The brief
A Supreme Court matter turning on the subdivision potential of a rural parcel at a fixed historical date. The planning position was complex: a Rural Conservation Zone, a Design and Development Overlay Schedule 1 imposing a minimum 0.75 ha lot size and a 1 ha average, an Environmental Significance Overlay Schedule 3, and a live EPBC Act 1999 trigger arising from Golden Sun Moth habitat on the land. The Court required a fair and independent planner's view on what subdivision outcome would have been achievable under those provisions at the time.
How we handled it
Frank Perry was engaged as an independent expert witness under the Supreme Court of Victoria Expert Witness Code of Conduct. The report reviewed all Moorabool Planning Scheme provisions in force at the relevant time, the correspondence between the permit applicant and the responsible authority, and the Commonwealth referral position under the EPBC Act. The evidence addressed specific questions on alternative subdivision scenarios — 1 ha lots, 7,500 sq.m lots, and 80-100 lot configurations — against the binding zone and overlay controls.
The result
Frank prepared and signed an Expert Witness Statement in March 2020, concluding on the constraining effect of the Rural Conservation Zone and Design and Development Overlay Schedule 1 on any achievable subdivision of the land. The evidence was prepared in full compliance with the Supreme Court of Victoria Expert Witness Code of Conduct.