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Development Application Files I [City of Sydney]

Description

Unique IDAS-0062Start dateBetween 1st January 1954 and 31st December 1978Start date qualifiercircaFormatRegistered FileShort descriptionThis series of files contains papers relating to the granting or refusal of development applications, 1954-1978.DescriptionThis series of files contains papers relating to the granting or refusal of development applications, 1954-1978.

Legislation controlling development applications
Development applications were submitted to Council in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government (Town and County Planning) Amendment Act 1945. This Act required that any person or organisation wanting to develop a site or property, had to submit an application to Council for approval.

The definition of development given in the Act is open to interpretation. It defines development as ‘the erection of any building, the subdivision of the land and the carrying out of any work thereon for a purpose which is different from the purpose for which the land or building or work was last being used’.

It has generally been interpreted in practice that a development application is required whenever the owners are proposing to change the use of the land, building, or work from what it previously was, subdivide the land or erect a building. An application would not be required if the usage remained the same but minor alterations, such as changes in office partitions, were carried out.

Prior to 1945, Councils had limited control over development. The Act was an attempt to rationalise and coordinate development in the County of Cumberland, of which the City of Sydney was the Number 1 electorate. The Act set up a body called the Cumberland County Council and required it to prepare a planning scheme for the County.

The Cumberland County Council Planning Scheme
This Scheme was incorporated into the Local Government (Amendment) Act 1951, assented to on 27 June 1951. It divided the County up into 14 zones and prescribed the purposes for which buildings would, and would not, be allowed in each zone.

Most of the Sydney City Council's area was zoned Business and Commercial Centre (County). The only purpose for which buildings were not allowed to be erected or used in this zone was for institutions, offensive or hazardous industries, minor extraction industries, generating works and gas holders.

Development was controlled jointly by the local Council and the Cumberland County Council. The County Council controlled development relating to parks, recreation areas, County roads, railways, special use areas, and land owned by the Crown or Public Utility undertakings. The local councils controlled development relating to living areas, industrial areas, rural areas, and commercial areas. The County Council also required any local plans devised by the councils to conform to its plan.

The State Planning Authority
The State Planning Authority Act 1963 dissolved the Cumberland County Council and replaced it with the State Planning Authority. The Authority consisted of 12 members, including one representative from Sydney City Council, Lord Mayor H F Jensen. The new Act did not affect development applications except that where Council was once obliged to refer a development application to the Cumberland County Council, it was now obliged to refer it to the State Planning Authority.

The City of Sydney Planning Scheme Ordinance

The Cumberland County Council Planning Scheme was meant to provide elementary procedures for control of development, until more detailed schemes for particular local government areas were prepared. There were provisions for the preparation of planning schemes by local councils in the Local Government Act 1919, but councils were not actually required to prepare schemes until the Local Government (Areas) Act, 1948-1951 was passed. This Act required the Sydney City Council, among others, to prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme for the City area.

Council appointed a Planning Committee on 15 December 1947 to prepare the Scheme. The Scheme was adopted by Council on 15 December 1958 and submitted to the Minister for Local Government. It was altered by the Minister on the advice of the State Planning Authority and exhibited on 31 December 1964. Council lodged 73 objections to these alterations and an enquiry was held, with the State Planning Authority's Solicitor, Mr A I Davis, as Commissioner.

The Scheme was re-exhibited on 21 November 1967 and Council again raised objections to it. It was finally gazetted on 16 July 1971. This Scheme amended the sections of the Cumberland County Council Scheme that applied to the City of Sydney.

The basis of Council's objections to the Scheme was that it confirmed the zoning of the Central Business District, East Sydney, most of Surry Hills, and all of Pyrmont, Ultimo and Chippendale as ‘County Centre’, within which virtually any use was permissible. Council wanted restrictions on the areas in which office buildings and industries were allowed, especially in the residential areas such as Surry Hills, Ultimo and Chippendale. It wanted these areas to be zoned as primarily residential.

Council Guidelines Controlling Development
The County of Cumberland Scheme, and then the City of Sydney Planning Scheme, controlled development from 1951. In 1969, after the City Commissioners were replaced by an elected Council, the Council resolved to prepare a plan of its own for the City. This plan, called the ‘City of Sydney Strategic Plan"’, was adopted on 21 August 1971.

The Strategic Plan had no legal status, but Council considered it necessary to develop a plan separate from those controlled by the State Government for several reasons: the controls embodied in the City of Sydney Planning Scheme were very broad and allowed a wide variety of uses in the City of Sydney; there was not enough detail about where expressways and road widenings could be built; and there was no direct statement about the present and future needs of the population, their problems, and activities.

