Land Management Policy

The Crystal Waters Land Management Policy is a group of statements concerning the care, use and management of common land at Crystal Waters.

1. Crystal Waters has an ‘organic policy’. This means that how the common land is used must be acceptable according to organic practice as defined by the current National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce. All licence holders, Body Corporate employees and any users of the common land are bound by this organic policy. A resident shall obtain permission in writing from the Ranger for the use of a chemical or material not included in this Standard. The Ranger may refer the request for permission to the Body Corporate if there is any doubt about giving permission. (AGM 1998)

2. This Land Management Policy and any future amendments are to be voted on by special resolution at a general meeting of the Body Corporate.

3. The Body Corporate Committee has the responsibility of seeing that the Land Management Policy becomes a ‘living’ document by initiating reviews of the Land Management Policy itself. It also has the responsibility of preparing and regularly updating a map of the common land that shall be displayed on a noticeboard, showing licences and other areas of activity.

4. All common land is owned equally and cared for by all lotholders at Crystal Waters.

1 PERMACULTURE PRINCIPLES (GM 2006)

Crystal Waters was designed using permaculture principles and is described as a permaculture eco village. With this background it is appropriate for permaculture principles to be embodied in this Land Management Policy and to be taken into account when making decisions about the use of common land. Some of the basic principles of permaculture include:

1.1 Act with Nature not against it:

1. Apply long-term observation to recognise patterns
2. Design from pattern to detail
3. Use small and slow solutions
4. Return a gift to nature equal to that obtained (sustainable yield)

1.2 Use and value diversity:

1. Understand the functional connection within ecosystems (natural succession)
2. Enhance or recover degraded endemic ecosystems.
3. Avoid monocultures, as diversity tends to reduce competitive relationships, fosters co-operation and symbiosis and helps prevent mass influx of predators.
4. Use the edges between overlapping ecosystems and value the margins which can be rich in wild harvest.
5. In terms of succession, plants come before animals.

1.3 Adapt to energy descent:

1. Use renewable resources
2. Store water (Water tanks, dams, swales) and energy (biomass)
3. Reduce waste

1.4 Strive to create a self-managed system.

1. Apply self regulation and accept feedback
2. Value scepticism as a means to resist dogma
3. Integrate rather than segregate
4. Respond creatively to change
5. Endorse gender balance

(Principles adapted from: Holmgren, D. 1984. Permaculture Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability; Mollison, B. 1976. Permaculture: A Designers Manual.)

2 SOILS

All reasonable measures should be adopted to conserve the soil. A primary aim of our land management is to prevent the loss of topsoil, to repair and rehabilitate areas of damage and compacted soil, and to enhance soil life processes. All aspects of soil fertility such as physical structure, microbiological diversity, or nutrient availability, need to be managed to maintain soil in good condition.

2.1 Land management practices are to incorporate methods of maintaining and enhancing soil organic matter levels. Fertilisers used must be acceptable according to the current National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce.

2.2 Soil must be protected by mulches or seeded as soon as possible after cultivation or disturbance. Mulches conserve moisture and moderate temperature in the soil, protecting its structure and preventing erosion. When importing mulch materials, care must be taken to ensure they are weed, disease and toxic chemical free.

3 WATER

All reasonable efforts must be made to conserve water in quantity and quality. Care must be taken to use water at its greatest efficiency; by careful selection of irrigation devices, deep watering and by maintaining adequate mulch.

3.1 Any use of dam or river water for irrigation must be applied for as part of a licence application. Any installation of a bore must also be applied for in the licence application. The volume of water to be used from these sources is to be clearly laid out in the application, with a process for monitoring to be outlined.

3.2 The water reticulation system on Crystal Waters consists of series of tanks located throughout the property. These tanks are usually filled by either of two pumps via a network of buried pipelines. Before any earthworks commence that could damage a pipeline a check should be made with the Water Manager. Damage to the water infrastructure will be charged to the resident responsible. Each lot is entitled to use an amount of water as determined by a General Meeting. Meters are installed and read by the Water Manager or their appointee. Use of water above the allowable limit attracts a penalty.

