White v Ballina Shire Council [2021] NSWLEC 1468

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: White v Ballina Shire Council [2021] NSWLEC 1468 Hearing dates: 14-16 September 2020; 3-4 December 2020 Date of orders: 29 October 2021 Decision date: 29 October 2021 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Adam AC Decision: See orders at [572] below. Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION – dwelling house – site of proposed new dwelling deferred matter in otherwise current Local Environmental Plan (LEP) – permissibility of new dwelling under the relevant LEP – decommissioning of existing dwelling house – height of building – visual impacts – whether approval can be granted for onsite wastewater facility – reconstruction of track – previous unauthorised works – reference date for assessment – drainage of access track – impacts on first-order stream – adequacy of proposed drainage and sedimentation control – nature of vegetation in 2016 – Lowland Rainforest Endangered Ecological Community – does rainforest include stream and species within stream – threatened species likely to be affected – whether Biodiversity Development Assessment Report (BDAR) required – whether species are likely to experience Serious and Irreversible Impacts (SAII) – whether alternatives were considered – possible alternative road access– mitigation measures – safety of access track – inadequate information Legislation Cited: Ballina Local Environmental Plan 1987, cll 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, 14, 17, 23, 25 Ballina Local Environmental Plan 2012, cl 1.3 Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, ss 1.3, 1.5, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.7, 6.12, 7.2, 7.3, 7.7, 7.13, 7.16, 14.7, Sch 2, Pt 2 Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2017, cll 6.1, 6.7, 7.1 Biodiversity Conservation (Savings and Transitional) Regulation 2017, cll 27, 28 Biosecurity Act 2015 Byron Local Environmental Plan 1988, cl 45 Conveyancing Act 1919, s 88B Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, ss 4.14, 4.15, 8.7 Environmental Planning and Assessment Model Provisions 1980, cll 8, 30 Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000, cll 272, 273B Fisheries Management Act 1994, s 3, Schs 4, 4A Hawkesbury Local Environmental Plan 2012, cl 2.8 Land and Environment Court Act 1979, s 34AA Local Government Act 1993, s 68 Rural Fires Act 1997, s 100B Snowy River Local Environmental Plan 2013, cl 7.6 State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing for Seniors or People with a Disability) 2004, cl 28 State Environmental Planning Policy (Seniors Living) 2004, cl 27 State Environmental Planning Policy No 1—Development Standards Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, Sch 1, Pt 3 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005, Pt 31 Div 2, Sch 7 Cases Cited: BGP Properties Pty Limited v Lake Macquarie City Council (2004) 138 LGERA 237; [2004] NSWLEC 399 Bottomline Group Pty Ltd v Snowy Monaro Regional Council [2020] NSWLEC 1115 Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association Inc. v Minister for Planning and Infrastructure and Warkworth Mining Ltd (2013) 194 LGERA 347; [2013] NSWLEC 48 Central Coast Council v 40 Gindurra Road Somersby Pty Ltd (No 2) (2019) 241 LGERA 133; [2019] NSWLEC 171 Codlea Pty Ltd v Byron Shire Council (1999) 105 LGERA 370; [1999] NSWCA 399 Commonwealth of Australia v Randwick City Council [2001] NSWLEC 79 Crighton Properties Pty Ltd V Kiama Municipal Council (2006) 146 LGERA 271; [2006] NSWLEC 297 Friends of Tumblebee Incorporated v ATB Morton Pty Limited (No 2) (2016) 215 LGERA 157; [2016] NSWLEC 16 Jonah Pty Limited v Pittwater Council (2006) 144 LGERA 408; [2006] NSWLEC 99 Kouflidis v Corporation of the City of Salisbury (1982) 29 SASR 321; (1982) 49 LGERA 17 Marshall Rural Pty Ltd v Hawkesbury City Council [2015] NSWLEC 197 Mullaley Gas and Pipeline Accord Inc v Santos NSW (Eastern) Pty Ltd [2021] NSWLEC 110 Newcastle & Hunter Valley Speleological Society Inc v Upper Hunter Shire Council (2010) 210 LGERA 126; [2010] NSWLEC 48 Newton v Federal