Chaucer Enterprises Pty Ltd v Moreland City Council

COURT OR TRIBUNAL

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)

31/08/2015

LITIGATION TYPE

Project Approval - Mitigation

SUBJECT MATTER

Urban Planning

REVIEW TYPE

Merits review

SUMMARY

The Moreland City Council planning scheme laid out standard requirements for on-site parking, which could be reduced or waived by the Council. Nightingale, a 'green development' proposed for Brunswick, received a waiver. The developers wanted 'car-free' occupants: they intended to vet applicants on this basis, and would require occupants to pay a 'transport levy', redeemable for public transport or bike repairs. Significant on site bike accommodation was provided. The site had ample access to public transport, and car sharing programs. The Council's decision was challenged by the applicant, whose development, the Chaucer, neighboured the Nightingale. The Chaucer had complied with the standard on-site parking requirements. The applicant argued that the Council's decision was inequitable, and would increase pressure on street parking. The Tribunal agreed. While it commended the Nightingale's 'green attributes' and ethos, it found that even a development occupied by people 'sympathetic to the green 'ethos' would generate some parking demand. Such had been the case in a neighbouring 'green' development undertaken by the same developer. The Tribunal emphasized the enduring 'convenience of private car ownership', even in the face of sustainable transport alternatives. Further, the Tribunal doubted that the developer's vetting and levy schemes could ensure in the long run that occupants were not private car owners. The developers had no way of controlling leasing, 'gazumping' and ordinary on-selling. In any event, the Tribunal found that the development's 'sustainable development' aspirations could not overcome the planning scheme's requirement of parking adequate to demand. While a substantial reduction in the standard requirements may have been warranted, a total waiver was not. The council's decision was overturned.

CASE DOCUMENTS

Chaucer Enterprises Pty Ltd v Moreland City Council [2015] VCAT 1615