3.3 Each lot has a fire hydrant adjacent to its boundary; no unapproved connections may be made to this hydrant.

3.4 It is the responsibility of the resident to maintain clear vehicular access to the hydrant and meter at all times.

4 PEST AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Natural systems have a dynamic stability that acts to control pest populations. By designing our gardens and orchards to mimic nature we can create productive systems with this inherent balance. The main elements will be suitable plant selection, improved diversity, healthy, biologically active soil and enhancement of biological control. Only acceptable inputs according to the National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce may be used to treat pest and disease outbreaks.

4.1 Fruit Fly is a pest that needs a community approach as fruit fly are capable of flying considerable distances. The Body Corporate will take steps to remove exotic fruit trees from common land that are known to be a host to fruit fly, including the removal of self-sown peach trees etc. Removal is the best option for these trees as the Body Corporate does not have the resources to prevent the trees being infested with fruit fly. The Body Corporate will refrain from planting any exotic species known to be a host to Queensland fruit fly on common land within 300 metres of any private lot. Lot owner and residents must take steps to remove and destroy fruit fly infested fruit on their lot and licensed areas. (GM 2002)

5 ACCESS

All residents of Crystal Water have a right of access through common land, including through licensed areas. No resident has the right to erect a barrier or fence in such a way that access is prevented on common land, particularly on easements. Known walkways that cross licensed areas must have gates supplied by the licence holder, if fences are to be erected. Gates need to be large enough to allow access for vehicles used by the Body Corporate, including the fire brigade vehicle. Exceptions to this may be applied for.

5:1 Vegetation must not be planted near Body Corporate structures where such vegetation is likely to:

1. Restrict normal operation of or cause damage to the structure
2. Impede efficient and safe inspection, maintenance or replacement of the structure or
3. Cause a safety hazard.

Structures include, but may not be limited to, roads, fences, water tanks, underground pipelines, dams and walking tracks. Plantings must be kept a minimum distance of 3 metres from these structures to allow tractor slashing to be carried out.

No trees are to be planted under powerlines or in a position that will result in branches growing closer than 4 metres from powerlines.

These restrictions would not normally be interpreted as limiting small re-vegetation works involving grasses and unobtrusive ground covers.

Where plantings are introduced to support Body Corporate structural works (eg earthwork strengthening) they should always be done in accordance to a plan approved by either the Body Corporate or an appropriately qualified or experienced person.

6 FENCING

All fences on the boundaries of Crystal Waters are owned and maintained by the Body Corporate. Many of the existing internal fences are also owned and maintained by the Body Corporate. Where a fence is erected by a licensee, the maintenance of the fence is the responsibility of the licensee. Where a Body Corporate fence forms part of the boundary of a licensed area any maintenance that is not commensurate with normal ‘wear and tear’ will be at cost to the licensee. Where the licensee wishes to make any attachments to the Body Corporate fence, the attachment is at cost to the licensee. The Body Corporate is liable for the maintenance of that portion of the fence provided that the maintenance required is such that no attachment has been made. Allother costs are the licensees.

6.1 The location of any proposed fences shall be shown in the licence application. Electric fencing must be clearly marked to the satisfaction of the Body Corporate committee or its representative. It is the responsibility of all owners of animals on Crystal Waters to fence their animals in.

6.2 Barbed wire is not to be used in the construction of any fences on common land unless it is for specific stock management under an appropriate licence. (AGM 1996)

7 ANIMALS

The incorporation of animals such as horses, dairy and beef cattle, goats, sheep and poultry into land use projects wherever practical is encouraged, as they assist in the management of pest insects, grasses and weeds and contribute to soil fertility.

7.1 All animals with the exception of poultry and small animals such as guinea pigs or rodents need the permission of the Body Corporate before their introduction to Crystal Waters.

7.2 Grazing animals arriving at Crystal Waters are to be held in an agreed quarantine situation. This agreement shall be made with the Land Manager and the Weeds Manager prior to the animal’s arrival.

7.3 Animals are to be kept according to their needs and ethical aspects. Only acceptable inputs according to the National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce may be used to treat animals. Approval may be sought from the Ranger or Body Corporate Committee to use other inputs.

