By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
Landmark trees across urban Geelong could be cut down after State Government identified them as bushfire threats.
Council is seeking an exemption to save the “significant“ trees and others after the government ignored a City Hall bushfire-risk map and put the entire municipality in a new restricted zone.
City services general manager William Tieppo said the new planning controls for areas deemed bushfire-prone emerged following 2009’s Black Saturday.
“Council accepts that where there’s a threat of bushfire the need to protect life and property is absolutely paramount,” Mr Tieppo said.
“In urban areas where there’s no bushfire threat, these controls are undermining heritage values and neighbourhood character, leaving council now seeking greater parity with other metropolitan councils.
“City of Greater Geelong officers from building, planning and fire prevention met originally with State Government representatives and the CFA to develop a new map outlining the areas with actual risk.”
Mr Tieppo said the government overlooked Geelong’s previous map, so council had to ask for the city’s bushfire-prone status to be changed.
Council’s planning portfolio-holder, Michelle Heagney, said the laws allowed for the removal, destruction or lopping of vegetation to reduce fuel load around buildings and adjacent to fences without needing a planning permit.
“Geelong has large urban areas with no designated fire threat, but our council doesn’t benefit from the exemption applied to other metropolitan councils,” Cr Heagney said.
“This means we’ll continue to lose significant trees in parts of the city that have no identified bushfire threat under the current planning controls.
“It’s also important that we look after the 156 significant trees listed in the schedule to our heritage overlay, which are mostly in urban areas of Geelong and could be removed with no planning permit under current exemptions.”
