Cranney v The Council of Camden

[2018] NSWLEC 1486

Land and Environment Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	Cranney v The Council of Camden [2018] NSWLEC 1486
Hearing dates:	Conciliation conference on 14 September 2018
Date of orders:	14 September 2018
Decision date:	14 September 2018
Jurisdiction:	Class 1
Before:	Gray C
Decision:	See [5] below
Catchwords:	DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders
Legislation Cited:	Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Robert Cranney (Applicant) The Council of Camden (Respondent)
Representation:	Solicitors: D Tyrell, McKees Legal Solutions (Applicant) C McFadzean, Swaab Attorneys (Respondent)
File Number(s):	2017/287689
Publication restriction:	No

Judgment

1. COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal by Robert Cranney against the actual refusal by the Council of Camden of development application No. DA2016/1034/1. The application seeks approval for strata subdivision of an existing lot and the change of use of an existing building from a principal dwelling, with an attached secondary dwelling, to two semi-detached dwellings at 14 Davidson Street, Oran Park (Lot 3146 DP 1194672). These proceedings came before me for a conciliation conference following orders by Justice Robson in Camden Council v Cranney [2018] NSWLEC 127, in which His Honour upheld an appeal against a decision of Commissioner Brown in these proceedings and remitted the proceedings to a Commissioner of the Court for determination. His Honour upheld the appeal on the basis that development consent for strata subdivision was required, and also found that the applicable minimum lot size development standard only applied to the parent torrens title lot.

2. At the conciliation conference, an agreement under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (the Court Act) was reached between the parties as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that was acceptable to the parties. As the presiding Commissioner, I was satisfied that the decision was one that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions (this being the test applied by s 34(3) of the Court Act). As a consequence, s 34(3)(a) of the Act required me to “dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the decision”.

3. The Court Act also required me to “set out in writing the terms of the decision” (s 34(3)(b)). The orders made to give effect to the agreement constitute that document.

4. In making the orders to give effect to the agreement between the parties, I was not required to make, and have not made, any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties.

5. The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are:

1. The applicant is granted leave to amend the development application and rely on the amended plans referred to in Condition 1(1) of Annexure “A” to this agreement.

2. The Appeal is upheld.

3. Development Application 2016/1034/1 for a change of use to semi-detached dwellings and strata subdivision at 14 Davidson Street, Oran Park is approved subject to the conditions set out in Annexure “A” to this agreement.

……………………….

Commissioner Gray

Annexure A (180 KB, pdf)

Plans (149 KB, pdf)