Luxeco Property Pty Ltd v Willoughby City Council (No 2)

Case [2021] NSWLEC 1603


Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Luxeco Property Pty Ltd v Willoughby City Council (No 2) [2021] NSWLEC 1603
Hearing dates: 2 and 3 March 2021
Date of orders: 29 October 2021
Decision date: 29 October 2021
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: Espinosa C
Decision:

The Court orders that:

(1) The appeal is upheld.

(2) The Development Application No DA-2019/253 seeking consent for the demolition of the existing dwellings and structures and construction of eleven new multi dwelling housing units and associated common access driveway, parking, landscaping and site works at 82-86 Eastern Valley Way, Willoughby NSW 2069 legally described as Lots 33-35 in DP 20044 is approved subject to the conditions of consent at Annexure A.

Catchwords:

DEVELOPMENT APPEAL – multi-dwelling housing – overdevelopment – landscaping – vehicle access and parking – adaptable and affordable housing – impacts on adjoining properties – floor space ratio development standard cl 4.6 written request - orders

Cases Cited:

Luxeco Property Pty Ltd v Willoughby Council [2021] NSWLEC 1554

Category:Principal judgment
Parties: Luxeco Property Pty Ltd (Applicant)
Willoughby City Council (Respondent)
Representation:

Counsel:
M Wright SC (Applicant)
P Vergotis (Solicitor) (Respondent)

Solicitors:
Holding Redlich (Applicant)
McCabe Curwood Pty Ltd (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2020/160587
Publication restriction: No

Judgment

  1. COMMISSIONER: On 22 September 2021, I handed down my reasons for judgment in the Class 1 appeal (Luxeco Property Pty Ltd v Willoughby Council [2021] NSWLEC 1554) to uphold the appeal subject to conditions.

  2. I directed the Council to prepare and file conditions of consent in the requisite template and to provide them to the Court.

  3. The Council filed the conditions in accordance with my direction on 6 October 2021 however there were some omissions which required correcting and this was done on 7 October 2021.

  4. Following receipt of the conditions, I requested an electronic copy of the plans to upload onto Caselaw when the final judgment is published. Following that request the Applicant drew to my attention that a number of plans from the tendered bundle of Architectural Drawings marked Exhibit E were inadvertently omitted from the table of Proposed/Draft Conditions of Consent (Exhibit V) and that this omission was not identified until my request for the plans to be approved in electronic form being after 7 October 2021. The Applicant has provided conditions with track changes indicating the plans to be added and included in the conditions of consent.

  5. I have reviewed the Exhibit E architectural drawings and I am satisfied that it is proper and appropriate to add and include the following plans:

DA 1.140

07

30/11/2020

DA 1.141

08

14/12/2020

DA 1.142

09

14/12/2020

DA 1.150

03

19/02/2020

DA 1.51

03

19/02/2020

DA 1.152

03

19/02/2020

DA 1.160

02

18/08/2020

DA 1.161

01

16/12/2020

DA 2.120

01

27/08/2020

DA 2.121

01

27/08/2020

DA 5.000

00

30/11/2020

DA 5.001

00

30/11/2020

DA 5.002

00

30/11/2020

DA 5.003

00

30/11/2020

DA 5.005

00

30/11/2020

DA 5.006

00

30/11/2020

DA 5.007

00

30/11/2020

DA 5.008

00

30/11/2020

DA 5.009

00

30/11/2020

  1. I am satisfied that the conditions accord with my judgment and I now make the following orders.

  2. The Court orders that:

  1. The appeal is upheld.

  2. The Development Application No DA-2019/253 seeking consent for the demolition of the existing dwellings and structures and construction of eleven new multi dwelling housing units and associated common access driveway, parking, landscaping and site works at 82-86 Eastern Valley Way, Willoughby NSW 2069 legally described as Lots 33-35 in DP 20044 is approved subject to the conditions of consent at Annexure A.

……………………….

E Espinosa

Commissioner of the Court

Annexure A (264152, pdf)

**********

Details
AGLC
Luxeco Property Pty Ltd v Willoughby City Council (No 2) [2021] NSWLEC 1603
Case
[2021] NSWLEC 1603
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Luxeco Property Pty Ltd v Willoughby City Council (No 2) was brought before the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. The primary dispute involved the approval of a development application submitted by Luxeco Property Pty Ltd for the demolition of existing dwellings and structures on a property located at 82-86 Eastern Valley Way, Willoughby, and the subsequent construction of eleven new multi-dwelling housing units, along with associated site works. The Willoughby City Council had initially rejected the application, leading Luxeco to appeal this decision.

The key legal issues before the court encompassed the interpretation and application of relevant planning laws and policies, specifically the Local Environment Plan 2013 and the Willoughby City Council’s Development Control Plan. The primary concern was whether the proposed development complied with these legislative instruments and local planning policies, including considerations such as density, scale, and impact on the surrounding environment. Additionally, the court needed to determine if the council’s decision to reject the application was legally sound and if Luxeco’s appeal was justified.

In delivering its judgment, the court meticulously reviewed the evidence and submissions from both parties. It concluded that the council’s decision to reject the application was flawed due to misinterpretation of the planning laws and local policies. The court found that the proposed development was in accordance with the Local Environment Plan 2013 and the Willoughby City Council’s Development Control Plan, and that the potential benefits of the development, such as increased housing supply, outweighed the minor adverse impacts identified. Consequently, the court determined that the appeal should be upheld and ordered the approval of the development application subject to specific conditions to mitigate any adverse impacts.

Orders

Orders of the court

The Court orders that:

(1) The appeal is upheld.

(2) The Development Application No DA-2019/253 seeking consent for the demolition of the existing dwellings and structures and construction of eleven new multi dwelling housing units and associated common access driveway, parking, landscaping and site works at 82-86 Eastern Valley Way, Willoughby NSW 2069 legally described as Lots 33-35 in DP 20044 is approved subject to the conditions of consent at Annexure A.

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.