sydney-city-centre-review-of-environmental-factors

Biodiversity Guidelines: Protecting and Managing Biodiversity on RTA Projects
(Roads and Maritime, 2011).
The assessment:
Identified and described the biodiversity values of the study area by referring to:
- NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services wildlife atlas database (NSW OEH,
2014) covering NSW TSC Act listings
- Australian Government EPBC Act protected matters search tool (Australian
Government Department of the Environment, 2014) covering Australian
Government EPBC Act listings
- The PlantNet database (Royal Botanic Gardens, 2012) covering sensitive and
rare plant species
- The noxious weed database (Department of Trade and Investment, Regional
Infrastructure and Services, 2012) covering species controls under the
Noxious Weed Act 1993
- Significant tree register and tree management policy (City of Sydney Council,
2013) covering dominant tree species, management controls and significant
trees within the LGA
Identified the proposal’s impacts on biodiversity values
Identified those adverse impacts that would need safeguarding or managing
under the proposal.
Impact significance was assessed in accordance with the following guidelines:
Threatened Species Assessment Guidelines: The Assessment of Significance
(DECCW, 2007)
Significant Impact Guidelines 1.1: Matters of National Environmental
Significance (Australian Government Department of Environment, 2013).
6.9.2 Existing environment
The proposal footprint is located in a developed urban environment. It is entirely
within the bounds of the Sydney Basin bioregion (Interim Biogeographic
Regionalisation of Australia, 2012). This bioregion contains one of the most florally
diverse areas in Australia (NSW OEH, 2012). Despite this, the only key community
within the environs of the proposal footprint is ‘planted vegetation’. This is reflected
by the presence of manicured exotic grasses and landscape planting (eg parks and
gardens) as well as native and exotic roadside planted trees. Any native species
have been introduced through landscape planting and do not occur naturally.
Flora
Flora potentially affected by the proposal are planted trees that would be pruned or
removed (refer to section 6.6.3). None of the affected trees hold specific flora
or biodiversity values in their own right. However they do have some limited
capability in providing a wildlife corridor and limited habitat values for highly mobile
tolerant species.
Although not surveyed, the potential for any other significant flora to occur within the
proposal footprint is assessed as low to negligible. This is because the disturbed
nature of the urban environment offers limited habitat potential. In the wider locality,
Hyde Park, the Botanic Gardens and the Domain contain a number of threatened
flora species. However, as noted above, all the species have been introduced to form
a ‘planted vegetation’ habitat.
Sydney City Centre Capacity Improvement 382
Review of Environmental Factors