Commissioner of Taxation [1958] UKPCHCA 1; (1958) 98 CLR 1 Ralph Lauren Pty Ltd v New South Wales Transitional Coastal Panel; Stewartville Pty Ltd v New South Wales Transitional Coastal Panel; Robert Watson v New South Wales Transitional Coastal Panel (2018) 235 LGERA 345; [2018] NSWLEC 207 Rose Bay Marina Pty Limited v Woollahra Municipal Council [2013] NSWLEC 1046 Statewide Planning Pty Ltd v Blacktown City Council [2019] NSWLEC 1397 Telstra Corporation Ltd v Hornsby Shire Council (2006) 67 NSWLR 256; [2006] NSWLEC 133 Tenacity Consulting v Waringah (2004) 134 LGERA 23; [2004] NSWLEC 140 Visionary Investment Group Pty Ltd v Wollongong City Council [2019] NSWLEC 1234 Whittaker v Northern Beaches Council (No 3) (2018) 235 LGERA 5; [2018] NSWLEC 143 Texts Cited: Alexander G Floyd, Australian rainforests in New South Wales (1990, Surrey Beatty & Sons in association with National Parks & Wildlife Service of New South Wales, Chipping Norton NSW) Arthur N Strahler, "Hypsometric (Area-Altitude) Analysis of Erosional Topography" (1952) 63 Geological Society of America Bulletin 1117 Australian Standard 4970-2009 Tree Protection on Development Sites Ballina Development Control Plan 2012 Ballina Shire Council On-site Sewage and Wastewater Management Strategy 2017 B D Lewis and D A Rohweder, "Distribution, habitat, and conservation status of the Giant Barred Frog Mixophyes iteratus in the Bungawalbin catchment, northeastern New South Wales" (2005) 11 Pacific Conservation Biology 189 Brian J Preston & Paul Adam, "Describing and listing threatened ecological communities under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW): Part 1 – The assemblage of species and the particular area" (2004) 21 Environmental and Planning Law Journal 250 Brian J Preston & Paul Adam, "Describing and listing threatened ecological communities under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW): Part 2 – The role of supplementary descriptors and the listing process" (2004) 21 Environmental and Planning Law Journal 372 H J Frith, Wildlife Conservation (1973, Angus & Robertson, Sydney) John Kanowski, Carla P Catterall & Wendy Neilan, "Potential value of weedy regrowth for rainforest restoration" (2008) 9(2) Ecological Management & Restoration 88-99 Local Land Services, "North Coast Regional Strategic Weed Management Plan 2017-2022" (Version 2) Local Land Services, "Weeds of the North Coast of NSW: A guide to identification and control" (3rd ed, 2021) Macquarie Australian Dictionary (8th ed, 2020) Mark Taylor and Robert Stokes, "Up the creek: what is wrong with the definition of a river in New South Wales?" (2005) 22 Environmental and Planning Law Journal 193 NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, 'Biodiversity Assessment Method Assessor Update 28' (December 2019) NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, 'Guidance to assist a Decision-maker to determine a Serious and Irreversible Impact' (2019) NSW Department of Primary Industries, "Key Fish Habitat Maps" NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, "Saving our species hygiene guidelines – protocols to protect priority biodiversity areas in NSW from Phytophthora cinnamoni, myrtle rust, amphibian chytrid fungi and invasive plants '(April 2020) NSW Rural Fire Service, Planning for Bush Fire Protection (2006) NSW Rural Fire Service, Planning for Bush Fire Protection (2019) Paul Adam, "Ecological communities – the context for biodiversity conservation or a source of confusion?" (2009) 13 Australasian Journal of Natural Resources Law and Policy 7 Paul Adam, New South Wales Rainforests: The Nomination for the World Heritage List (1987, National Parks and Wildlife Service of New South Wales, Sydney) Shannon Baunach-Greenfields (ed) 2017 The Big Scrub rainforest: A journey through time. Rous County Council and Big Scrub Landcare, Lismore Category: Principal judgment Parties: Jason White (First Applicant) Joanne White (Second Applicant) Ballina Shire Council (First Respondent) Martin Kenny (Second Respondent) Representation: Counsel: M Astill (Applicants) M Harker (Solicitor) (First Respondent) T To (Second Respondent)