MGA Architects v Randwick City Council [2021] NSWLEC 1366

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: MGA Architects v Randwick City Council [2021] NSWLEC 1366 Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 27 May 2021 and 15 June 2021 Date of orders: 25 June 2021 Decision date: 25 June 2021 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Horton C Decision: See orders at [12] Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION – boarding house development – R3 Medium Density Residential zone – conciliation conference – agreement between parties – orders Legislation Cited: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 ss 8.7, 8.15 Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 Land and Environment Court Act 1979 s 34 Randwick Local Environmental Plan 2012 cll 6.2, 6.4, 6.10 State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) 2009 cll 29, 30, 30A State Environmental Planning Policy (Building Sustainability Index: BASIX) 2004 State Environmental Planning Policy No 55— Remediation of Land cl 7 Category: Principal judgment Parties: MGA Architects Pty Ltd (Applicant) Randwick City Council (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: V Conomos (Solicitor) (Applicant) V McGrath (Solicitor) (Respondent)

Solicitors: Conomos Legal (Applicant) Randwick City Council (Respondent) File Number(s): 2020/359021 Publication restriction: No

Judgment 1. COMMISSIONER: This Class 1 appeal concerns a development application brought before the Court under s 8.7 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) following the deemed refusal by Randwick City Council (the Respondent) of Development Application No DA/240/2020, for the demolition of existing structures and construction of a 3 storey boarding house comprising 31 boarding rooms, manager's room, basement parking for 16 car spaces, landscaping and associated works at 15 – 17 Strachan Street, Kingsford (the site). 2. The Court arranged a conciliation conference under s 34(1) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (LEC Act) between the parties, which was held on 27 May 2021, and at which I presided. 3. The proceedings commenced onsite, after which the parties continued conciliation discussions at which in-principle agreement was reached on the matters in contention, subject to the preparation of amended plans. 4. I granted an adjournment for the preparation of amended plans, and the final resolution of agreed conditions of consent. 5. A signed agreement prepared in accordance with s 34(10) of the LEC Act was filed with the Court on 15 June 2021. This decision involved the Court upholding the appeal and granting conditional development consent to the development application. 6. The parties ask me to approve their decision as set out in the s 34 agreement before the Court. In general terms, the agreement approves the development subject to amended plans that were prepared by the applicant, and noting that the final detail of the works and plans are specified in the agreed conditions of development consent annexed to the s 34 agreement. 7. Under s 34(3) of the LEC Act, I must dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the parties' decision if the parties' decision is a decision that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions. The parties' decision involves the Court exercising the function under s 4.16 of the EPA Act to grant consent to the development application. There are jurisdictional prerequisites that must be satisfied before this function can be exercised. 8. The parties identified the jurisdictional prerequisites of relevance in these proceedings including the provisions of the following environmental planning instruments: * Randwick Local Environmental Plan 2012 (RLEP); * State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) 2009 (SEPP ARH); * State Environmental Planning Policy (Building Sustainability Index: BASIX) 2004. 1. I am satisfied that the jurisdictional preconditions identified by the parties have been achieved for the reasons that follow: