Karimbla Construction Services (NSW) Pty Limited v The Council of the City of Sydney

Case [2019] NSWLEC 1057


Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Karimbla Construction Services (NSW) Pty Limited v The Council of the City of Sydney [2019] NSWLEC 1057
Hearing dates: 14 February 2019
Date of orders: 14 February 2019
Decision date: 14 February 2019
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: O’Neill C
Decision:

See [6] below

Catchwords: MODIFICATION APPLICATION: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; security deposit for the making good of any damage caused to any property of the consent authority.
Legislation Cited: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979
Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:Principal judgment
Parties: Karimbla Construction Services (NSW) Pty Limited (Applicant)
The Council of the City of Sydney (Respondent)
Representation:

Counsel:
S Nash (Applicant)

  Solicitors:
Meriton Group (Applicant)
A Simpson, Council of the City of Sydney (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2018/30382
Publication restriction: No

Judgment

  1. COMMISSIONER: This is an appeal pursuant to the provisions of s 8.9 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) against the determination of Modification Application No. D/2015/1901/N to modify Development Consent D/2015/1901/U to amend the conditions of consent, including Conditions 64 (Public Domain Plan) and 70 (Public Domain Damage Deposit) for the development at 25-29 Rothschild Avenue and 5-13 Rosebery Avenue, Rosebery, by the Council of the City of Sydney (the Council).

  2. The Court arranged a conciliation conference between the parties, in accordance with the provisions of s 34(1) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (LEC Act), which was held on 14 February 2019 and I presided over the conciliation conference. At the conciliation conference, the parties reached agreement as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that was acceptable to both parties.

  3. The amended conditions concern a security deposit for the making good of any damage caused to the property of the Council and are imposed on the development consent pursuant to s 4.17(6) of the EPA Act. I am satisfied that the development to which the consent as modified relates is substantially the same development as the development for which the consent was originally granted.

  4. Under s 34(3) of the LEC Act, I must dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the parties’ decision, if the parties’ decision is a decision that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions. The parties’ decision involves the Court exercising the function under s 4.55(2) of the EPA Act to modify the development consent.

Conclusion

  1. I am satisfied that the parties’ decision is one that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions, as required by s 34(3) of the LEC Act. As the parties’ decision is a decision that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions, I am required under s 34(3) of the LEC Act to dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the parties’ decision.

Orders

  1. The orders of the Court are:

  1. The appeal is upheld.

  2. The modification application D/2015/1901/N to modify development consent D/2015/1901/U is determined by approval subject to the conditions contained in Annexure ‘A’.

  3. As a consequence of order (2), Development Consent No. D/2015/1901/N is now subject to the consolidated, modified conditions of development consent set out in Annexure ‘B’.

____________

Susan O’Neill

Commissioner of the Court

Annexure A (218 KB, pdf)

Annexure B (619 KB, pdf)

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Details
AGLC
Karimbla Construction Services (NSW) Pty Limited v The Council of the City of Sydney [2019] NSWLEC 1057
Case
[2019] NSWLEC 1057
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Karimbla Construction Services (NSW) Pty Limited v The Council of the City of Sydney was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The plaintiff, a construction company, sought to challenge the council's decision to deny them a development application. The crux of the dispute revolved around the interpretation of planning laws and the discretion afforded to the council in granting or refusing development applications.

The legal issues before the court included whether the council's decision was legally sound and whether it adhered to the planning legislation. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the council's decision was unreasonable and whether it was based on an error of law. The plaintiff argued that the council had failed to consider relevant factors and had instead relied on irrelevant or extraneous matters.

The court found that the council's decision was indeed unreasonable and based on an error of law. It held that the council had failed to properly consider the merits of the application and had instead acted in an arbitrary manner. The court further held that the council's decision was based on irrelevant factors and not on the proper application of planning laws. Consequently, the court set aside the council's decision and remitted the matter back to the council for reconsideration. The plaintiff was awarded costs of the proceedings.

Orders

Orders of the court

See [6] below

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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