We assess plans to provide flood advice, SBO (Special Building Overlay) Consent and to determine the requirements for building/development works on land subject to stormwater flooding including SBO.
We follow Victorian Guidelines for Development in Flood Affected Areas (2019) with a few exceptions. This article states some of our key assessment criteria including the said exceptions.
The purpose of an SBO as well as of designation of flood-prone areas from stormwater flooding is to ensure building and development works are flood-safe, they maintain free passage and temporary storage of floodwater and do not make the existing condition flooding worse. A planning permit is generally required for the buildings and works in SBO as listed in The Greater Geelong Planning Scheme Ordinance Clause 44.05 (linked below).
The following are general criteria for assessing building/development plans in areas prone to stormwater flooding:
| Site and Access Safety | Developments should not occur where the depth and flow of floodwater are hazardous. Additional buildings/dwellings are generally allowable if the depth of flooding at the site and its accesses are no more than 0.5m as well as the hazard from flow velocity is acceptable (or deemed so) based on the Victorian Guidelines. The allowable maximum for velocity is 2.0m per second. |
| Flood Damage | The floors of habitable and non-habitable buildings (garages, outbuildings like storage sheds etc.) must respectively be at least 30cm and 15cm above their applicable flood levels. |
| Flood Flow Path | Works or buildings must maintain free passage of floodwater. A partial obstruction of a poorly delineated flow path may be allowable if at least half of the flow path (by width) or minimum 2m wide (as we assess appropriate) flow passage is maintained. |
| Flood Impact: | Works or buildings must not worse the existing condition flooding - must not cause any significant rise in flood level or flow velocity at and around the site, upstream or downstream areas. |
A building extension or an additional building is allowable (or not) depending on its size, existing floor level and potential flood risk/impact.
If a building/development work has a substantial risk of flooding or is likely to worsen the existing condition flooding, we will require a flood risk/impact assessment report based on hydraulic modelling.
If your land is subject to stormwater flooding (including SBO) please apply online or by emailing at [email protected] for advice or consent to your plan.
The task of flood risk/impact assessment is complex due the complicated nature of science and engineering of rainfall-runoff (hydrology), hydraulics of floodwater flow, interpreting flood modelling results etc. Additionally, we need to consider the impacts to people, property and the environment. As such,
We are unable to advise/consent instantly (over the phone or in a meeting, for example) without an assessment.
The Planning Scheme ordinance (including Clause 44.05) and maps showing SBO can be found on the Greater Geelong Planning Scheme Maps. You can know if your land is subject to SBO in various ways like from these maps, by emailing us, from property report etc.
A Property Report from the Land Vic website details all the planning zones and overlays (including SBOs) affecting your property.
According to the Planning and Environment Act, the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA) is the floodplain management authority. However, based on an agreement with CCMA, the City assesses plans on land subject to stormwater flooding. CCMA remains responsible for other flood-prone areas (riverine, waterway and coastal) - under Floodway Overlay (FO) and Land Subject to Inundation Overlays (LSIO) for example.
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