The council said the draft DCP was consistent with council's "adopted position contained in the Rural Lands Planning Proposal, and is a negotiated outcome with the relevant government agencies".

"A draft (DCP) has been prepared to include the terrestrial biodiversity mapping into an appropriate planning instrument and address the remaining concerns raised by the NSW RFS," the September 24 report said.

"The draft plan has been prepared in response to the Department (of Planning, Industry and Environment), requesting that a Development Control Plan be in place before implementation of the amendment of the Eurobodalla Local Environmental Plan 2012 relating to rural lands."

All councillors except Cr Anthony Mayne and Cr Patrick McGinlay voted for the motion.

Cr McGinlay said he struggled with the "logic of process" and questioned why staff agencies had "the power to sign off on but still haven't".

Cr Mayne said he could not support it when there was an "unknown element", and he didn't mind asking challenging questions at an ad nauseam basis.

Public forum speakers Marlies Straub, Ken Dumpleton, David Grice and Deborah Stevenson had concerns about its approval.

Ms Straub and Mr Dumpleton said once the draft became policy, they would have difficulty achieving a building entitlement on their category-five property.

Mr Grice and Ms Stevenson were concerned the council had not addressed state agencies' recommendations.

They were also concerned about exhibiting and approving the DCP draft before the LEP was signed off.

"This is a watering down of the protections afforded to important biodiversity values in the Eurobodalla and is at odds with the planning approach of all other councils in our region," Ms Stevenson said.

Planning and sustainability director Lindsay Usher said all issues raised by public forum speakers were not new, had already been addressed by council staff and some of the issues were "without basis".

Mr Usher said he had seen the draft instrument and "it would be very unlikely that a minister would change an instrument without running it past the council".

Mayor Liz Innes said the motion's approval would finish off "what has taken years and years of community consultation".

"This is the final step of what we had agreed and (what was) recommended," she said.

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