Apartment sizes increased

Land and Environment Court Justice Sheehan made a ruling in a dispute between Botany City Council and developer Botany Developments Pty Ltd over the size of 158 units in a three to six storey complex. Justice Sheehan said the widely used standard of the “rules of thumb” included in the Residential Flat Design Code was not the guideline that should be followed for minimum sizing, as set out in State Environmental Planning Policy 65, and an adjoining table in the code which lists dramatically larger sizes is the correct guideline. The table advises at least 58 square metres for a one bedroom apartment, and 91 square metres for a two bedroom apartment. Botany City Council's own development control plan lists 75 square metres as the minimum size for one bedroom dwellings.

It is noted that the Module DA allows single bedroom units of 50sqm, and two bedroom units of 61sqm.