7.4 Applications for the keeping of large animals (eg horses, cattle) by non-Lot Owners must first have the written permission of the Owner of the home paddock if on a private lot, or from the Body Corporate Committee if on BC land (ref 8.1) before a licence can be granted.

7.5 Livestock owners must update the office and the Land Manager with their livestock numbers whenever these change.

8 GRAZING

It is intended that the Land Management Policy will be flexible in allowing a wide variety of grazing activities. It recognises that the needs of commercial grazing operations are very different from those of residents who simply wish to keep a small number of animals for recreation.

8.1 All grazing animal owners are required to license a ‘home paddock’, preferably this ‘home paddock’ would be contiguous with part of the resident’s lot boundary and would use the water allocation of the resident. The licence holder would be responsible for fencing and the care and maintenance of this licensed area, including weeding and slashing.

8.2 The current unlicensed portion of the land known as Grey Gum paddock will be established as an area for dairying and complementary activities. This area will be administered by the Land Manager and is excluded from licence applications. Agistees will pay an agistment fee for the time that animals spend in the paddock. Weeding or other land management work hours may be exchanged for the agistment fee.

8.3 For the purposes of land management the Land Manager may use his/her discretion to allow short term grazing on unlicensed areas. This short term grazing will be for a period not longer than 2 months on any one area. This grazing will be primarily to reduce the need for slashing. No fees or responsibilities for weeding or other land improvement are expected from the animal owner under this arrangement. However, by placing their animals on common land, animal owners are committed to accepting the provisions of the Land Management policy, particularly as regards the use of organically permitted materials. It is the responsibility of the Land Manager to notify all nearby residents before commencement of grazing. The permanent grazing paddock is excluded from this arrangement.

8.4 If conditions in the Big Dam paddock including lack of feed, soil compaction or the need for maintenance require it, the Land Manager in charge of this area will be able to have the animals removed for a period. All grazing animals must have access to a ‘home paddock’ where they can be hand-fed if necessary. Fees derived from agistment in this area will be used for fence maintenance, water troughs, weed control and pasture improvement in this paddock

8.5 Animals which need to be destroyed or die of natural causes, must be buried below ground level, in a suitable site, which takes into account closeness to dams or waterways, within 24 hours of the animal’s death. Before burying an animal contact should be made with theLand Manager for approval of the site. The burial and any costs associated with it are the responsibility of the animal’s owner.

9 WEEDS

There is potential for some plant species to have weedy characteristics that are undesirable on Crystal Waters. It is in the community’s interest to eradicate or control existing weed populations, and to avoid future introductions of significant weed species.

9.1 Education is seen to be of pivotal importance in reducing weed outbreaks. The Body Corporate will carry out the continuing education of residents, including if possible the children, and of Body Corporate employees in weed identification, preferred habitats, methods of seed spread and the best times and methods for effective control.

9.2 The Body Corporate and individual lotholders have a legal obligation to control plants declared as noxious under the Rural Lands Protection Act (1985-1990). A list of these plants is available from the Weeds Manager.
All residents need to take responsibility for weeds on their own lots, and be prepared to contribute to weed control efforts on common land.

9.3 All licence holders are responsible for weed control on common land that they are using. They need to familiarise themselves with all significant weed species and deal appropriately with them. The Weed Manager or the Body Corporate Committee should be kept informed of the weed situation and notified at the first sighting of any new outbreak.

10 FIRE MANAGEMENT

All land management practices must take into consideration steps to reduce the risk of fire, by good design and planning, suitable selection and placement of fire retardant plant species and appropriately timed slashing.

10.1 Fire hazard reduction burning is carried out on Crystal Waters. Burning will only be carried out during late afternoon and evening; and only after construction of adequate firebreaks and careful consideration has been given to fuel and weather conditions. (AGM 1992)

10.2 Any resident requiring a fire permit is encouraged to liaise with the Crystal Waters Fire Brigade. Any resident wishing to light a fire bigger than 2m in diameter must contact the Fire Warden to be issued with a fire permit.

