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Are all Drainage Reserves Classified as Operational Land?
Drainage reserves vested in local councils are public land as defined in the Local Government Act 1993 (‘LG Act‘). All public land must be classified as either community or operational under the LG Act. The Registrar-General’s Guidelines under section 12D of the…
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Agreements to progress re-zoning and development of land – when might they be an unlawful fetter on statutory powers?
The Supreme Court recently considered a case involving a Deed of Agreement (Agreement) that was entered into between a council and landowner involving the re-zoning and subdivision of land, and subsequent transfer of part of the land that had high…
Proposed reforms to development contributions in NSW
The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has announced a suite of proposed reforms to the development contributions system in NSW. The DPIE states that the purpose of the reforms are to ‘…fix the uncertainty of developer contributions to…
Does a VPA need to be publicly notified together with a DA?
Is it mandatory for a voluntary planning agreement (VPA) under s7.4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act) to be publicly notified contemporaneously with the development application, or the planning proposal to which it relates? This question…
NSW Land Registry Services arrangements during COVID-19 disruptions
The NSW Land Registry Services (NSW LRS) has published information on changes to its operations to address disruptions arising from COVID-19. This information is being updated regularly and anyone who proposes to lodge dealings, plans or other instruments should check…
LEC not empowered on appeal to grant s138 Roads Act consent without RMS concurrence
A Commissioner of the Land and Environment Court has confirmed that if a local council, as roads authority, is prevented from granting a consent under s138(1) of the Roads Act 1993 (Roads Act) because of a refusal by the RMS…
New Ministerial Direction Applying to Affordable Housing VPAs
The Minister for Planning has given a new direction to local councils which impacts on the negotiation of planning agreements (‘VPA‘) which include the provision of affordable housing (‘VPAs for Affordable Housing’). Under s7.32 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment…
Expansion of types of leases and licences that Council managers can grant over pre-POM Crown land
Local councils who are Crown land managers can now grant more types of leases and licences over Crown land that they manage pending the adoption of a plan of management (‘POM’) for that land under the Local Government Act 1993…
Changes to the Roads Act by the new Crown Lands Legislation
When the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (CLM Act) commenced in full on 1 July 2018, provisions relating to Crown roads and public roads in the Roads Act 1993 (Roads Act) were amended. Significantly, the Roads Act now distinguishes between ‘council public roads‘,…
Transitional Arrangements for Councils as Reserve Trust Managers
The provisions of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (‘CLM Act’) which are not yet in force will commence operation on 1 July 2018 and the existing Crown Lands Act 1989 (‘Former Act’) will be repealed on that day. The CLM…
EPA Act Amendments – VPA preconditions no longer a restriction on issuing of occupation certificates
A small but significant change to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (‘EPA Act‘) will take effect on 1 September 2018 removing a restriction on the issuing of occupation certificates where a precondition to the issuing of the certificate contained in…
Court refuses proposal to dedicate land in lieu of s94 monetary contributions
In the recent case of McCloy Teralba v Lake Macquarie City Council [2017] NSWLEC 1752 the Land and Environment Court refused to allow a development consent to be modified under s96 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (‘EPA Act‘) by replacing…