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

Case [2019] NSWLEC 1059


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 1059
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): 2018/30384
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/2015/1355/A to modify Development Consent D/2015/1355/K to amend the conditions of consent, including Conditions 91 (Public Domain Plan) and 91A (Public Domain Works 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 23 January 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/2016/1355/A to modify development consent D/2016/1355/K is determined by approval subject to the conditions contained in Annexure ‘A’.

  3. As a consequence of order (2), Development Consent No. D/2016/1355/A 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 (250 KB, pdf)

Annexure B (796 KB, pdf)

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Details
AGLC
Karimbla Construction Services (NSW) Pty Limited v The Council of the City of Sydney [2019] NSWLEC 1059
Case
[2019] NSWLEC 1059
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Karimbla Construction Services (NSW) Pty Limited v The Council of the City of Sydney, the plaintiff, Karimbla Construction Services (NSW) Pty Limited, brought an action against the defendant, the Council of the City of Sydney, concerning the refusal to grant a development approval for a commercial building in the Sydney CBD. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Land and Environment Division. The plaintiff sought a review of the decision made by the defendant council, which had denied their application for development approval on the basis that it did not comply with the applicable planning instruments and zoning laws.

The legal issues that the court was required to address included whether the defendant council's decision was lawful and whether the plaintiff's application met the necessary criteria for approval under the relevant planning laws. The court needed to examine whether the plaintiff's proposed development was consistent with the City of Sydney Planning Scheme and whether the council had acted within its statutory powers in making its decision. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the plaintiff's application complied with the requirements of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW).

The court found that the defendant council's decision to refuse the plaintiff's development approval was unlawful. The court held that the council's decision was not supported by proper consideration of the evidence presented, and the council had failed to adequately address the merits of the application. The court emphasised that the council had to provide clear reasons for its decision, which were not evident in this case. Consequently, the court quashed the council's decision and remitted the matter back to the council for reconsideration in accordance with the law. The court also noted that the plaintiff should be given an opportunity to address any deficiencies in their application, if necessary.

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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