Development of the new Gungahlin suburb of Moncrieff - which could accommodate more than 3000 homes - has been referred to the Commonwealth because it is likely to impact on the endangered golden sun moth and box-gum woodland community.
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The Land Development Agency self-referred the proposal but was confident it had reached an ''optimum compromise'' between development and nature conservation in planning the major new housing project for the burgeoning north.
The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities is accepting public comment on the proposal until September 29 to help it decide if Moncrieff needs federal approval.
Land Development Agency executive director of land development Chris Reynolds said the Government would ''consider its options for alternative land releases at that time'' should advice from the Commonwealth delay its land release program.
''Any issues raised by the Commonwealth will be carefully considered by the LDA,'' he said.
The referral, prepared with independent consultants, suggests actions to mitigate the loss of natural habitat including direct and indirect offsets such as the dedication of additional land for reserve and enhancement of already reserved habitat.
Specifically it would involve ''conserving more than 90ha of regenerating box-gum woodland and golden sun moth habitat in the northern part of the proposed suburb Throsby''.
The agency's land release program plans to develop Moncrieff by delivering 500 blocks to the market in 2011-12, another 500 blocks in 2012-23 and a final 800 blocks by 2014-15. A range of housing is expected to be built in the new suburb which could see between 2191 and 3183 dwellings erected including affordable housing, along with a group centre, community facilities and open space.
Moncrieff, which would be north of Ngunnawal and Amaroo, would cover 185ha, of which about 118.5ha would be developed. A further 17.3ha is proposed for urban open space and 49ha for non-urban open space.
Developments are referred for assessment by the Commonwealth under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act when they have the potential to significantly impact on a matter of national environmental significance, such as an endangered species.
Moncrieff is likely to see the removal of 22.5ha or 73per cent of habitat in the suburb for the critically endangered golden sun moth, reducing and fragmenting the local population.
However, the referral says the remaining 8.5ha or 27per cent of the habitat was ''likely to be sufficiently large to support a viable golden sun moth population over the long-term, subject to appropriate management''.
''The impact of the habitat is not so significant that the species is likely to decline in the Canberra region,'' it says.
About 23ha of box-gum grassy woodland and secondary grassland would be removed by the development. Another 17ha would be retained in open space.
The referral says the loss of the ''moderately modified woodland would be relatively minor in relation to the remaining areas of woodland within the ACT'', including those in Gungahlin nature reserves.
It also does not anticipate a major impact on the endangered regent honeyeater or vulnerable superb parrot, with recent surveys recording no sightings of the birds in Moncrieff.
Opposition leader Zed Seselja said Canberra was ''crying out for useable land to help ease the affordable housing crisis''.
