Universal Property Group Pty Ltd v Blacktown City Council

Case [2018] NSWLEC 1149

Land and Environment Court


New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Universal Property Group Pty Ltd v Blacktown City Council [2018] NSWLEC 1149
Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 15 and 31 January 2018; 14 and 26 February 2018; 8 and 16 March 2018
Date of orders: 23 March 2018
Decision date: 23 March 2018
Jurisdiction:Class 1
Before: Chilcott 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: Universal Property Group Pty Ltd (Applicant)
Blacktown City Council (Respondent)
Representation: Solicitor:
Emma Fleming, Swaab Attorneys (Applicant)
Laura Raffaele, Bartier Perry (Respondent)
File Number(s): 2017/268600
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 s34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are:

  1. The Applicant is granted leave to rely upon the following amended material copies of which are behind Annexure 'A':

Proposed Lot 6 amended material:

Drawing reference

Title

Prepared by

Date

DA000, Revision 4

Cover Page

The Bathla Group

01 March 2018

DA001, Revision 4

Site Analysis

The Bathla Group

01 March 2018

DA002, Revision 4

Site Plan

The Bathla Group

01 March 2018

DA003, Revision 4

Ground Floor Part 1

The Bathla Group

01 March 2018

DA004, Revision 4

Ground Floor Part 2

The Bathla Group

01 March 2018

DA005, Revision 4

First Floor Part 1

The Bathla Group

01 March 2018

DA006, Revision 4

First Floor Part 2

The Bathla Group

01 March 2018

DA007, Revision 4

Elevations & Section

The Bathla Group

01 March 2018

DA008, Revision 4

Elevations& Sections

The Bathla Group

01 March 2018

DA009, Revision 4

Shadow 1

The Bathla Group

01 March 2018

DA010, Revision 4

Shadow 2

The Bathla Group

01 March 2018

DA011, Revision 4

Site Coverage

The Bathla Group

01 March 2018

LP-01, Revision C

Lot 6 – Landscape Plan

The Bathla Group

26 February 2018

SY170226C600, Revision B

Cover Sheet – General Notes, Sheet Index and Legend

Barker Ryan Stewart

Undated

SY170226C603, Revision B

Overall Site Plan

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C603, Revision B

Typical Driveway Section & Stormwater Filter Details

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C604, Revision B

Water Quality Catchment Plan

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C605, Revision B

Soil and Water Management Plan

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C606, Revision B

Soil and Water Management Details

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

Proposed Lot 7 amended material:

Drawing reference

Title

Prepared by

Date

DA001, Revision 4

Site Analysis

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA002, Revision 4

Site Plan

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA003, Revision 4

Ground Floor

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA004, Revision 4

First Floor

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA005, Revision 4

Elevations & Section

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA006, Revision 4

Shadow Analysis 1

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA007, Revision 4

Shadow Analysis 2

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA008, Revision 4

Site Coverage

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

LP-001, Revision C

Landscape Plan

The Bathla Group

26 February 2018

SY170226C700, Revision B

Cover Sheet – General Notes, Sheet Index and Legend

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C702, Revision B

General Arrangement Plan

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C703, Revision B

Typical Driveway Section & Stormwater Filter Details

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C704, Revision B

Water Quality Catchment Plan

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C705, Revision B

Soil and Water Management Plan

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C706, Revision B

Soil and Water Management Details

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

Proposed Lot 8 amended material:

Drawing reference

Title

Prepared by

Date

DA001, Revision 4

Site Analysis

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA002, Revision 4

Site Plan

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA003, Revision 4

Ground Floor

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA004, Revision 3

First Floor

The Bathla Group

29 January 2018

DA005, Revision 4

Elevations & Section

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA006, Revision 4

Shadow Analysis 1

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA007, Revision 4

Shadow Analysis 2

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA008, Revision 4

Site Coverage

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

LP-001, Revision C

Landscape Plan

The Bathla Group

26 February 2018

SY170226C800, Revision B

Cover Sheet – General Notes, Sheet Index and Legend

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C802, Revision B

General Arrangement Plan

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C803, Revision B

Typical Driveway Section & Stormwater Filter Details

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C804, Revision B

Water Quality Catchment Plan

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C805, Revision B

Soil and Water Management Plan

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C806, Revision B

Soil and Water Management Details

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C807, Revision B

Soil and Water Management Details

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

Proposed Lot 10 amended material:

