Controversy over plans to erect a fence to protect vegetation near the foreshore on Raymond Island has resulted in a petition being submitted to East Gippsland Shire to stop it happening.
Island resident, Ryan Brown, told the council meeting a petition signed by 50 residents opposed the wire fence in Fourth Avenue.
He said the petition included the signature of the president of the Raymond Island Community Association (RICA), although a RICA representative said some residents who were RICA members may have signed the petition as private citizens and didn't necessarily represent the views of the association.
Mr Brown told the council chamber he was new to Raymond Island and didn't wish to get involved in Island politics, but that's exactly what happened to him when he sought to find out who was behind the move to erect the fence.
"We have an East Gippsland Shire Council-led project control group that is clearly dysfunctional with members of the committee clearly contradicting the manager of assets and environment (Fiona Weigall) and community associations saying they've been actively excluded," Mr Brown said.

IMAGE: Raymond Island residents, Harriet Minter and Rob Eldridge, support a fence being erected in Fourth Avenue to protect the foreshore.