10.3 Maximum frequency of hazard reduction burns will be in accordance with the following types of land use and habitat:

1. Residential lots – not at all
2. Grazed or cropped river flats – not at all unless for weed control in isolated patches
3. Riparian zones – not at all
4. Rainforest/scrub/closed canopy areas – not at all
5. Wet Eucalypt forest – 20 to 100 year intervals
6. Dry Eucalypt forest with a shrubby understorey – 7 to 25 year intervals
7. Dry Eucalypt forest with a grassy understorey – 3 to 6 year intervals
8. Grassland areas not regularly grazed or held under licence – 3 to 6 year intervals.

11 BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

All reasonable measures should be adopted, within the constraints of a sustainable agricultural system, to conserve representative native species and ecosystems.

This will be achieved by the Body Corporate planning and implementing the creation of ‘conservation zones’ for areas of special ecological significance within the common land at Crystal Waters (AGM 1996). These conservation zones are delineated in the map below. They include riparian zones at least 15m wide along each creek and river, steep gullies prone to erosion, the gullies above most of the main dams, steep slopes (>30%), areas where restoration efforts have been made in the past, and areas which provide linkages between existing remnant patches of vegetation. They also include all past and current licence areas which were established as ‘conservation zone’ community benefit licences.

1. Conservation zones can vary in size and are intended to cover different ecological niches; from rainforest, wet sclerophyll forest, woodland, native grassland to riparian & gully habitat. It is intended to protect both flora and fauna so that a wide diversity of both are retained on Crystal Waters in the future.
2. Riparian zones and gullies will be preserved and managed over time by the gradual removal of weeds and enhancing the natural vegetation where necessary with a diverse selection of rain forest species indigenous to this area. Heavily forested ridges and slopes which may be dry or wet sclerophyll and may have some emerging rainforest understorey are to be maintained and weeded over time. Lightly forested areas to be managed, weeded, maintained and enhanced by supplementing with a variety of hardwoods and hardy rain forest species.

11.1 Conservation zones may be subject to land use licensing by individuals or clusters as a sub-category of the community benefit licence. The establishment of a ‘conservation zone’ will require the same process of approval and community feedback as other licence applications. The conservation zone will also require a resident to act as a representative or ‘steward’ of the area. The Body Corporate may choose to raise funds for the establishment and/or maintenance of a conservation zone by means of a motion at a General Meeting.

11.2 Feral animals are recognised as threatening biodiversity and control measures are needed to keep them in check. Any control measures will be carried out in a humane manner.

12 FORESTS

Within the area of Crystal Waters are some 100 hectares of land which can be classified as Forest or potential Forest. Forests are an integral part of our sustainable integrated land management practices. In addition forests provide ecological balance and where managed will produce timber and other resources for the community.

12.1 The Body Corporate, in the process of managing our forests, may cut and mill timber from trees on Crystal Waters. (AGM 2001)

12.2 The management of the forest areas by individuals or groups can be carried out in several ways:

1. As a Community Benefit Licence type 1 (b) ‘conservation zone’ for details see B.1.1 Reafforestation grants when applied for by groups or individuals will need a Community Benefit Licence type 1 (a) before implementation.
2. By Commercial Licence type 6 where the area is managed by the licensee with the intention of harvesting timber or firewood. This licence type also covers the establishment of Forestry plantations on mainly Class 3 land.
3. By Harvest of Natural Resources Licence type 4 for activities such as seed collection.

12.3 The following requirements apply to eucalypt, rainforest or mixed species woodlots:

Existing Woodlots

Woodlot management must include appropriate fire hazard reduction each year before the start of the fire season. Methods for managing the fire prone understorey could include slashing, grazing and possible occasional fuel reduction burning. The Body Corporate Committee reserves the right to make a determination as to the adequacy of fire hazard reduction proposed or carried out in each case.

Where a fuel reduction burn is to be conducted, it must be followed by a replacement regime e.g. direct seeding of ground cover and/or planting of local native understorey species.

Pruning to reduce fire hazard and ongoing removal of lantana and invasive weed species are a requirement.

New Woodlots

No part of a new woodlot must be any closer than 50m to a residential lot boundary.

Fire control considerations must be part of the woodlot license application submitted to the Body Corporate. Where the steepness of the terrain prevents tractor slashing along the contour, the woodlot licence application must address alternative methods of fire risk reduction.

