Bushfire-prone land

Bushfire Prone Land is an area of land that can support a bushfire or is likely to be subject to bushfire attack. The Sutherland Shire Bush Fire Prone Land Map certified by the Rural Fire Service in accordance with Section 146 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979. The Bushfire Prone Land map shows all land considered to be a risk from bush fire. SSLEP incorporates the "Bushfire Prone Lands Maps".

A property is bushfire prone if it is wholly or partly located in the red, orange or yellow area on the Sutherland Shire Bush Fire Prone Land Map.

Orange areas of bushland, classified by the Rural Fire Service and Sutherland Shire Council as 'Vegetation Category 1'. This is the most hazardous vegetation category.

Yellow areas of bushland classified by the Rural Fire Service and Sutherland Shire Council as 'Vegetation Category 2'. Within Sutherland Shire, these are the smaller, more isolated pockets of vegetation which are of a lesser hazard than the 'orange' vegetation category.

Red developed lands which adjoin the bushland and are classified by the Rural Fire Service and Sutherland Shire Council as 'Vegetation Buffer 100m & 30m'. These are the areas in which developments and people are most likely to be affected by a bush fire burning in the vegetation (yellow or orange) areas. The red area extends for a distance of 100 metres from the 'orange' vegetation category 1 areas and for a distance of 30 metres from the 'yellow' vegetation category 2 areas.

If any of your property is located within a red, orange or yellow area on the bush fire prone map, it means that bush fire must be taken into account when designing a development as well as in the assessment of a development application for that land.

Special building setbacks, landscaping and construction requirements may apply.

The type of requirements that apply depend on the type of development, the degree of bush fire hazard and the distance from the bush fire hazard.

Further information is available from council and the NSW Rural Fire Service to determine what requirements apply.

Planning for Bushfire Protection (2006) outlines the bush fire protection measures to be included when planning or modifying a residential or special fire protection purpose building or development in a bush fire prone area. Adopted through the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning for Bush Fire Protection) Regulation 2007 and the Rural Fires Amendment Regulation 2002, the 2006 Planning for Bushfire Protection guidelines incorporate legislative provisions and performance criteria, together with more options for achieving compliance for proposed buildings in bush fire prone areas. This approach allows for considerable flexibility and innovation. It links the bush fire hazard for a site with implementation of appropriate bush fire protection measures.

The six bush fire protection measures include:

1. Asset Protection Zones (fuel reduced areas)
2. Building Construction and design (using AS:3959)
3. Access arrangements
4. Water supply and utilities
5. Emergency Management Arrangements
6. Landscaping

Council has also mapped those properties within the bush fire prone land which are considered to be at greatest risk of bush fire and these are shown on the Bushfire interface maps. Higher standards are required for these properties due to the increased likelihood that they will be exposed to direct flame contact.

This map identifies properties within the Sutherland Shire that are classified as a Bushfire Interface Property in maps associated with the Sutherland Shire Development Control Plan 2006 (SSDCP2006).

A Bushfire Interface Property is an improved or unimproved property within bush fire prone land or immediately adjacent to bushland and is recorded as a bush fire interface area on a bush fire prone land map.

The property is a bush fire interface property if it is shown hatched on the bush fire interface property map.

The property is located within the bushland, or in the first row of houses next to the bushland.

For a bush fire interface property the following requirements exist:

• applications for dwelling houses, alterations or additions lodged with council will be referred to the Rural Fire Service for assessment
• new fencing must be made from non combustible materials
• for new dwellings, a 1.5m side boundary setback generally applies.

Council's bush fire construction requirements are described in the Sutherland Shire Development Control Plan 2006 (SSDCP2006). SSDCP2006 provides detailed objectives and controls which establish what council considers acceptable practice for development in areas prone to bush fire - see Chapter 5 in SSDCP2006.

Additional information is found in the NSW Rural Fire Service's 'Planning for Bushfire Protection' (2006).

If you are constructing a dwelling, or doing alterations and additions, and the dwelling or work is not located within that part of the site designated as bush fire prone, no special bush fire requirements will be applied to the development application.

If the application is for a residential subdivision, or other types of development identified as 'integrated development' under Section 100B of the Rural Fires Act (eg school, nursing home, State Environmental Planning Policy 5 development [SEPP5 - aged housing]), the application is still considered to be integrated development and must be referred to the Rural Fire Service.

The edge of the bush fire prone land line on the map is artificial. The impact of a bush fire may not be limited to the designated bush fire prone area. However, it is considered that the level of bush fire risk outside of these areas is such that no special bush fire construction measures need to be incorporated into a development. The bush fire risk can be adequately managed by normal building practices, combined with ongoing maintenance of buildings and yards by the owners or occupiers.

The bush fire prone land maps have been produced from aerial photos and vegetation maps. Field surveys have occurred, but in some areas it is very difficult to accurately map the edge of the vegetation.

If an applicant disagrees that a particular property is bush fire prone, they can provide more detailed information in the form of a survey showing the distance between the nearest bush fire hazard and the proposed development.

The Bush Fire Prone Lands Map and Bush Fire Interface Property Map will be reviewed on a regular basis.