Addendum Agenda of Ordinary Meeting

Ordinary Meeting 30 April 2014

Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel Report

IHAP 07

Construction of a nine storey mixed-use development comprising forty-six residential units and three retail tenancies; and basement car parking at 74-76 Castlereagh Street, Liverpool

Strategic Direction	Vibrant Prosperous City Activate the city centre and develop vibrant places that attract people to Liverpool
Key Policy	City Centre Strategy
File Ref	090040.2014
Report By	Venetin Aghostin - Team Leader Statutory Planning
Approved By	Carole Todd - Acting Group Manager Planning and Growth

Property	74-76 Castlereagh Street Liverpool (Lots 1 and 2 DP 18252)
Owner	Mr S and Mrs S Subotic
Applicant	Mr Ron Dunkley

Executive Summary

Council is in receipt of a development application seeking approval for the construction of a nine storey mixed-use development comprising forty-six residential units and three retail tenancies; and basement car parking at 74-76 Castlereagh Street, Liverpool.

Pursuant to the Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel (IHAP) Charter and Procedure, the application was referred to IHAP. The Panel recommended the application be deferred pending an assessment of the health and landscape value of all trees on the site that are proposed for removal. IHAP also recommended that if the health and landscape value of any of the trees was assessed as being worthy of retention, a design modification should be made to retain one or more trees.

The applicant subsequently submitted an Arborist Report which has assessed the trees and the impact of the proposed development on the trees to be retained. The report concludes that the trees are of Low to Medium significance, due to various reasons, and are not suitable for retention on the site (refer to attachment 3 for Arborist Report).

The conclusions of the report are acceptable and it is considered unreasonable to request a redesign of the development in order to retain the trees, given the low to medium significance rating. The Arborist Report has been reviewed by Council’s Landscape Officer who has accepted the conclusions of the report and supports the removal of the trees.

Given that Council officers accept the conclusions of the report, it is not considered necessary that the application be referred to IHAP again. Therefore, the Development Application is being reported to the full Council for consideration and determination.

It is recommended that the application be approved.

It is noted that minor changes have been made to the Draft Conditions of Consent previously reported to IHAP, but only to update the conditions that are relevant to the trees. These changes are detailed in the Council Officer’s recommendation below.

RECOMMENDATION

That Council:

1. Approve Development Application No. DA-1087/2013 subject to the recommended conditions attached to the Council officer’s IHAP Report and modified as follows:

· Draft Condition 1(b) to be amended to include the Arborist Report as a document forming the Development Consent and requiring to be complied with.

· Draft Condition 2(b) to be deleted as it currently stipulates: The large English Oak tree located near the south-east corner of the site and which is outside the construction zone shall be retained and incorporated into the amended Landscape Plan.

· Draft Condition 64 to be amended as follows: All existing trees~~, including the English Oak located near the south-east corner of the site~~ which are not approved for removal shall be protected from damage during site works. This protection shall consist of 1800mm high protective fencing, securely installed beneath the outer canopy of any tree to be retained. Trees may be fenced off in clusters where it is not practical to fence off individual trees. There shall be no storing materials, washing machinery or changes to existing soil levels within the fenced areas.

2. Notify the persons who made a submission with regard to the proposed development of its decision.

REPORT

Background

Council is in receipt of a development application proposing the construction of a nine storey mixed-use development comprising forty-six residential units and three retail tenancies; and basement car parking at 74-76 Castlereagh Street, Liverpool.

The proposal was referred to the Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel (IHAP) for consideration, and is now referred to Council for consideration and determination, as the proposed development includes a request to vary a development standard relating to the ground floor uses that is in excess of 10%, pursuant to Clause 4.6 of the Liverpool Local Environmental Plan (LLEP), 2008.

At the meeting on 31 March 2014, the IHAP made the following recommendations:

1. The Panel recommends that development application 1087/2013 for construction of a nine storey mixed use development comprising 46 residential units and three retail tenancies and basement car parking at 74-76 Castlereagh Street, Liverpool be deferred pending an assessment of the health and landscape value of all trees on the site by a level 5 qualified arborist.

2. The Panel recommends that if the health and landscape value of any of these trees is assessed as being worthy of retention, the Panel recommends that a design modification be made to retain one or more trees.

The proposal

The development application seeks consent for the construction of a mixed use development having the following key components:

· Nine storey mixed-use building containing total of 46 residential apartments.

