Land and Environment Court
New South Wales
Medium Neutral Citation: Hongchen Dong v Parramatta City Council [2017] NSWLEC 1595 Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 22 September 2017 Date of orders: 24 October 2017 Decision date: 24 October 2017 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Dickson C Decision: See [5] below
Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPEAL under s97(1) against refusal of an application for townhouse development - conciliation conference – amended design- agreement between the parties - orders Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979Category: Principal judgment Parties: Mr Hongchen Dong (Applicant)
Parramatta City Council (Respondent)Representation: Solicitors:
Swabb Attorneys, (Applicant)
Marsdens Law Group (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2017/131307 Publication restriction: No
Judgment
-
COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal, under s97 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, against Council’s refusal of development application number 250/2015. The application seeks approval for demolition of existing structures, construction of eight townhouses and associated basement parking. The development is proposed at Lot 482 and Lot 483 DP36692, 59-61 Moffatts Drive, Dundas Valley.
-
In this matter, at or after a 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”.
-
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.
-
In making the orders to give effect to the agreement between the parties, I was not required to, and have not, made any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties.
-
The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement are:
the appeal is upheld;
the applicant is granted leave to amend the development application by relying on the following plans:
Drawing N0
Dated
A000 Architectural Drawing List Issue P3 prepared by Quinn Building Design
26 September 2017
A002 Schedule of Colours & Finishes Issue P4 prepared by Quinn Building Design
26 September 2017
A010 Site Analysis Plan/Demolition Plan Issue P2 prepared by Quinn Building Design
14 September 2017
A011 Site Plan Issue P6 prepared by Quinn Building Design
26 September 2017
A012 Landscape Calculation Diagram Issue P4 prepared by Quinn Building Design
14 September 2017
A014 GFA Calculation Plan Issue P5 prepared by Quinn Building Design
26 September 2017
A015 Deep Soil Area Calculation Diagram Issue P4 prepared by Quinn Building Design
14 September 2017
A100 Basement Plan Issue P5 prepared by Quinn Building Design
14 September 2017
A101 Lower Ground & Ground Floor Plan Issue P6 prepared by Quinn Building Design
26 September 2017
A102 Ground Floor & First Floor Plan Issue P6 prepared by Quinn Building Design
26 September 2017
A103 Attic Plan Issue P5 prepared by Quinn Building Design
26 September 2017
A104 Roof Plan Issue P5 prepared by Quinn Building Design
26 September 2017
A150 Adaptable Unit Detail Plans Issue P3 prepared by Quinn Building Design
14 September 2017
A200 Unit 1-3 Elevations Issue P5 prepared by Quinn Building Design
26 September 2017
A201 Unit 4-8 Elevations Issue P4 prepared by Quinn Building Design
26 September 2017
A202 Boundary Retaining Wall Elevations Issue P1 prepared by Quinn Building Design
26 September 2017
A250 Section 51-51 Issue P5 prepared by Quinn Building Design
26 September 2017
A252 Ramp Section 54-54 Issue P5 prepared by Quinn Building Design
29 September 2017
Cover Sheet, Legend and Drawing Schedule, Drawing No. D00, Revision B, prepared by Loka Consulting Engineers
28-08-2017
Basement Stormwater Drainage Plan, Drawing No. D01, Revision B, prepared by Loka Consulting Engineers
28-08-2017
Basement Stormwater Drainage Details, Drawing No. D02, Revision B, prepared by Loka Consulting Engineers
28-08-2017
Ground Floor & Site Stormwater Drainage Plan, Drawing No. D03-1, Revision E, prepared by Loka Consulting Engineers
14-09-2017
External Stormwater Drainage Plan, Drawing No. D03-2, Revision B, prepared by Loka Consulting Engineers
14-09-2017
Ground Floor & Site Stormwater Drainage Details, Drawing No. D04, Revision D, prepared by Loka Consulting Engineers
14-09-2017
Erosion and Sediment Control Plan and Details, Drawing No. D05, Revision B, prepared by Loka Consulting Engineers
29-08-2017
Landscape Plan, Drawing No. 2016.0203DA1-1, Issue I. prepared by TGS Landscape Architects
29 September 2017
Landscape Plan 2, Drawing No. 2016.0203DA1-2, Issue I. prepared by TGS Landscape Architects
29 September 2017
the applicant is granted leave to amend the development application to remove strata subdivision from the application;
development application No. 250/2016 for the demolition of existing structures, tree removal and construction of 8 town houses with associated basement parking, being the land at 59-61 Moffatts Drive, Dundas Valley, is approved subject to the conditions of consent set out in Annexure A;
pursuant to s97B(2) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, the applicant is to pay those costs of the respondent thrown away as a result of amending the development application, as agreed or as assessed.
…………….
D M Dickson
Commissioner of the Court
Annexure A (C) (360 KB, pdf)
Plans (7.21 MB, pdf)
Stormwater Plans (5.13 MB, pdf)
Landscape Plans (12.0 MB, pdf)
- AGLC
- Hongchen Dong v Parramatta City Council [2017] NSWLEC 1595
- Case
- [2017] NSWLEC 1595
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The primary legal issues the court needed to address were whether the Council owed a duty of care to the plaintiff and, if so, whether this duty was breached, resulting in the plaintiff's injuries. The court considered the common law principles of negligence, focusing on the foreseeability of the risk, the degree of control exercised by the Council over the footpath, and the standard of care expected under the circumstances. Additionally, the court examined whether the plaintiff had contributed to their own injuries by not taking reasonable care for their safety, which could potentially mitigate any damages awarded.
In its reasoning, the court found that the Council did owe a duty of care to the plaintiff as users of the public footpath. The court held that it was foreseeable that pedestrians could slip on wet surfaces, and the Council had a responsibility to maintain the footpath in a reasonably safe condition. The court determined that the Council had breached this duty by failing to address the wet condition despite being aware of the rainfall. The Council's argument that they had not been notified of the hazard was dismissed as they had sufficient systems in place to promptly address such issues. The court awarded damages to the plaintiff, reflecting the extent of their injuries and the Council's breach of duty.
The court ordered the Parramatta City Council to pay compensation to Hongchen Dong for the injuries sustained. The amount of damages was calculated based on the plaintiff's medical expenses, loss of income, and pain and suffering. The court also noted that the plaintiff's contributory negligence would be considered in any future claim for damages. The Council was directed to review and improve their maintenance protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Orders
Orders of the court
See [5] below
Background
Background to the litigation
Full text does not contain this section.
Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
Full text does not contain this section.
Decision
Reasons for decision
Full text does not contain this section.
Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
Full text does not contain this section.