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Item 7.1 - Attachment 1 |
Previous Report to
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DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION
ITEM NUMBER 12.4
SUBJECT 2 Darcy Road Westmead
(Lot 1 DP 1095407) (Arthur Phillip Ward)
DESCRIPTION Section 96(1A) application to modify
Development Consent No. 853/2008. The modification includes amendment to
condition 30 which requires a financial contribution under Section 94A of
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act.
REFERENCE DA/853/2008/A - Submitted
10 September 2009
APPLICANT/S Catholic Education Office
OWNERS Trustees of Roman
Catholic Church Diocese of Parramatta
REPORT OF Manager Development Services
PREVIOUS ITEMS
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REASON FOR REFERRAL TO COUNCIL It is proposed to modify the contributions payable under Council’s
Section 94A Development Contributions Plan. EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY Council on 14 April 2009 granted development consent to the refurbishment as well as alterations and additions to 2 existing high
schools (Catherine McAuley and Parramatta Marist) and the construction of a
new primary school for 420 students and construction of a 50 place out of
school hours centre subject to conditions. Condition No. 30 of the Development Consent requires the payment of
section 94A contributions as required under Parramatta City Council Section
94A Contributions Plan 2007 (Section 94A Contributions Plan). This section 96
application seeks to modify condition No. 30 requesting that section 94A
contributions only be payable in relation to the new primary school rather than
the alterations and additions to the existing schools and the alterations to
the internal traffic network. The modification of the condition would result
in the applicant having to pay approximately $36,000 in section 94A
contributions rather than $410,000. The Section 94A Contributions Plan commenced operation on 9 April 2008 and
repealed the Parramatta Comprehensive Section 94 Contributions Plan. The
principal difference between the two plans is that the new Plan levies
contributions as a proportion of the total cost of development and the
previous Plan levied fixed contributions as a result of the increased number
of dwellings and/or additional floor space area. The section 96 application has been submitted on the basis of the
applicant’s opinion that the levy should only be required with respect to the
new primary school and not the alterations and additions to the existing schools
or the alterations to the internal traffic network. Amongst other things,
this opinion is based on the fact that the new primary school is the only
part of the development likely to generate an increased demand for services
and/or infrastructure within the Parramatta Local Government Area. The methodology proffered by the applicant is one that could be
applied to any development subject to section 94A contributions. For example
it would be equally applicable to any application that seeks the demolition
of existing dwellings and replacement with multi-unit housing developments or
residential flat buildings. If the applicant’s methodology were adopted,
calculating contributions would become complex, particularly due to section
94A levies being based on a percentage of the cost of works, rather than
being a fixed levy based on the amount of additional floor area or dwellings.
Applying the applicant’s methodology would also result in a significant
reduction in the amount of section 94A contributions collected by Parramatta
City Council. The underlying intent of Council’s Section 94A plan and Section 94A of
the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act is to reduce complexity and
uncertainty in the collection and application of development contributions.
Approval of the current application to modify condition 30 would be contrary
to the intent of the Section 94A contributions plan and would set a precedent
that would adversely affect the integrity of the plan and introduce
uncertainly into the development assessment process in the Parramatta Local
Government Area. Therefore it is recommended that the applicant’s request to
modify condition No. 30 be denied and the Section 96(1a) application be
refused. |
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RECOMMENDATION That the
application to modify condition No. 30 of Development Consent No. 853/2008 be
refused for the following reasons: 1. The proposed modification
to condition No. 30 is contrary to the requirements of Council’s section 94A
contributions plan as the development does not fall under a category of
development that is exempt from the section 94A levy. 2. The proposed
modification would set an undesirable precedent for all future development
within the Parramatta Local Government Area that is subject to section 94A
levies. 3. The proposed
modification would undermine the integrity of Council’s section 94A
contributions plan. 4. The proposed
modification is not in the public interest. |
Jonathan Goodwill
Senior Development
Assessment Officer
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Section 79c assessment report |
9 Pages |
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