50 The Development Control Plan also provides, in s B.7, the bases upon which the council will consider lowering the number of required car parking spaces for a development from the number that would otherwise be calculated according to the Development Control Plan. The bases are discussed under five headings: type of development, site characteristics, public and alternate forms of transport, locality analysis, and service/benefits local community.
51 A consent authority is required to take into consideration a development control plan which is relevant to the development the subject of a development application: s 79C(1)(a)(iii) EPA Act. The emphasis to be given to a development control plan appears in the following three propositions in Zhang v Canterbury City Council [2001] NSWCA 167, (2001) 51 NSWLR 589 at [75] per Spigelman CJ. First, although the Court has a wide-ranging discretion, the discretion is not at large and is not unfettered. Secondly, the provisions of a development control plan are to be considered as a fundamental element in or a focal point of the decision-making process. Thirdly, a provision of a development control plan directly pertinent to the application is entitled to significant weight in the decision making process but is not determinative. If a proposal does not meet the development control plan's requirements, the Court may still grant consent, in appropriate cases, having given the development control plan consideration in the way required in Zhang and having considered all other matters that are relevant under s 79C of the EPA Act 1979.
52 Mr Coady, a traffic engineer, gave evidence on the behalf of the applicant concerning parking demand. His justifications for departure from the provisions of the Development Control Plan are on two principal bases as stated in his report: first, the proposal is generously served by access to public transport bus services; secondly, there is more than sufficient available on-street parking to provide for any additional parking needs of the proposed development.
53 Mr Coady's parking report shows that there are five government bus services, including one running down Wardell Road itself outside the premises, which provide a wide range of access for residents of the premises to community facilities, shopping centres and public transport connections to the rail system. Mr Coady's report also sets out details of a parking survey undertaken on a Wednesday, in September 2008, between 7.00am and 9.00pm. The survey was undertaken of on-street parking spaces within a walking distance of approximately 200 metres of the site. The survey showed that, within this parking catchment, approximately one third of the spaces, or 67 parking spaces, was the minimum number of spaces available during the survey period. Within a much closer radius, along Wardell Road between the closest cross streets to the north and south, a minimum of seven spaces were available during the survey period.
54 Whilst the council criticised the adequacy of the parking survey, I am satisfied that it provides a sufficient basis, particularly concerning the evening parking demand when residents in the vicinity are likely to have returned from their daily activities, to permit assessment of this aspect of the proposal. There is no evidence of, for example, a major shopping centre that would cause some form of aberrant parking demand in the vicinity at weekends.
55 It emerged in evidence that there is a sporting oval in the vicinity, outside the parking survey area. Mr Coady conceded that there was likely to be some generation of parking demand related to sporting activities at the oval. However, I do not consider, on the basis of the information contained in Mr Coady's survey, that this is likely to create any difficulties for residents in the vicinity of the site, given the number of available spaces in the survey area and the small number of spaces (two) of extra on-street parking demand generated by the proposal.
56 Evidence was given by Mr Coady and Mr Erkin, town planner for the council, that it was possible to create an additional stacked parking space along the eastern boundary of the premises if the waste disposal area and ramp access were rearranged. However, they agreed that such a stacked parking space would be undesirable as it had the potential for creating conflict between unrelated users and was unlikely to function satisfactorily.
57 Similarly, they agreed it would be possible to move the existing parking space further to the north along the boundary and create an additional parking space across the front of the two residential rooms at the Wardell Road frontage. To do this would require the removal of the private open space areas for each of these rooms and the removal of a significant amount of the landscaping proposed across the frontage. Mr Erkin agreed that this was an undesirable planning and design outcome.
58 Otherwise, additional parking could be provided on the site only by a significant redesign of the proposal, if the accepted development potential of the site is to be realised. Some of the present ground floor elements of the development would have to be raised so that parking below could be provided. Although there was no detailed evidence on this point from either side, it would appear likely, on the basis of the past plans, that to do that would have unacceptable impacts on neighbouring properties.
59 However, unless there were to be a radical redesign of the proposal, any additional parking on the site will involve reversing into Wardell Road.