Gold Coast City Council to consider Oldmac Toyota dealership planned for Foxwell Road in Coomera on koala habitat
A proposed development on the northern Gold Coast is seeking permission to clear a large chunk of koala habitat and native vegetation. FULL STORY >>
Gold Coast
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A PROPOSAL for a car dealership and service centre on Foxwell Road in Coomera will need state government permission for the clearance of 2358 sqm of koala habitat.
Gassman Development Perspectives, on behalf of Oldmac Toyota, has submitted a 599-page application to the Gold Coast City Council including extensive ecological and earthworks reports and a rehabilitation management plan.
To be located on a 5630 sqm vacant block of land on the northern side of Foxwell Road off the M1 before Westfield Coomera, the 3155 sqm centre is set to operate as a “satellite” sales and servicing facility to Oldmac’s existing Toyota dealership at Springwood.
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The ground floor includes a service lounge and workshop, while the first floor will house a showroom and sale yard podium. With 60 car parks and an 18-vehicle service bay, the service centre will operate from 6am-10pm Monday to Saturday. The dealership will open from 6am-6pm every day and occasionally until 10pm for special sales events.
If approved, the development will result in the permanent removal of approximately 4621 sqm of native vegetation.
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According to the report, state government approval is needed for the site to be cleared of 2358 sqm of koala habitat. The area contains 104 individual mature koala habitat trees, and these are defined as any tree of the genus melaleuca, corymbia, eucalyptus, angophora and lophostemon that are bigger than 4m in height or 31.5cm in circumference.
The report says the clearing of individual mature koala habitat trees would constitute a “significant residual impact and require an offset to be provided”.
“However, the overall impact of the proposed habitat disturbance is considered to be minimal, due to the proximity of the subject site to major road corridors, the limited amount of native vegetation proposed to be removed from the subject site, and the limited safe connections to surrounding koala habitat that currently exist.”
Ecological surveys were conducted on three days in August 2020 for about 10 hours in total, with passive infra-red wildlife cameras in strategic locations. Other cameras were deployed for one-week duration.
Surveys recorded five mammal species, 20 avian species, one reptile species, and one amphibian species, but the report says this does not confirm the presence or absence of other species on the site.
While no koalas were found, suitable habitat does exist on site and their occurrence on site was confirmed through the presence of scats (poo) beneath eucalyptus microcorys and eucalyptus tereticornis. In the past, koalas have been recorded within 5km of the site.
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The site also contains trees that could provide a variety of foraging resources for flying foxes, possums and gliders during flowering events. The stands of melaleuca quinquenervia could also provide habitat for microbar species.
Some allocasuarina littoralis, primary food tree for glossy black cockatoos were observed throughout the subject site, although only in limited numbers.
It’s also believed the grey-headed flying-fox, one of the largest bats in Australia with a wingspan of over 1m, has been observed within 5km of the site and that suitable habitat exists on the proposed dealership site.
During an assessment of the ecological impacts of the proposed development, it was identified that 53 threatened fauna and 24 threatened flora species and 44 migratory species may potentially occur within a 5km radius of the site.
If the development is approved, a fauna spotter catcher is required to be on site to inspect all trees within the clearance area prior to the start of works to assess whether fauna has taken up residence in the past year. They also have to be present during all clearing works and would have to clearly mark trees with flagging tape or coloured spray paint which were observed to contain fauna. Captured fauna will be relocated to nearby areas deemed appropriate.
Due to the existing topography of the subject site, significant bulk earthworks and retaining is required to provide a generally flat pad suitable for the intended land use and built form.
The applicant says its development “will support a key growth area within the northern Gold Coast” and that its proposed restoration works will involve assisted natural regeneration through weed management and active reconstruction plantings.
“The restoration of this area will allow it to function as a buffer to Oaky Creek, while facilitating other benefits such as vegetation conservation, habitat enhancement, and waterway
protection,” says the report.
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