(1) The aims and objectives of this clause are to establish 3 different kinds of Protected Areas and, with respect to those areas—
(a) Environmental Constraint Area
(i) To protect environmentally sensitive land and areas of high scenic value in the City.
(ii) To provide a buffer around areas of ecological significance.
(iii) To restrict development on land that is inappropriate by reason of its physical characteristics or bushfire risk.
(b) Escarpment Area
(i) To preserve and enhance the natural environmental and visual significance of the escarpment system of the Blue Mountains.
(ii) To limit the presence of buildings and works in the escarpment area and to limit the impact of buildings on the perception of the escarpment as a significant natural feature.
(iii) To limit the proportion of hard surfaces in the escarpment area and to provide for the restoration of all degraded areas and their return to a natural habitat.
(c) Water Supply Catchment Area
(i) To protect the City’s water supply.
(ii) To maintain the quality of the natural environment.
(2) This clause applies to land to which this plan applies shown on the Map, within the meaning of Blue Mountains Local Environmental Plan 1991, in a distinctive manner and by the following annotations—
Environmental Constraint Area
Escarpment Area
Water Supply Catchment Area
(3) In this clause—
storey is any separate floor within a building, but does not include—
(a) a floor of a building used exclusively for the purpose of car-parking, storage, laundry facilities or similar purposes, or any combination of such purposes, where the ceiling level of that floor is not more than 1 metre above finished ground level at any point, or
(b) storage or living space within the roof void.
(4) The development criteria for the following Protected Areas are—
(a) Environmental Constraint Area
The Council shall not consent to development in a Protected Area—Environmental Constraint Area, unless it is satisfied, by means of a detailed environmental assessment, that the development will not compromise the objectives of the Protected Area.
(b) Escarpment Area
(i) The Council shall not consent to any development involving the clearing of trees in an area designated as Protected Area—Escarpment Area, unless it is satisfied, by means of an assessment of the landscape and environmental impact of the proposed development, that the visual and ecological effects of the proposed clearing will not compromise the Protected Area—Escarpment Area objective.
(ii) No building, other than of single storey construction, shall be erected in a Protected Area—Escarpment Area if it protrudes above the vegetation canopy of the immediate locality, or the height of adjacent buildings.
(c) Water Supply Catchment Area
(i) Any development consent must include a provision which requires that satisfactory arrangements be made with the Water Board for the provision of water and sewerage facilities.
(ii) Within a Protected Area—Water Supply Catchment Area, the Council shall not consent to any development that requires effluent disposal unless the development is to be connected to a reticulated sewerage system.
(iii) The Council may grant development consent for the erection of a dwelling house served by an effluent pump-out system on a lot that existed at the appointed day where the sewer is not available. This provision does not extend to dual occupancy.
cl 58A: Ins 27.12.1991. Am 2006 (289), Sch 1.2 [2].