Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip EES Scoping Requirements Evaluation objective Key Legislation Landscape, visual and recreational values - To avoid or Planning and Environment Act minimise adverse effects on landscape, visual amenity and 1987. recreational values as far as practicable. Heritage Act 1995. 1
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip EES Scoping Requirements - Specific to arboriculture Aspect Relevant responses Key Issues Potential adverse effects on highly valued urban landscapes, particularly resulting from construction phase works or inappropriate siting of permanent new works Priorities for characterising the Identify key visual and landscape features and values in the area or broader vicinity of proposed project existing environment works Design and mitigation measures Identify project design and construction management measures to avoid or minimise adverse effects on landscape character and visual values, especially with regard to long-term effects. Assessment of likely effects Assess likely extent and duration of residual adverse effects on landscape and visual values Approach to manage performance Identify principles to be adopted to develop measures to monitor adverse effects on landscape and visual values and contingency measures to be implemented if required 2
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Assessment Approach • Desktop Assessment • Site assessment – arboricultural assessment of trees across the study area in locations with surface interventions (portals, stations and access shafts) and shallow tunnelling. All assessment data is included in Appendix A • Risk and impact assessment – consideration of the potential impact of project components on trees, specifically those in the public realm 3
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Risk Assessment Outcomes • Design : Direct loss of trees to accommodate proposed built form, including new road functional layouts (Royal Parade and St Kilda Road) • Construction : Loss or damage to trees in the public realm for construction sites, construction access, temporary services • Operation: No operational issues relating to arboriculture Assessment has been limited by GPS-positional data for trees and the “unknowns” of future, detailed construction requirements. A conservative approach has been taken in the assessment of potential impacts. 4
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Existing Conditions Many of the station, emergency access shafts and construction sites are within some of inner Melbourne’s most highly valued avenues and parks: • Royal Parade (VHR H2198) and Grattan Street avenues. • Swanston Street. • Domain Parklands (VHR H2304) and the Shrine Reserve (VHR H0366). • St Kilda Road and Albert Reserve (VHR H1374). • Fawkner Park. 5
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Assessment of Impact The criteria for assessing impact is focussed on: • Trees that already contribute meaningful amenity to the public realm (semi- mature, mature and over-mature trees); & • Trees assessed to be viable for a period greater than the delivery of the project, that is, trees with an assessed useful life expectancy >10years. These trees are described as medium and long-term viability – MLTV - trees, and specifically excludes juvenile and senescent trees. 6
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Key Concerns Raised by Submitters Key Concerns Extent of tree removal , in particular on St Kilda Road Impact on Domain, in particular adjacent to Shrine and Tom’s Block Impact on the Elms in Albert Road Reserve Possibility of an alternative excavation method (e.g. TBM) to minimize impact on St Kilda Road Impact on significant Elms on Royal Parade Impact on Eucalypts in City Square Possibility of transplanting mature trees for duration of project, to be reinstated after completion of works 7
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Tunnel Precinct For the purposes of arboricultural impact, the tunnel is generally located at depths where tree root growth does not occur. Tom’s Paddock, Domain Parklands – shallow tunnel section over CityLink will require soil “improvement”, and will require the removal of trees from a highly valued and prominent precinct of the Domain Parklands. Intervention Shafts - Queen Victoria Gardens, Tom’s Block variation and Fawkner Park – limited number of MLTV trees to be removed, with scope to temporarily relocate significant palms within each location (if required) 8
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Western Portal Removal of trees within this precinct are predominantly juvenile street trees within the Childers and Ormond Street road reserves. 9
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Arden One MLTV tree will require removal from the Laurens Street road reserve, and possibly an additional two trees from Langford Street for the intake substation (ISS). The majority of trees to be removed from this precinct are within the VicTrack landholding. 10
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Parkville • Primary impact will be the loss of elms from the Grattan Street and Royal Parade road reserves. • The cumulative impact of removal of blocks of trees from Grattan Street, and trees from Royal Parade will significantly impact on the amenity values of the precinct streetscape. • An additional 38 MLTV trees are to be removed from the University of Melbourne grounds 11
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip CBD North and CBD South • The mined construction methodology for the station boxes significantly reduces the potential impact of loss of Plane Trees from Swanston Street. • Major impact for these precincts are the construction zones in the City Square and Franklin St road reserve. • There is the potential for loss of individual Plane Trees from Swanston Street, depending on construction access. 12
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Domain Significant loss of trees from the public realm including St Kilda Road and Albert Reserve. Additional loss of trees (mature Elms) on the south side of Edmund Herring Oval (Domain Parklands) and within the Shrine Reserve for a construction zone. 13
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Duration of impact Where the impact of loss of trees from the public realm is significant, especially Parkville and Domain, mitigation is primarily focussed on replanting and re- establishing amenity to the streetscape. The long term duration of loss of trees from the public realm will be determined by: • Species selection • Rainfall, drought and summer heat events • Competition from established trees in the vicinity of replacement specimens • Soil type and use of structured soils • Provision of irrigation and/or WSUD treatments • Size of planting stock. 14
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Duration of impact It is estimated that within 20-30 years following planting, a high quality semi- mature canopy can be established. Swanston Street, 1985-1995-2015 15
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Other mitigation measures As well as replanting trees to achieve public realm canopy targets, precinct- specific Tree Protection Plans should be prepared in conjunction with construction management plans to ensure: • Impacts are assessed against accurately surveyed tree locations and detailed construction drawings; • Construction site vehicle movements, set-down areas and craning locations can be identified; • Low level details such as services installation to stations, temporary access and services can be implemented using tree sensitive methodologies. 16
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Environmental Performance Requirements (EPR) EPR Recommendation AR1. During detailed design, review potential tree impacts None and provide for maximum tree retention. Prior to construction of main works or shafts, develop and implement a plan in consultation with the relevant local council that identifies all trees in the project area which will be removed, their condition, and options for temporary relocation of palms for reinstatement or to other suitable location. AR2. Reinstate quality soils to sufficient volumes to None support long-term viable growth of replacement trees. 17
Arboriculture – City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip Environmental Performance Requirements (EPR) EPR Recommendation AR3. Re-establish trees to replace loss of canopy cover and Add policy documents as follows: achieve canopy size equal to (or greater than) healthy, South Yarra Urban Forest Precinct Plan 2013-2023 mature examples of the species in Melbourne. Consult Carlton Urban Forest Precinct Plan 2013-2023 with the City of Melbourne, City of Port Phillip, the City of Central City Urban Forest Precinct Plan 2013-2023 Stonnington, Heritage Victoria, and the Shrine of Kensington Urban Forest Precinct Plan 2013-2023 remembrance and Shrine Trustees as applicable. 18
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