Koala plan about to go on exhibition

COFFS Harbour City Council has endorsed the Coffs Harbour Koala Plan of Management and will release several maps and reports on endangered vegetation.

Coffs Harbour City Council has endorsed its Coffs Harbour Koala Plan of Management and will release several maps and reports on endangered vegetation.

COFFS Harbour City Council has endorsed the Coffs Harbour Koala Plan of Management 2014 Project Plan and will also put on public exhibition several maps and reports on endangered vegetation.

In answer to a question from Cr Rodney Degens at last Thursday's meeting the council's director of city planning, Chris Chapman said the 1999 Koala Plan needed review and it was time to set out the process and methodology for this.

Cr Degens also questioned whether the Environment Fund could eventually purchase land to increase the areas of endangered ecological communities.

The council's general manager Steve McGrath said he would take the question on notice and look at the terms of reference for the Environmental Fund, but the basis of the Local Environmental Plan was to designate land for environmental protection.

Draft maps of endangered ecological communities and areas of over-cleared vegetation types in the Coffs Harbour local government area, together with accompanying reports, will go on public exhibition for 30 days before returning to the council. Cr Sally Townley congratulated the Biodiversity Unit on their continuing work on mapping layering, which the public would have access to.

At its September 26 meeting, the councillors also adopted the Climate Change Policy and noted a report into sea conditions in the harbour requested by Cr Rodney Degens.