AJC United Investment Pty Ltd v Georges River Council

Judgment

1. COMMISSIONER: This appeal concerns a development application for the construction of a detached dual occupancy development, and torrens title subdivision of the land, at 3 Cooloongatta Road, Beverly Hills. The appeal is lodged pursuant to s 8.7 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act). In exercising the functions of the consent authority on the appeal, the Court has the power to determine the development application pursuant to ss 4.15 and 4.16 of the EPA Act. The final orders in this appeal, outlined in [9] below, are made as a result of an agreement between the parties that was reached at a conciliation conference.
2. The Court was required to arrange a conciliation conference between the parties, pursuant to s 34AA(2)(a) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (LEC Act). The conciliation conference commenced on 21 June 2022. I presided over the conciliation conference.
3. At the conciliation conference, an agreement under s 34(3) of the LEC Act was reached between the parties as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that was acceptable to the parties. The signed agreement was subsequently provided to the Court on the same date, and was formally filed on 28 June 2022. The agreement was reached as a result of an amendment to the development application, which was lodged on the NSW Planning Portal on 27 June 2022 with the agreement of the Council, as required by cl 55(1) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000. The amended development application includes amended written requests to vary the minimum lot size development standards for the construction of a dual occupancy and for the subdivision of land, amended architectural plans that now provide for a design with compliant setbacks and the deletion of rear facing balconies, amended landscape plans and an amended Arboricultural Impact Assessment Report.
4. The decision agreed upon is for the grant of development consent subject to conditions of consent pursuant to s 4.16(1) of the EPA Act. The signed agreement is supported by a Jurisdictional Statement dated 21 June 2022 that sets out the matters on which the Court must form an opinion or reach a state of satisfaction prior to the grant of development consent.