community working together

Funded by Shoalhaven City Council, Department of Environment Climate Change and Water (DECCW) and the Commonwealth Natural Disaster Mitigation Program, the Shoalhaven Coastline Zone Management Plan is being jointly prepared by Shoalhaven City Council and the DECCW with much community involvement.

The NSW Coastal Protection Act and NSW Coastal Policy sets out the Plan's requirements. The NSW Coastline Management Manual gives advice on how to prepare the Plan and the recent NSW draft Sea Level Rise Policy sets parameters for assessing coastal process hazards.

The Coastal Zone Management Plan is a legislative requirement under the NSW Coastal Protection Act 1989 and may be gazetted as a statutory plan which would give its recommendations greater power.

The Plan must:

1. Show how Shoalhaven City Council and its partners will deliver all the required actions.
2. Set out how everyone will know that progress is being made.
3. Take coastal hazards into account in its local land-use planning (such as the LEP).
4. Show how people and property will be protected from coastal hazards during emergencies caused by major coastal storms.

Council decisions affecting our coastline

The decisions Council makes affect what happens to Shoalhaven's coastline. It is Council's job to:

1. Explain coastal erosion risks to home-owners and plan new urban development in places that are not at risk from coastal erosion or flooding.
2. Manage assets, such as sewer and water pipes, roads, steps, stairs, paths, ramps and lookouts that provide access to the beach.
3. Protect, with local communities, plants and animals living in valuable coastal bushland and wetlands as well as places used by visiting migratory birds.

Council is also responsible for:

• planning how land is used (Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) and Development Control Plans (DCPs) and settlement strategies)
• assessing developments
• managing parks and reserves along the ocean foreshore
• managing recreational safety on beaches
• providing emergency services during major storms or marine flooding
• managing vegetation and biodiversity on public land as well as on dunes and headlands
• other matters, such as fire and waste management, that affect how people enjoy the beauty of the coastline.