· Three ground floor commercial units with a total retail area of approximately 169.7m².

· Car parking for a total of 57 spaces consisting of: 48 residential car spaces, five visitor spaces (including two disabled spaces), two commercial spaces, one wash bay and one space for service vehicles.

· The height of the building is 29.2 metres.

· The Floor Space Ratio (FSR) is 2.8:1 (based on GFA 3,797.7m² and site area 1,356m²).

· Tree removal.

The site

The site is identified as Lots 1 and 2 in DP 18252 and is known as 74-76 Castlereagh Street, Liverpool. The site has a total area of 1,356m².

Figure 1: Aerial Photograph

The issues

The main issue identified by planning officers relates to the proposed variation to Clause 7.16 (Ground Floor Development in Zones B1, B2 and B4) of the LLEP which prescribes that the ground floor of the building must not be used for residential accommodation.

Although the part of the site fronting the street will provide commercial/retail tenancies, the rear portion of the site contains residential units on the ground floor and therefore does not comply with this development standard. It is difficult to quantify the variation as a percentage; however as the floor area of the residential units exceeds 10%, the application was referred to IHAP for consideration and to Council for determination.

The variation is considered to be acceptable, as outlined in the planning report to IHAP, attached under separate cover. It is noted that IHAP did not raise any issues of concern relating to the variation to Clause 7.16.

The main issue of concern identified by the IHAP related to the proposed tree removal. The Panel noted;

“that the site contains at least two significant trees, a Cook Island Pine in the south western corner of the site and a large English Oak tree approximately twelve metres from the rear boundary and two metres from the side boundary. The suitability of the design having regard to these constraints cannot be properly assessed until the health and landscape value of all trees has been assessed by a level 5 qualified arborist. If the health and landscape value of these trees is assessed as being worthy of retention, a design modification should be undertaken to retain one or both trees”.

In response, the applicant submitted an Arborist Report which has assessed the trees and the impact of the proposed development on the trees to be retained. It concludes that the trees are of low to medium significance, due to various reasons, and are not suitable for retention on the site.

The conclusions of the report are acceptable and it is considered unreasonable to request a redesign of the entire development in order to retain the trees, given the low to medium significance rating. The report has been reviewed by Council’s Landscape Officer who has accepted the conclusions of the report and supports the removal of the trees.

Council officers accept the conclusions of the report, therefore the application does not need to be referred back to IHAP and is being reported to Council for determination. It is recommended that the application be approved.

Exhibition of the proposal

In accordance with the Liverpool Development Control Plan (LDCP), 2008 the application was publicly notified and advertised to surrounding properties for a period of 14 days. One submission objecting to the proposal was received from an adjoining property owner. The submission raised concerns about impacts of the development on the locality, which have been addressed in the planning report to IHAP, attached under separate cover. The issues raised are considered to be such that would not warrant refusal of the application.

Conclusion

Pursuant to the assessment of the application in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (EP&A) Act, 1979, it is considered that the proposed development including the variation to Clause 7.16 of the LLEP and the tree removal is acceptable. Accordingly, the application is recommended for approval.

CONSIDERATIONS

Economic and Financial	Enhance the environmental performance of buildings and homes.
Environmental and Sustainability	Enhance the environmental performance of buildings and homes.
Social and Cultural	There are no social and cultural considerations.
Civic Leadership and Governance	There are no civic leadership and governance considerations.

ATTACHMENTS

1.View	IHAP Report
2.View	IHAP Recommendation
3.View	Arborist Report
4.View	Revised Conditions of Consent

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IHAP 07	Construction of a nine storey mixed-use development comprising forty-six residential units and three retail tenancies; and basement car parking at 74-76 Castlereagh Street, Liverpool
Attachment 1	IHAP Report

89
IHAP 07	Construction of a nine storey mixed-use development comprising forty-six residential units and three retail tenancies; and basement car parking at 74-76 Castlereagh Street, Liverpool
Attachment 3	Arborist Report

3
IHAP 07	Construction of a nine storey mixed-use development comprising forty-six residential units and three retail tenancies; and basement car parking at 74-76 Castlereagh Street, Liverpool
Attachment 2	IHAP Recommendation

157
IHAP 07	Construction of a nine storey mixed-use development comprising forty-six residential units and three retail tenancies; and basement car parking at 74-76 Castlereagh Street, Liverpool
Attachment 4	Revised Conditions of Consent