Scott v The Hills Shire Council [2016] NSWLEC 1358

Scott v The Hills Shire Council [2016] NSWLEC 1358

The Court found that the local occurrence of Shale Sandstone Transition Forest was the indicatively mapped area on the site, that the proposed building envelope and asset protection zone for lot 111 would adversely affect and substantially modify that community and its buffer vegetation, and that clearing native vegetation was a key threatening process. Having considered s5A(2) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1997, the Court concluded that the development may have a significant impact on the indicatively mapped Shale Sandstone Transition Forest. Because the development application should have been accompanied by a species impact statement under s78A(8), the appeal was...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
26 August 2016
Procedural Posture
Class 1 Appeal From Refusal of a Development Application for Subdivision of Land / Merits Review Hearing After Conciliation Conference Was Terminated
Outcome
Appeal dismissed; development application refused.
Legal Topics
['development Application for Subdivision' 'species Impact Statement' 'significant Impact Assessment' 'shale Sandstone Transition Forest' 'precautionary Principle' 'local Occurrence of Ecological Community']
['planning and Environment Law' 'land Use and Development' 'threatened Species and Ecological Communities'] ['development Application for Subdivision' 'species Impact Statement' 'significant Impact Assessment' 'shale Sandstone Transition Forest' 'precautionary Principle' 'local Occurrence of Ecological Community']

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Procedural Posture

Class 1 Appeal From Refusal of a Development Application for Subdivision of Land / Merits Review Hearing After Conciliation Conference Was Terminated

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the proposed subdivision was inconsistent with The Hills Local Environmental Plan 2012, including the RU6 Transition Zone objectives and cl 7.4 concerning terrestrial biodiversity.' 'Whether the development was likely to have significant impacts on threatened species or endangered ecological communities, including whether a species impact statement was required.' 'Whether the proposed building platforms minimised impacts on sensitive environmental areas and complied with The Hills Shire Development Control Plan 2012 provisions for rural residential development.' 'Whether sufficient information had been provided to assess wastewater disposal systems for each proposed lot.' 'Whether approval would create an undesirable precedent for similar developments in the area.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Court found that the local occurrence of Shale Sandstone Transition Forest was the indicatively mapped area on the site, that the proposed building envelope and asset protection zone for lot 111 would adversely affect and substantially modify that community and its buffer vegetation, and that clearing native vegetation was a key threatening process. Having considered s5A(2) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1997, the Court concluded that the development may have a significant impact on the indicatively mapped Shale Sandstone Transition Forest. Because the development application should have been accompanied by a species impact statement under s78A(8), the appeal was...

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed; development application refused.

Orders

  • ['The appeal is dismissed.' 'The development application (DA 561/2016/ZB) for the subdivision of land on Lot 10 DP 1191830, located at 186 and 186A Cattai Ridge Rd, Maraylya, is refused.' 'The exhibits are returned, except exhibits A, C and 1.']