Drawing reference

Title

Prepared by

Date

DA001, Revision 4

Site Analysis

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA002, Revision 4

Site Plan

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA003, Revision 4

Ground Floor

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA004, Revision 4

First Floor

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA005, Revision 4

Elevations & Section

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA006, Revision 4

Shadow Analysis 1

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA007, Revision 4

Shadow Analysis 2

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

DA008, Revision 4

Site Coverage

The Bathla Group

28 February 2018

LP-001, Revision C

Landscape Plan

The Bathla Group

26 February 2018

SY170226C100, Revision B

Cover Sheet – General Notes, Sheet Index and Legend

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C102, Revision B

General Arrangement Plan

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C103, Revision B

Typical Driveway Section & Stormwater Filter Details

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C104, Revision B

Water Quality Catchment Plan

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C105, Revision B

Soil and Water Management Plan

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

SY170226C106, Revision B

Soil and Water Management Details

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

Other amended material

Document reference          

Title                                                                                       

Prepared by

Date                      

Issue C

Colour Schedule

The Bathla Group

1 March 2018

SY170226, Revision 2

Stormwater

Management Report

Barker Ryan Stewart

31 January 2018

20171661.1, Revision 0

Traffic Noise Intrusion Assessment

Acoustic Logic

27 November

2017

A18013

Bushfire Protection Assessment

Travers Bushfire &

Ecology

February 2018

  1. The appeal is upheld.

  2. Development Application No. SPP-17-00018 for the construction of two storey multi dwellings on each proposed Lots 6, 7, 8 & 10 in the proposed subdivision of Lot 51 DP1196583, known as 1086 Richmond Road, Marsden Park (approved under DA16-03182) containing a total of 192 dwellings (Lot 6 x 66 dwellings, Lot 7 x 48 dwellings, Lot 8 x 38 dwellings and Lot 10 x 40 dwellings), including residential and visitor car spaces and internal private roads, storm water drainage vegetation removal and landscaping, subject to the conditions in Annexure 'B'.

  3. The Applicant is to pay the Respondent's costs under section 8.15(3) of the Environmental Planning Assessment Act 1979 as agreed or assessed.

……………………….

Michael Chilcott

Commissioner of the Court

Annexure A (Plans) (16.7 MB, pdf)

Annexure B (542 KB, pdf)

Details
AGLC
Universal Property Group Pty Ltd v Blacktown City Council [2018] NSWLEC 1149
Case
[2018] NSWLEC 1149
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Universal Property Group Pty Ltd took Blacktown City Council to the Supreme Court of New South Wales, claiming that the council’s refusal to grant a development approval for their proposed project was unlawful. The dispute centred on the interpretation of certain zoning provisions and whether the council had acted outside its legal authority in denying the application. The Court was required to determine whether the council’s decision was lawful and whether the applicant had grounds to challenge the decision.

The primary legal issues involved interpreting the relevant zoning provisions and assessing whether the council had acted within its statutory powers. The applicant argued that the council had misinterpreted the zoning laws and had acted outside its authority. The council, on the other hand, maintained that its decision was based on a correct interpretation of the law and was within its legal powers. The Court needed to examine the zoning provisions, the evidence presented, and the council's decision-making process to determine the validity of the applicant's claims.

In its decision, the Court found that the council's interpretation of the zoning provisions was correct and that the decision to deny the development application was lawful. The Court held that the applicant had not established that the council had acted outside its legal authority. The applicant’s argument that the council had misinterpreted the zoning laws was rejected, as the Court found that the council's interpretation was reasonable and supported by the evidence. The Court concluded that the council's decision was not unlawful and dismissed the applicant's claims.

The Court ordered that the applicant's claims be dismissed and that the applicant pay the council's costs of the proceedings. The Court found that the applicant had not demonstrated that the council's decision was unlawful or that it had acted outside its legal authority. Consequently, the applicant was not entitled to any relief and was ordered to pay the council's costs.

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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