Recently, the NSW Government released an Options Paper on Short-term Holiday Letting (STHL) in NSW. The STHL industry in NSW has expanded significantly in recent years and in response to this, in 2016, the NSW Government conducted a public inquiry on the Adequacy of…
A significant decision for the interpretation of the Heritage Act 1977 (‘Act‘) was recently made by the Land and Environment Court (‘Court‘) in Millers Point Community Assoc. Incorporated v Property NSW [2017] NSWLEC 92. The Court considered the decision of the Minister for Heritage…
This blog follows our previous post on the key changes to the current system for land management and biodiversity conservation in NSW. In this post we focus on the new processes for the clearing of native vegetation due to commence operation on…
Analysis: Raising the Cap – Local Infrastructure Contributions for Dwellings and Residential Lots
In our recent ALERT, we notified of the new Environmental Planning and Assessment (Local Infrastructure Contributions) Amendment Direction 2017 (2017 Amendment) The 2017 Amendment amends the contributions cap for new dwellings and residential lots imposed under the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Local Infrastructure Contributions) Direction 2012…
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that in order for a development to comprise ‘retail premises‘ the development does not need to involve sales direct to the public.
ALERT: Consent authority functions for development of councillors of local councils abolished
The Environmental Planning and Assessment and Electoral Legislation Amendment (Planning Panels and Enforcement) Bill 2017 was passed by both Houses on 10 August 2017 (‘Bill‘). Notably, the Bill will abolish the role of councillors of councils in the Greater Sydney region…
The increased instance of ‘new generation boarding houses’ (long-term, low cost rental accommodation) under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) 2009 (‘SEPP ARH‘) raises an interesting question as to what constitutes BASIX affected development. This question goes to the…
Assessment of State Significant Projects
The NSW Department of Planning and Environment (‘Department‘) is reviewing the Environmental Impact Assessment (‘EIA‘) process for State significant projects. The Department has released nine draft guidelines for comment. The guidelines are designed to improve the EIA process for proponents, communities…
Shining a red light on brothels
In the recent case of Yao v Liverpool City Council [2017] NSWLEC 1167 (‘Yao’) the Land and Environment Court revised the planning principle relating to the location of brothels that was established in Martyn v Hornsby Shire Council [2004] NSWLEC 614 (‘Martyn’) in order…
The Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (‘BC Act‘) and the Local Land Services Amendment Act 2016 (‘LLSA Act’) will commence on 25 August 2017. The commencement of these two Acts will result in a new system for land management and conservation in NSW. This is the…
It has been widely assumed that the minimum lot size development standard in clause 4.1 of the Standard Instrument – Principle Local Environmental Plan (‘Standard LEP‘) does not apply to strata subdivision. However the Land and Environment Court has held that this is…
A recent decision of the Land and Environment Court (‘Court‘) has reinforced the approach the Court will take when characterising development. Once the Court is satisfied that development does not fall into a use expressly noted as permissible in a land…