Ignazzi v City of Ryde Council [2014] NSWLEC 1115

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Ignazzi v City of Ryde Council [2014] NSWLEC 1115 Hearing dates: 3, 4 June 2014 Decision date: 05 June 2014 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Hussey C Decision: (1) The appeal is dismissed. (2) Development consent to DA LDA2013/0277 for alterations and additions to the dwelling, new boundary fence, retaining walls and filling of land at 314 Morrison Road Putney is refused. (3) The exhibits may be returned except 1, 3, 6, A, B and D. Catchwords: Development application: Basement alterations, FSR exceedence, extent of rear yard retaining walls and filling. Cases Cited: Salanitro-Chafei v Ashfield Council [2005] NSWLEC 366 Schaffer Corporation v Hawkesbury City Council (1992) 77 LGRA 21 Super Studio v Waverley Council [2004] NSWLEC 91 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Mr Vito Ignazzi (Applicant)

City of Ryde Council (Respondent) Representation: Mr Vito Ignazzi (Applicant in person)

Mr Gough (Respondent) File Number(s): 10170 of 2014

Judgment

Introduction 1This appeal was lodged against Council's refusal of a development application for alterations to an existing basement area and external landscaping works at the recently completed dwelling located at 314 Morrison Road, Putney. 2The proposed works include: * Alterations and additions to the existing dwelling including the excavation of a subfloor area to facilitate a rumpus room, a bathroom, two bedrooms and two ensuites; * Demolition of existing timber retaining walls in the rear yard; * Filling of the rear yard and construction of retaining walls on the side and rear boundary to provide for a level yard area; * Construction of new boundary fences having a height of 1.8 m upon the proposed retaining wall, resulting in a variable height up to 4 m above NGL. 3The applicant requires these works in order to: * Provide additional accommodation for his growing family * Provide a larger, safer outdoor area to be accessed from the dwelling * Allow the dwelling, which was approved in 2008 to be converted into a highly energy efficient house * Clear existing weed type plants along the rear boundary and replace it with the relatively high retaining wall/fence structure to provide privacy to the neighbouring property, in accordance with a neighbour's agreement. 4The appeal commenced by way of a s 34AA appeal, which involved an initial site inspection, some discussion with neighbours and consideration of design options. However there was no agreement and the s 34 conference was terminated and the matter proceeded to a merit hearing.