Lantana and invasive weed species are to be removed during establishment of a woodlot.

Where a licensee fails to fulfil these fire risk reduction requirements, the Body Corporate may carry out any works deemed necessary to reduce the fire risk. The licensee is liable for any costs incurred to carry out these works.”

13 SACRED SITES & SPECIAL PLACES

A ‘sacred site’ is a place on Crystal Waters identified as being of special significance. The Land Management Policy recognises that not all land needs to have a function, that sometimes the intrinsic value of a place has nothing to do with ‘use’. Defining these areas allows us to be respectful of these places in our planning. Once approved these areas are reserved from all other land use activities or licenses. Any resident can propose a motion to have an area classified as a ‘sacred site’, the approval is the same as for all other licences but does not involve any responsibilities by the proposer of the motion to maintain the area.

14 WATER USE

14.1 Any use of water as part of a licence must be applied for in the licence application.

14.2 If the water is to be used for irrigation or stock and taken directly either from the creeks or river, a dam or bore, the estimated volume of water to be used from these sources is to be clearly laid out in the application, with a process for monitoring to be outlined.

14.3 If water for irrigation or stock is taken directly from the reticulated supply, then once a licence has been approved, a meter must be installed by the user to monitor the volume of water, unless this supply comes directly from the residents’ metered supply. Cost of water usage will be charged quarterly at the going excess rate. By arrangement with the Water Manager, metered water usage can be offset against unused private allocation. Usage above the allocation will then be charged at the going excess rate.

15 COMMUNITY BENEFIT LICENCES (Updated GM April 04)

A Licence fee is not required from licensees whose project is considered to be for community benefit. Community benefit amenity plantings may include the area immediately around a private lot (with the exception of road verges – see Section 16 below), as maintenance of these areas by a resident reduces maintenance costs for the Body Corporate overall. Community benefit licences do, however, need to go through the same approval process as all other licences, as generally all activities on common land with the exception of Body Corporate activities and exceptions 8.4 and 16, must be under the Licence system. This allows for community input into the process. A community benefit licence also gives the committee and the Body Corporate managers information about who is concerned and responsible for particular areas. It establishes the nature of the project and how it fits in with other projects in close proximity and elsewhere on the property. It is understood that any harvestable product on community benefit areas (eg. seed, vegetables) may be harvested by passers-by.

15.1 Where a Community Benefit licence is held and yet at a later date the licensee intends to receive financial benefit from the use of the licensed area by, for example: harvest of fruit, collection of seed, timber and other products from plants, then a Licence Amendment application is to be completed and processed, before harvest begins.

15.2 Where a Community Benefit licence is held and a Weed Energy levy system is in operation, it is acceptable for weeding hours to be claimed on the community benefit licence area by the licence holder. This avoids discrimination against residents who have chosen to be stewards of an area of common land.

16 ROAD VERGES

The road verge area between a private lot and the internal road is excluded from the requirement to formally licence activities on common property. The road verge area is defined as perpendicular to the lot boundary and where a lot boundary does not parallel the road, the area can be no wider than 4m from the road frontage lot boundary. Residents are encouraged to maintain and beautify their own road verge. Any tree planting requires prior consultation with the Body Corporate Committee or its designated agent, the Roads and Dams Portfolio Manager. A proposal in writing is required, with a written commitment made for all future maintenance on these plantings by the lot owner.

Requirements for roadside tree planting include:

1. All plantings on roadsides should take into account visibility for traffic, including visibility from the perspective of a bus driver, pedestrian or cyclist. Trees should be planted a minimum of 5m from the road-centre with larger species at least 7m from the road-centre.
2. Roadsides need to provide shade to pedestrians; species with spreading high canopies can achieve this. It is important, however, that trucks with a high clearance and the school bus are still able to pass without damage. A clearance of 3.6m vertically across the internal road is required to achieve this.
3. Planting short-lived pioneer species such as wattles needs to be approached with care. Residents are required to remove dead or dying trees they have planted on their road verge at their own expense. It is recommended to plant endemic, hardy, non-buttressing rainforest species.

(See map below)