Council has prepared Amendment C91 to the Moorabool Planning Scheme, at the request of Melbourne Water as the relevant floodplain management authority. Amendment C91 seeks to apply the Land Subject to Inundation Overlay (LSIO) and the Special Building Overlay (SBO) to land affected by a 1 in 100 year flood event, in the eastern portion of Moorabool Shire.
What are the LSIO and SBO?
The LSIO and SBO are planning scheme provisions that identify land subject to flooding and trigger the need for a planning permit for proposed subdivisions, buildings and works. Some permit exemptions are available for minor buildings and works.
The LSIO applies to land affected by flooding associated with waterways and open drainage systems in both urban and rural areas.
The SBO applies to land affected by flooding associated with overland flows from the urban stormwater drainage system.
What is the purpose of the LSIO and SBO?
The Victorian Floodplain Management Strategy (2016) highlights the importance of using planning controls to help avoid and minimise flood risks. State and local planning policies require flood prone land to be identified and managed.
The application of these overlays will ensure that areas at risk of flooding are shown on planning scheme maps. These overlays will ensure that flood risk is considered at the beginning of the development process. The purpose is to ensure that new development maintains the free passage and temporary storage of floodwaters, minimises flood damage, is compatible with the flood hazard and will not cause any significant rise in flood level or flow velocity.
All planning permit applications under the LSIO or SBO will be referred to Melbourne Water as a determining referral authority. Melbourne Water will assess development proposals and provide a referral response (including appropriate permit conditions) to Council.
What is the basis of the LSIO and SBO?
The LSIO and SBO are based on detailed flood modelling and flood extent mapping undertaken by Melbourne Water. Amendment C91 implements the findings of the three flood studies (Report for Bacchus Marsh Area Floodplain Mapping, Ballan Township Flood Study Final Report, Lower Lerderderg Catchments Flood Mapping Report), the Melbourne Water Planning Investigations Models which prepared flood extent mapping for rural areas not covered by the flood studies, and the peer review of this body of work commissioned by Council in 2017.