The Strategic Plan defined policies and objectives that should govern planning in the City. It resulted in the preparation of a number of Action Plans, which are detailed local plans for a precinct or aspect of the City, and which include a development control plan and a regulatory code. They were intended to coordinate the planning and operation of public works and services in each precinct.

Council also adopted a Floor Space Ratio Control Code and a Parking Policy Control Code on 6 December 1971. These controlled the density of people in residence in the areas, in the workforce, or in any other activity and also parking in the City.

The Strategic Plan, the Action Plans, and the Control Codes served as guidelines for the control of development in the City in the 1970s. None of these had any legal status.

The NSW Planning and Environment Commission
This Commission assumed the responsibilities of the State Planning Authority from 18 November 1974, under the NSW Planning and Environment Commission Act 1974. A representative from Council, Alderman Andrew Briger, was appointed to the NSW Advisory Coordinating Committee for Planning and Environment, a body set up to advise and assist the Commission. However, in 1977, this Committee was reorganised by the Minister and only State Government Authorities were represented.

The Commission remained the State Government planning authority until it was abolished by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

Development Application Files
The files usually contain the following papers:
- a copy of the development application plan showing the site of the development, location, and uses of existing and new buildings
- copies of the application form recording the name and particulars of the applicant/s and owner/s of the property; description of the premises, the present use, and proposed use; nature of surrounding area and existing uses; details of any environmental impact and details of changes to buildings, installations, parking and machinery
- reports by the building inspectors or building surveyors including details of the site; applicant; zoning of the land; and whether it is covered by a planning scheme, action plan or any Council plan
- minutes to the Town Clerk with recommendations
- copies of Council resolutions (development applications are always submitted to Council for consent, unless they are dealt with under delegated authority during holidays etc)
- correspondence from the applicant, relevant State Government Departments or authorities
- inspection reports.

The file is stamped completed when the development is finalised. The files are housed in buff file covers with a different coloured binding for each year. They are labelled ‘Development Application’ and the address of the premises is handwritten on the front.

The applications are numbered with an annual single number allocated from Development Application Registers (AS-0311). They are indexed through a manual card system called the Planning Street Cards (AS-0533) and by a computerised system known as the DABA (Development Application Building Application) system.

The street cards in AS-0533 are arranged alphabetically by street address and give the file number and a brief description of the application. The DABA system contains information about development and building applications from 1971 onwards. Until 1994, the computerised system and the manual card system operated in tandem. In 1994, staff ceased to update the card system and in 1995 it was retired from active use. Digital images of the street cards are available in the catalogue.

The file covers often give cross-references to related files in other series. These are:
- Building Application Files (AS-0059). These files contain applications to erect or alter buildings. If the work involves any change in the usage of the site, then a development application is required to be submitted first. Because of this, many development application files have related building application files dealing with the same property.
- Town Clerk's Correspondence Files (AS-0034). In certain circumstances (for example, when a development was refused by Council and an appeal was made by the applicant to the Courts), a Town Clerk's file was raised. It appears that in these cases the papers on the original development application file were removed and placed on the Town Clerk's file.
- Development Application Files [South Sydney Municipal Council]. In 1968, the South Sydney suburbs were split off from Sydney City Council to form the new Northcott Municipal Council (later renamed South Sydney Municipal Council). All of the development application files from 1949 onwards relating to the South Sydney area were removed from AS-0062 and transferred to the new Council. The files were not renumbered by the new Council but were maintained in the original order sequence (now with gaps). These transferred files are now part of South Sydney Municipal Council Interim Development Application Files (AS-0093 and AS-0094) 1949-1951.
(When the development application files in AS-0062 were listed, a large number of pre-1968 files were listed as missing. However, it is highly likely that the ‘missing’ files were in fact the ones transferred to South Sydney that make up AS-0093.)
- Development Application Plans (AS-0132). Development application plans are usually small enough to be placed on the file itself. However, those that were too large to place on file were removed and placed in plan boxes in AS-0132.

In 1968, parts of Sydney City Council's area were also split off and amalgamated with Marrickville, Leichhardt and Woollahra Councils. Development application files that were current in 1968 were transferred to the appropriate Council, with the street cards for the properties in their respective areas. However, files that were not current were retained by Sydney City Council. In 2003, the development application files for the Glebe area were transferred back to the City of Sydney, when the Glebe part of Leichhardt Council was amalgamated with the City of Sydney. These files are now in AS-1044, except for two consignments that were received at a later date. These files were accessioned back into AS-0062.

