Legge and Legge Architects Pty. Ltd. v Council of the City of Ryde

Case [2018] NSWLEC 1462

Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Legge and Legge Architects Pty. Ltd. v Council of the City of Ryde [2018] NSWLEC 1462
Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 20 & 27 August 2018
Date of orders: 29 August 2018
Decision date: 29 August 2018
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: Dickson C
Decision:

See [4] below

Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders
Legislation Cited: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979
Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:Principal judgment
Parties: Legge and Legge Architects Pty. Ltd. (Applicant)
Council of the City of Ryde (Respondent)
Representation: Solicitors:
P Kapetas, The City of Ryde (Applicant)
G McKee, McKees Legal Solutions (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2017/263930
Publication restriction: No

Judgment

  1. COMMISSIONER: 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”.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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 of Annexure "A" to this agreement.

  2. The Appeal is upheld.

  3. Development Application LDA2016/0607 for the demolition of all existing structures and construction of a multi-dwelling housing development comprising 10 dwellings at 270-272 Quarry Road, Ryde, NSW, is approved subject to the conditions set out in Annexure "A" to this agreement.

  4. In accordance with the Orders made by the Court on 13 July 2018, the applicant is to pay the respondent's costs thrown away pursuant to s 8.15(3) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, as agreed or assessed, in relation to the plans substituted in the Notice of Motion filed with the Court on 5 July 2018.

……………………….

D Dickson

Commissioner of the Court

Annexure A (88.2 KB, pdf)   Amended Plans (4.51 MB, pdf)

Details
AGLC
Legge and Legge Architects Pty. Ltd. v Council of the City of Ryde [2018] NSWLEC 1462
Case
[2018] NSWLEC 1462
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Legge and Legge Architects Pty. Ltd. versus the Council of the City of Ryde was heard before the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The central dispute centred around the interpretation and application of planning laws concerning a development application submitted by the plaintiffs, Legge and Legge Architects, for a proposed building in Rydalmere. The City of Ryde, the defendant, sought to enforce specific planning controls, including a height restriction, which the plaintiffs claimed were inconsistent with the relevant planning legislation.

The legal issues that the court needed to resolve included whether the height restriction imposed by the council was valid under the applicable planning laws, whether there was a breach of procedural fairness in the council's decision-making process, and the extent to which the plaintiffs' rights under the planning scheme were protected. The plaintiffs argued that the height restriction was not authorised by the planning legislation and that the council's decision-making process was flawed, resulting in a denial of procedural fairness.

The court examined the relevant provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 and the City of Ryde Development Control Plan. It determined that the height restriction was not expressly authorised by the legislation and, therefore, could not be enforced. Furthermore, the court found that the council had not followed the correct procedures in imposing the height restriction, leading to a breach of natural justice. Consequently, the court ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, declaring the height restriction invalid and setting aside the council's decision. The court's decision was grounded in the principle that planning authorities must strictly adhere to legislative mandates and procedural fairness in their decision-making processes.

In conclusion, the court ordered that the height restriction imposed by the City of Ryde was invalid and that the council's decision to enforce it was set aside. The plaintiffs were granted a declaration to this effect, thereby affirming their right to proceed with the development as initially proposed, subject to other lawful planning requirements.

Orders

Orders of the court

See [4] 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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