Baptist Community Services Pty Ltd – NSW & Act v ACT Planning and Land Authority & Ors (Administrative Review)

In the case of Baptist Community Services Pty Ltd – NSW & Act v ACT Planning and Land Authority & Ors, the parties were in dispute over the approval of a development application for a retirement village. The Tribunal was tasked with reviewing the decision of the ACT Planning and Land Authority to refuse the development application. The key issues before the Tribunal included whether the development was consistent with the objectives of the RZ1 zone and whether it maintained a low-density residential environment. The Tribunal was also required to consider the impact of the amendment to the Territory Plan on the application.

The Tribunal concluded that the development, as proposed, was not consistent with the objectives of the RZ1 zone, particularly in terms of maintaining a low-density residential environment. The evidence presented by both parties indicated that the proposed development would be significantly denser than the surrounding area and would not respect the neighbourhood and landscape character of the residential area. The expert evidence provided by Mr Cohen, a qualified urban and regional planner, supported the view that the development would not meet the low-density residential environment objective.

The Tribunal also considered the impact of the amendment to the Territory Plan on the application. The Authority argued that the amendment to the RZ1 zone objectives, which came into effect on 5 July 2014, should apply to the development application. However, the Tribunal agreed with the argument that the issue should be dealt with in the context of the full hearing, and that if necessary, the Tribunal should record its findings under both versions of the Territory Plan to allow for the efficient management of any further appeals.

In light of the above, the Tribunal set aside the decision of the Authority to refuse the development application and approved the development in accordance with the amended development application, subject to certain conditions. The conditions included amendments to the fencing and the construction of a rail between the driveway and the adjacent Block 35. The Tribunal's decision was based on the consideration of the relevant zone objectives, the evidence presented by both parties, and the impact of the amendment to the Territory Plan.