Land and Environment Court
New South Wales
Medium Neutral Citation: Satmell Investments Pty Ltd v Fairfield City Council [2018] NSWLEC 1388 Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 5, 12 July 2018 Date of orders: 31 July 2018 Decision date: 31 July 2018 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Bish C Decision: See [4] below
Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Satmell Investments Pty Ltd (Applicant)
Fairfield City Council (Respondent)Representation: Counsel:
C Novak (Applicant)
Solicitors:
Sachs Gerace Broome (Applicant)
J McCullan, Marsdens Law Group (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2017/388014 Publication restriction: Nil
Judgment
-
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”.
-
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.
-
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.
-
The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement under s34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are:
The Applicant is granted leave to amend the development appeal application by substituting the plans in column A for the plans in column B as follows:
Drawing Title
A
(removed plans)
B
(substituted plans)
Drawing Number
Issue
Date
Drawing Number
Issue
Date
East Elevation, West Elevation and Cross Section
DA-2.3
G
8/03/18
DA-2.3
H
5/07/18
North Elevation and South Elevation
DA-2.4
G
8/03/18
DA-2.4
H
5/07/18
Finishes Schedule (East Elevation)
DA-2.5
G
8/03/18
DA-2.5
H
5/07/18
East Elevation, West Elevation and Cross Section
DA-3.3
G
8/03/18
DA-3.3
H
5/07/18
Finishes Schedule (East Elevation)
DA-3.5
G
8/03/18
DA-3.5
H
5/07/18
East Elevation, West Elevation and Cross Section
DA-4.3
G
8/03/18
DA-4.3
H
5/07/18
North Elevation and South Elevation
DA-4.4
G
8/03/18
DA-4.4
H
5/07/18
Finishes Schedule (East Elevation)
DA-4.5
G
8/03/18
DA-4.5
H
5/07/18
East Elevation, West Elevation and Cross Section
DA-5.3
G
8/03/18
DA-5.3
H
5/07/18
Finishes Schedule (East Elevation)
DA-5.5
G
8/03/18
DA-5.5
H
5/07/18
East Elevation, West Elevation and Cross Section
DA-6.3
G
8/03/18
DA-6.3
H
5/07/18
North Elevation and South Elevation
DA-6.4
G
8/03/18
DA-6.4
H
5/07/18
Finishes Schedule (East Elevation)
DA-6.5
G
8/03/18
DA-6.5
H
5/07/18
East Elevation, West Elevation and Cross Section
DA-7.3
G
8/03/18
DA-7.3
H
5/07/18
North Elevation and South Elevation
DA-7.4
G
8/03/18
DA-7.4
H
5/07/18
Finishes Schedule (East Elevation)
DA-7.5
G
8/03/18
DA-7.5
H
5/07/18
East Elevation, West Elevation and Cross Section
DA-8.3
G
8/03/18
DA-8.3
H
5/07/18
North Elevation and South Elevation
DA-8.4
G
8/03/18
DA-8.4
H
5/07/18
Finishes Schedule (East Elevation)
DA-8.3
G
8/03/18
DA-8.5
H
5/07/18
The appeal is upheld.
Development Application No. DA 226.1/2017 for a mixed use facility comprising 8 general industry/warehouse units, 24 general/light industry units, ancillary office and amenities, 287 car parking spaces, private road, 3 vehicle access points onto Victoria Street, signage abd associated landscaping on the land known as Lot 30 DP 1051655, 457 – 463 Victoria Street, Wetherill Park is approved subject to the conditions of consent in Annexure ‘A’.
……………………….
Commissioner Bish
Annexure A (C)
- AGLC
- Satmell Investments Pty Ltd v Fairfield City Council [2018] NSWLEC 1388
- Case
- [2018] NSWLEC 1388
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The primary legal issues before the court were whether the Fairfield City Council had breached its statutory obligations under the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) by improperly granting a building permit, and whether the council was negligent in its assessment and approval process. The court had to determine whether the council's actions were in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions and if there was a duty of care owed to the plaintiff that had been breached.
The court examined the statutory framework governing building permits and the council's responsibilities in granting such permits. It considered whether the council had followed proper procedures and whether there was evidence of any oversight or error in their assessment. The court also analysed whether the council's actions were reasonable and whether any failure to comply with statutory obligations amounted to negligence. Ultimately, the court found that the council had not breached its statutory duty and that there was no basis for a negligence claim. The plaintiff's application for an injunction and damages was dismissed.
The court ordered that the costs of the proceeding be borne by the plaintiff, Satmell Investments Pty Ltd. The decision underscored the importance of adherence to statutory processes in local government and the limited circumstances in which a council's actions may be deemed negligent.
Orders
Orders of the court
See [4] below
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.