In an overhaul of the state's planning rules regarding the rise in sea levels, the NSW government will tell councils to separate immediate threats such as storms from longer-term threats caused by climate change.
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There have been complaints from some councils that climate change projections were impeding development, deterring potential buyers and sinking property values.
Sea levels are expected to rise up to one metre this century, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses along the coast.
Planning and Infrastructure Minister Brad Hazzard said councils needed to clearly separate present and future hazards, and make decisions using information about local conditions.
Councils now take an approach that is ''often very much to the detriment of local property owners'', Mr Hazzard has told Parliament. These home owners were often ''harried about the possibility of effectively having to abandon their property''.
Some councils have been including long-term hazards such as forecasts of sea-level rises 100 years from now in Section 149 certificates. Section 149 (2) certificates are compulsory and list restrictions on development caused by present or future hazards. Section 149 (5) certificates are optional. These are attached to each property's title.
In 2012, the NSW government moved away from using the sea-level rise benchmarks for 2050 and 2100 implemented by the former Labor government.
This followed a report by NSW chief scientist and engineer Mary O'Kane, which recommended regional specific calculations on specific sea level, topography and flood conditions.
Following the 2012 change, many councils received legal advice on how to protect themselves from liability. Most insurers recommended that they take into account future hazards, such as the rise in sea levels, in these certificates.
Different councils were using different approaches to the way they determined notations on Section 149 certificates.
The proposed circular, open for submissions until March 3, recommends that a current exposure to a coastal hazard would include risks such as a one-in-a-100-year flood probability. Future exposure would include land likely to be exposed because of receding shorelines.
Sydney Coastal Councils Group executive officer Geoff Withycombe welcomed the focus on improving the necessary partnership with councils to address existing coastal erosion. He said many of these issues had been known about for more than 30 years.
''We also look forward to more assistance and investment to help councils better assess local conditions and to properly and consistently 'examine beach by beach data' as noted by the minister,'' he said.
Mr Withycombe said state spending on coastal management, which had stayed at $2 million a year since 1979, was too small to address such issues.
He said planning should take into account local conditions, and councils should not ignore future hazards. ''We've already experienced 3 millimetres per year increase in sea-level rise, and the expectations are that will accelerate.''
smh.com.au
