Riopar Pty Limited v Lane Cove Council

[2019] NSWLEC 1046

Land and Environment Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	Riopar Pty Limited v Lane Cove Council [2019] NSWLEC 1046
Hearing dates:	Conciliation conference on 4 – 5 December 2018
Date of orders:	05 February 2019
Decision date:	05 February 2019
Jurisdiction:	Class 1
Before:	Morris AC
Decision:	See [8] below
Catchwords:	DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: Residential flat building, bulk, scale, character, landscaping, traffic, parking
Legislation Cited:	Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Riopar Pty Limited (Applicant) Lane Cove Council (Respondent)
Representation:	Counsel: M Staunton (Applicant)   Solicitors: Wilshire Webb Staunton Beattie Lawyers (Applicant) A Seton, Marsdens Law Group (Respondent)
File Number(s):	2017/347304
Publication restriction:	No

Judgment

1. Riopar Pty Ltd lodged Development Application No. 150/2017 with Lane Cove City Council seeking consent for demolition of existing site improvements and construction of a residential flat building over basement parking. The council refused consent and Riopar is appealing that decision.

2. The issues in the case are whether the scale of the development is suitable for the site and locality.

3. The Court arranged a conciliation conference under s 34(1) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (LEC Act) between the parties, which was held on 4 and 5 December 2018. I have presided over the conciliation conference.

4. At the conciliation conference, the parties reached agreement as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that would be acceptable to the parties. The decision agreed upon is to uphold the appeal and grant consent to the application. The agreement was based on amended plans prepared by the applicant which significantly reduced the height and scale of the proposed building, altered the streetscape presentation and reduced the extent of basement parking. Issues associated with the access, quantum and size of parking spaces and manoeuvring were also resolved.

5. As the presiding Commissioner, I am satisfied that the decision is one that the Court can make in the proper exercise of its functions, as required by s 34(3) of the LEC Act.

6. I have formed this state of satisfaction because the proposed building would now be consistent with the scale of adjacent development, the parking required can be accommodated on the site and the resultant streetscape accords to that contemplated under the council’s planning controls.

7. 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.

8. The Court orders:

1. The Applicant is granted leave to rely on the following plans and documents:

Ref	Name	Rev	Author	Date
C01	Site and Roof Plan	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC 19
C02	B.02	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC 18
C03	B.01	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC 18
C04	Ground	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC 18
C05	L.01	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC 18
C06	L.02	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC 18
C07	Adaptable studio	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC 18
C08	West Elevation	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC19
C09	East Elevation	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC19
C10	South Elevation	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC 19
C11	North Elevation	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC 19
C12	Section A	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC 19
C13	Section B	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC 19
C17	Detail Sections Z, U & YY	Holmes by Design Architects	DEC 18
L-01	Landscape Plan	E	rfa Landscape Architects	19/12/2018
L-02	Landscape Plan	E	rfa Landscape Architects	19/12/18

2. The Applicant is to pay the Respondent’s costs thrown away as a result of the amendments pursuant to section 8.15(3) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 in the amount of $5,000.00 within 28 days.

3. The appeal is upheld.

4. Development consent is granted to Development Application No. 150/2017 for the demolition of existing structures and construction of a part two (2) part three (3) storey residential flat building comprising eight (8) apartments (3x studio, 3x 1 bedroom and 2x 2 bedroom units) over 2 levels of basement car parking containing 10 car parking spaces (8x residential and 2 visitor spaces) on the land at 29 Birdwood Avenue, Lane Cove subject to the conditions of consent annexed hereto and marked “A”.

……………………….

S Morris

Acting Commissioner of the Court

Annexure A (495 KB, pdf)

Plans (6.37 MB, pdf)

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Decision last updated: 08 February 2019