This matter involves the land at 2 Rockleigh Drive in Mount Martha and the owner's request that the Tribunal extend the life of the planning permit No. P07/1927 which has lapsed. This permit authorises the construction of a dwelling and associated vegetation removal. Council cannot do same due to the expiry of the relevant three month grace period but Council has indicated that it does not per so oppose the extension of the permit.
This proceeding was originally set down for a Prompt Final hearing on 15 October 2010, to resolve certain concerns raised earlier by the Tribunal, notably the fact that the site is now subject to a Wildfire Management Overlay and the CFA's consent at that stage to the extension was not forthcoming.
The Tribunal has since received a letter from Council dated 8 October 2010 submitting that the 15 October 2010 hearing is not necessary due to the signed consent orders enclosed with that letter. These orders have been signed by the owner, Council and the CFA. In brief, these proposed consent orders:
convert the matter into a combined Section 81(1)(a) and Section 87A proceeding, thereby allowing the permit conditions to be potentially changed;
extend the life of the permit; and
insert various new permit conditions dealing with the bushfire risk management issues.
In terms of a precedent for taking this approach, Council relies on the equivalent orders previously made by Deputy President Dwyer in Travis Monett v Mornington Peninsula CC & DPCD (VCAT Ref. P1007/2010).
Noting this precedent decision, the fact that I have now been provided with proposed signed consent orders and bearing in mind that the CFA is one of the parties to these consent orders, I consider it reasonable to cancel the proposed hearing and make orders (with some minor editing) as per the proposed consent orders provided to me.
Parties
Applicant/Plaintiff:
Snooks
Respondent/Defendant:
Mornington Penninsula SC [2010] VCAT 1692
Legislation Cited (2)
Environment Act 1987
Victorian Building Regulations 2006
Cases Cited (1)
Snooks v Mornington Penninsula SC [2010] VCAT 1692 (13 October 2010)