Eurobodalla Council has confirmed that land clearing at Broulee last week was legal.
Development consent for a 48-lot stage of the housing estate near the southern entry to Broulee - on the corner of Broulee Road and Clarke Street - was approved by Council in February 2021.
Council's director of planning Lindsay Usher said this development and the associated clearing is not new news.
"The area has been zoned for development for many years. It went through a significant and detailed ecological assessment as part of the biodiversity certification process. The developer has already paid approximately $700,000 of offsets, with additional payments required for further approved clearing.
"The biodiversity certification process also included comprehensive community engagement, as have others since including a DCP and LEP amendment, where we talked in detail with the community about what was going to happen, including clearing.
"Like the DAs for other stages of the housing estate, the DA approved in February was notified, meaning letters were sent to nearby residents and feedback sought, and signage was erected on the Broulee Road frontage."
Mr Usher said the issues considered in urban land release areas and development in the shire were complex.
"We need to meet the needs for growth, managing bushfire, managing land clearing and biodiversity, and there's a legal framework around these things. Then there's the views of the community on all sides. It can be a difficult task for Council to manage all those expectations and get outcomes that work. Often people want to see bigger blocks and more trees but that means more land area needs to be developed. There are impacts whichever way you do it."
A corner portion of the block nearest the Broulee Road and Clarke Street intersection, around 900 square metres, is community land and Mr Usher confirmed the trees and vegetation there remain untouched.
A Council-owned road reserve of roughly 2,300 square metres between the community land and the estate also had approval for some clearing under Rural Fire Service asset protection zone requirements (APZs).
"Around one-fifth of the road reserve remains untouched outside the APZ," Mr Usher said, "while a further quarter of the reserve had been cleared previously because Council has water mains located there.
"While the road reserve was identified in 2003 to be added to the community land parcel, this did not take place and came to Council's attention only recently.
"Action to turn the road reserve into community land is now underway," Mr Usher said.
Temporary fencing around the entire area was permitted by Council while the clearing was underway following claims of trespass and concerns about safety. Fencing around the community land portion will be removed once work is complete.
