Monahan v Strathbogie SC

COURT OR TRIBUNAL

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)

06/02/2018

LITIGATION TYPE

Project Approval - Adaptation

SUBJECT MATTER

Flood risk

REVIEW TYPE

Merits review

SUMMARY

Catchwords: Review of a failure to make a decision within the prescribed time. Section 79 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. Strathbogie Planning Scheme. General Residential Zone. Subdivision. Waterway (Tabilk Depression) crosses property. Land subject to flooding.

At [45]-[47]:

The 2017 Nagambie Flood study included an assessment of the effects of climate change. This study and the GBCMA acknowledge that the effects are not well understood at this stage but projections indicate a shift in the intensity of rainfall and flood events. This shift corresponds to flood flows that are currently of a 100-year ARI magnitude being experienced more frequently, e.g. possibly becoming 50-year ARI events or even 20year ARI events.

This land is already subject to flood flows that would result in unacceptable level of hazard to future residents, property and emergency personnel. The best projection to hand of the effects of climate change to this situation is that the exposure to this level of hazard would occur more frequently.

Submissions made for Mr Monahan rely on previous Tribunal decisions that refer to adaption responses to climate change impacts on a regional scale rather than addressing future threats on a lot by lot basis. These cases do not assist his case as I agree that the best response to a shift in this risk would be through a town -wide response. However what Mr Monahan’s position fails to acknowledge is the critical role that the designated waterway that passes through his property may have in developing such a response. To allow development of this land given this situation could well prejudice the orderly development of a future town-wide response to these projected change in flood hazards.

CASE DOCUMENTS

Monahan v Strathbogie SC [2018] VCAT 921