Port Stephens Council Tree Management – Draft changes to Development Control Plan (DCP)
The statement in the report to the 23 June 2020 Council meeting: ‘There are no policy changes proposed …’ is misleading. Council’s proposed introduction of a ‘self-certification’ regime, without input from a qualified arborist, as the means of implementing a 2017 State Government Vegetation policy[1], does in practice mean a significant (and undesirable) change to the Tree Management provisions.
In our view, the draft amendments:
- make tree removal easier, increasing the risk of removal for inappropriate reasons
- do not adequately support the objective of the 2017 State Government Policy – to preserve and protect trees
- weaken Council’s ability to perform its legislated role under the 2017 Policy
Click Here for TRRA’s submission
