Byron Council has taken a stand against developers who seek to incrementally breach the Shire’s development rules by repeatedly modifying their plans.
The stance was taken at last week’s Council planning meeting when five of the seven councillors present voted to refuse a modification application for 43 Lawson Street, Byron Bay.
The proposed three-storey holiday unit development is located right next to the park beside Byron’s iconic Main Beach.
The latest in a string of modification applications pushes the limits in terms of height plane and overall building envelope, the new application was seeking to add a sizeable roof-top pool area to their three-storey unit development.
Council staff recommended that the latest modification be approved.
But Labor councillor Asren Pugh successfully moved that the application be refused for non-compliance with the town’s height rules, and because it would have adverse social and environmental impacts.
‘This is Main Beach Byron and it needs to be protected,’ Cr Pugh said.
‘Hopefully this sends a message to developers who are looking to develop in sensitive spots.
‘Just bring us a whole proposal. [We’re seeing] this nonsense of coming back and coming back and saying “oh the rest is approved so you don’t need to consider that, it’s only an extra ten per cent, so don’t stress,” when you’ve already breached the height plane,’ he said. ‘Stop pushing the boundaries.’
The proposed unit block originally came before Council in 2015, but was refused because it breached the town’s 9m height limit.
The developer brought it back six months later with a revised development application that was approved by Council.
However, eight years on and without a brick having been laid, the developer brought the project back to Council once more with an eyebrow raising addition of a roof-top pool and shed that effectively added a fourth storey. The modified application, which proposed a three-metre height breach, was given short shrift by councillors.
Last week, the developer came back again with yet another modified application.
Minor changes not enough
The pool remained, but all roof-top enclosures had been removed.
‘My client has worked collaboratively to meet council concerns in relation to the review,’ Melissa Griffin, from urban planning company Urbis said of her client’s application.
‘The overall building height is now the same size as the neighbouring buildings.’
But a majority of councillors disagreed, finding that the proposal pushed the envelope too far.
‘This building is taking up as much of the block as absolutely possible, is as close to the park as possible, and it is already breaching the building height plane,’ Cr Pugh said.
‘I think that’s enough – you can’t keep coming back and building a bit more, a bit more, a bit more.’
Not everyone on Council agreed. Independent councillors Alan Hunter and Peter Westheimer argued that what was proposed was reasonable given the design of the unit block, and the site in question.
However, they were outvoted, with Councillors Pugh, Duncan Dey (Greens), Sama Balson (Independent), Cate Coorey (Independent) and Mayor Michael Lyon (Independent) voting for a refusal of the application.
The owner will now need to further modify their application if they wish to proceed with the development.
