Litsas v The Hills Shire Council [2023] NSWLEC 1351

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Litsas v The Hills Shire Council [2023] NSWLEC 1351 Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 26 June 2023 Date of orders: 06 July 2023 Decision date: 06 July 2023 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Gray C Decision: The Court orders that: (1) The appeal is upheld. (2) Development Application as amended for the demolition of existing structures, removal of trees, and construction of a five (5) storey boarding house containing 25 boarding rooms plus one (1) manager's room, with communal room and communal open space, over two (2) basement levels, with associated landscaping at 17 Sherwin Avenue Castle Hill is granted subject to the conditions in Annexure B. (3) The applicant is to pay the respondent's costs thrown away as a result of the amendment pursuant to section 8.15(3) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 as agreed or assessed. Catchwords: APPEAL – development application – boarding house – breach of height development standard – conciliation conference – agreement reached – orders made Legislation Cited: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, ss 4.15, 4.16, 8.7, 8.15 Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000, cl 55, Sch 1 Land and Environment Court Act 1979, s 34 State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) 2009, cll 29, 30, 30A State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021, s 7A State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021, cl 4.6 The Hills Local Environmental Plan 2019, cll 1.8A, 4.3, 4.6, 7.2 Cases Cited: Sung v City of Canada Bay Council [2023] NSWLEC 1087 Category: Principal judgment Parties: James Litsas (Applicant) The Hills Shire Council (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: S Simington (Solicitor) (Applicant) P Hudson (Solicitor) (Respondent)