Previous Series - City Building Surveyor's Department Correspondence Files (AS-0138).
Although development applications were submitted to Council from 1951 (when the Cumberland County Council Scheme was gazetted), AS-0062 only dates from 1954. The files for 1951 and to 1953 were created as part of AS-0138, the Department's own correspondence file series. The rest of the files in AS-0138 are duplicates of Town Clerk's Correspondence Files (AS-0034), and most of them have been destroyed. The development applications for 1952 and 1953 were also destroyed because it was not realised at the time that AS-0138 contained development applications. Development Application Forms (AS-0420) 1951-1954, contains a copy of the application form and the Council consent, but these are in chronological order, not in file number order, and are therefore difficult to retrieve.

Files for the period 1979+ can be found in Development Application Files II (AS-1211).

SOURCES.
-Interviews with Council officers David Roden and Carleen Devine.
- Town Clerk's Correspondence Files (AS-0034): TC 1985/47, TC 5267/51, TC 6688/63, TC 1188/69, TC 2989/69, TC 308/72, TC 2258/72, TC 4189/72, TC 3584/74.
- The City of Sydney Strategic Plan, 1971.
-The Planning Scheme for the County of Cumberland, The Report of the Cumberland County Council to the Honourable J J Cahill, MLA, Minister for Local Government, 27 July 1948.
- Cumberland County Council Planning Scheme Maps (AS-0437) 1946-1955
- City of Sydney Planning Scheme Maps (AS-0500), 1952-1971
LanguageEnglish (eng)

Item

File - Lot 1 DP233350, Bank Street Ultimo - Fleet Owners P/L - New Buildings, premix concrete plant

187-195 Castlereagh Street Sydney. Proposed new building for residential, commercial, parking and retail purposes

382A Pitt Street Sydney. Glauco Mainardis. Use premises for manufacturing leather goods.

2-4 Parramatta Rd cnr Arundel St Glebe. Two storey addition to premises for use as University

2/4 Parramatta Rd & Arundel St Glebe. Use of premises as offices & workshops. The University of

77-83 William St East Sydney. Alterations to use premises as a licenced restaurant (basement)

66-86A Goulburn St & 279-285 Castlereagh St Sydney. Alts to ground floor & extend Club Services.

11 Ward Ave, Kings Cross. Use shop No. 6B [Roslyn St] on ground floor for mixed business. [Plans]

81 Parramatta Road Camperdown. Use premises as a warehouse for wholesale lighting. [Scanned]

107-111 Cook Rd, Centennial Park. To erect eight (8) townhouses. Alex Gamkrelidze P/L. [Plans]

51-57 Bayswater Rd. Kings Cross. Alts to premises to use as motel. Pye Investments Corporation Pty

Nos 54-58 Yurong St., East Sydney. Alts to use the premises as residences and office. C. Tziolis.

342/344 Victoria St, Darlinghurst. Alterations to use the ground floor as a mixed business & the

Application to use premises as office, 44-46 Myrtle and 90 Shepherd Streets Chippendale, 1976

167-169 Oxford Street Darlinghurst. Proposed use of ground floor shop for sale of clothing. John &

11-13 Greenknowe Avene, Potts Point. To alter existing handicraft rooms into club accommodation

167-169 Oxford St, Darlinghurst. To use ground floor as a café & take-away food bar. Kentucky Fried

399-401 George Street, Sydney. Use premises as offices. Peddle, Thorp & Walker [Scanned]

20 Sussex Street. John Williams. Alts to portion of existing Hotel.

27/39 Castlereagh St, 31/35 Martin Place. To use as a club and shops. [Scanned]

499 - 501 Kent St. Sydney. Use premises as a printing shop. The Sydney County Council.

42 Regent Street Paddington. David Gray (Arch) Extention of building.

246-252 Victoria Street & 88-94 Darlinghurst Road Kings Cross. Install two illuminated signs.

Series

Development Application Files II [City of Sydney]

Development Application Plans [City of Sydney / South Sydney Municipal Council]

Access

Public access statusRestrictedPublic access noteWhile most files are open to public access, some files in this series relating to drawings of internal layouts of significant buildings are restricted under access direction AD2039.

Identification and Arrangement

Source system ID62System of arrangementAnnual single number

Digitisation

Digitisation statusPartially digitised

Data Quality

Authenticity & integrityThese are original Development Application Files created by the City of Sydney. The record has been held in the Council’s custody and has a high level of authenticity. Users should be aware that this is an historical record and the language used within the record was the language of the time it was captured, and may not reflect current community values or expectations.

Relationships

OrganisationSydney City CouncilRelated seriesDevelopment Application Files II [City of Sydney]Development Application Plans [City of Sydney / South Sydney Municipal Council]

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Development Application Files I [City of Sydney]