An Adelaide Hills couple has been handed an enforcement notice by the Native Vegetation Council for allegedly excessively clearing land on a property at Mount Lofty.
The property, on Mount Lofty Summit Road, is owned by developers Stephen and Tiffany Connor.
According to the Native Vegetation Clearance register, the couple received approval to clear one tenth of a hectare of messmate stringybark forest in 2014 to build their private home.
In a statement, the Native Vegetation Council (NVC) said it conducted an investigation to determine if any breach had occurred at the property after receiving multiple complaints from neighbours.
The council found that "there were reasonable grounds to believe that native vegetation clearance had occurred in excess of that approved" and that the extent of the additional clearance was "in excess of half a hectare of messmate stringybark forest".
The enforcement notice requires the couple to "refrain from any further native vegetation clearance contrary to the Act", and "take action to rehabilitate the areas of excess clearance".
Further details of the enforcement notice, including the exact requirements for rehabilitation, have not been disclosed.
The NVC is an independent body under the Department for Environment and Water, established by the Native Vegetation Act 1991, with seven council members appointed by SA's environment minister.
Under Native Vegetation legislation, authorised officers can issue civil enforcement notices where they suspect there are reasonable grounds to believe a breach has occurred.
The notices can require land holders to make good on alleged minor breaches.
More serious enforcement orders can only be issued by the Environment, Resources and Development Court, where it is satisfied a breach has occurred.
No such proceedings are being pursued in the present case.
In a statement, Tiffany Connor told the ABC she loved the native vegetation on the block and it was the reason they bought the land.
She declined to comment on whether they had been issued an enforcement notice by the Native Vegetation Council but said she was working with the body and intended to begin planting trees once water was connected to the property.
"We are about to replant a lot of native vegetation," Ms Connor said.
"We need donations from people or help with planting."
"I am a kind, caring and nature loving person."
She said she believed others were upset because they were building a home on land that was once vacant.
"We are keeping 32,000 square metres of native vegetation on our site," she said.
"Once the road is built and the house is built, all the native vegetation will be reinstated apart from 10 x 3 metres of lawn."
Stephen Connor was also contacted for comment but did not respond.
He is the director of Capitoline Property, which runs the Mount Compass Golf Course and also owns private-water company, Compass Springs.
Tiffany Connor is also listed as a director of Capitoline Property on her LinkedIn profile but told the ABC she was "an emergency nurse who does eye surgery for a living".
According to land title records, the 3.35 hectares of land, which is located directly opposite Mount Lofty House, was purchased by the couple in August 2014.
Less than two months later, a clearance application for one tenth of a hectare was approved with the couple paying a $500 "significant environmental benefit" offset.
'How can you put a price on that?'
Amelia Hurren lives near the property and said the allegations made her "angry".
"It's close to home and it made me feel sick," Ms Hurren said.
"I live in this community and like thousands of other people I care about nature and this community values nature."
Ms Hurren said she had become increasingly concerned with the loss of native vegetation in the Adelaide Hills over the last few years.
"There's so much clearance going on in the Adelaide Hills at the moment and it is really confronting emotionally," she said.
"I know that there's not much left."
Ms Hurren said South Australia's native vegetation is "irreplaceable".
"How much is hearing the birds singing in the morning, how much is that worth, how can you put a price on that?
"How can we put a price on the ecosystems that keep us alive?"
Calls for more monitoring
Conservation Council SA tree campaigner Joanna Wells said the incident was "nothing short of scarring".
"Beautiful native vegetation that was previously untouched is now just gone," she said.
Ms Wells said because the initial clearance application was approved before time limit changes were made to the Native Vegetation Act in 2017, it meant permission was granted "in perpetuity".
"Under those circumstances, clearance may have been given perhaps 10, 15 years ago and hasn't been made and could occur at any time," she said.
Ms Wells said that the Native Vegetation Council's reliance on people reporting incidents of alleged unlawful clearance meant it could be happening throughout the state.
"It's actually quite difficult for native veg because they're quite under-resourced, it's not a huge team," she said.
"They are not in a position to actually pro-actively get out there and get to every clearance that's been given permission to occur and check that it's been done accurately."
"I would like to see the native vegetation section … better funded so that they do have the resources to actually proactively go out to sites where clearance has been given, check that has been given under the terms of the permission."
The Adelaide Hills Council said it was aware of the situation and the concerns of the local community.
"Council is monitoring the activities of the site in respect of the development approval," the council said in a statement.
"The land is a construction site and there is no direction by the council in place to prevent site works and construction taking place in accordance with the development approvals."
