Geotone Pty Limited v North Sydney Council

Land and Environment Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Geotone Pty Limited v North Sydney Council [2015] NSWLEC 1138 Hearing dates:16-17 April 2015Decision date: 12 May 2015 Jurisdiction:Class 1Before: Morris C Decision: Appeal dismissed Catchwords: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION: residential flat building; non-compliance with development standard for building height; impact on views and solar access Legislation Cited: North Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2013; State Environmental Planning Policy No 65 – Design Quality of Residential Flat Development; Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979; Cases Cited: Wehbe v Pittwater Council [2007] NSWLEC 827 Texts Cited: North Sydney Development Control Plan 2013; Residential Flat Design Code Category:Principal judgmentParties: Geotone Pty Limited (Applicant) North Sydney Council (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: Ms S Duggan SC (Applicant) Mr S Nash (Respondent) Solicitors: Mr M Sonter, Gadens (Applicant) Ms C Morton, Sparke Helmore Lawyers File Number(s):10725 of 2014Judgment Geotone Pty Ltd lodged Development Application DA/192/14 with North Sydney Council on 16 June 2014 seeking consent to demolish two existing dwellings and construct a residential flat building at No 3 Raymond Road and No 3 Anderson Street, Neutral Bay. The council had not determined the application within the prescribed period and Geotone is appealing its deemed refusal. The issues in the case relate to building height, solar access/overshadowing, view loss, visual impact and landscape area. The site and locality The site comprises two adjoining allotments, the lower one in terms of topography having a frontage of 28.09m to Raymond Road and the higher lot, a frontage of 7.745m to Anderson...