Song v City of Sydney Council [2014] NSWLEC 1162

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Song v City of Sydney Council [2014] NSWLEC 1162 Hearing dates: 20 March 2014 Decision date: 21 March 2014 Jurisdiction: Class 1 Before: Dixon C Decision: Orders at [30] Catchwords: APPEAL- modification of a development application - existing brothel - increase in the number of work rooms- increase in the number of sex works - amenity impacts Legislation Cited: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 Sydney Development Control Plan 2012 Sydney Local and Environment Plan 2012 Cases Cited: Martin v Hornsby Shire Council (2004) NSWLEC 614 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Mr Tom Song (Applicant)

City of Sydney Council (Respondent) Representation: M Staunton (Applicant) F Berglund (Respondent) Sattler & Associates Pty Ltd

City of Sydney Council File Number(s): 10983 of 2013

EXTEMPORE Judgment

Introduction 1The applicant has development consent D/2008/1225 from the Sydney City Council to use two adjoining terraces at 10-12 Bellevue Street, Surry Hills for the purposes of a brothel (the consent). The consent, which was granted on 23 July 2008, is subject to conditions that limit the number of sex workers at any one time and the number of working rooms and the hours of operation of the premises. 2The Council has modified the consent three times and the modifications are referred to in the evidence as Amendments A, B and C. These proceedings relate to the s96 (2) modification D/2008/1225/C (Amendment C) granted by the Council on 12 November 2013. 3The modification application filed by the applicant D/2008/1225/C was granted in part. The Council did not consent to works to rearrange the rooms within the premises to increase the number of working room (i.e. change an existing staff room into a working room) or to increase the number of sex workers employed at any one time on the premises. In short, it refused the modifications sought by the applicant to conditions 2 and 20. 4Under condition 2(a) the maximum number of working rooms permitted is restricted to four. (The condition also contained a trial period that allowed the premises to operate a total of six working rooms for 12 months from 10 August 2009 until 10 August 2010). 5Under condition 20, the maximum number of sex workers allowed to be employed in the premises at any one time was restricted to four. (This condition also contained a trial period that increased the maximum number of sex workers employed in the premises at any one time to six for 12 months from 10 August 2009 to 10 August 2010). 6Despite the Council's refusal to grant all of the modifications originally sought by the applicant, after a view of the site at the commencement of the hearing it changed its position. The Council informed the Court that it agreed to further modify condition 2(a) to allow a permanent increase in the number of workrooms from six to seven and, to the conversion of the existing staff room into a workroom. It also agreed to increase the number of sex workers from six to seven on the premises at any one time - condition 20.