Assignment task:
Marshall recently retired from his job as an accountant and decided that he wanted to go into a new profession as a wedding celebrant and ceremony host. Marshall purchased a 0.5 hectare vacant block of land in a residential area that has sweeping mountain views that he thought would be perfect for hosting wedding ceremonies. Marshall decided to get the block of land ready for hosting wedding ceremonies. The front boundary of the block of land is 50m long. When Marshall purchased the land it already had a brick wall painted white running along the front boundary. The wall is 1.2 metres high with a small gate in the wall. Marshall carved the outline of 20 roses spaced along the length of the wall. The roses were 1 metre wide by 1 metre high. As the brickwork underneath the white paint was red, the roses appeared as red roses on the white wall. Marshall thought this would set a romantic atmosphere for the weddings. Marshall's neighbours all have single storey houses on the surrounding blocks of land. So that the wedding couples would be able to get a better view of the mountains in the background of their photos during the ceremony, Marshall brought in 15 truckloads of soil to build a circular mound that is 15 metres in diameter and 1.5 metres high. The ceremonies would be held on the mound. On top of the mound he also constructed a wooden lattice arch that is 4 metres wide, 1.5 metres deep and 2 metres high that couples could get married under. He attached 20cm metal roses all over the outside of the arch that are painted bright yellow, orange and pink. Marshall started hosting wedding ceremonies on the land from April 2023. Marshall's land soon became a popular venue for couples to hold their weddings on. He was soon hosting two to four wedding ceremonies a day every Friday to Sunday. Couples loved taking photos in front of the large roses on the brick wall and also of the sweeping mountain views that formed the backdrop for their ceremonies. Local residents, however, are not so happy. Neighbours are concerned about their privacy given the large mound that Marshall has built as they feel their properties are being overlooked by the wedding guests. The wedding ceremonies are also bringing large amounts of people and traffic to an otherwise quiet neighbourhood, making it noisy and difficult for residents to park. The residents also think the large roses on the wall and the arch with its metal roses are tacky. The residents have complained to the local council about what has been happening on Marshall's land. You are on work experience at the council and you have been asked to advise as to whether what Marshall has done on his land constitutes 'development' as defined by s 1.5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) ('EP&A Act') (previously numbered s 4(1) of the EP&A Act). Explain whether you think what Marshall has done constitutes 'development'. You do not need to consider any other issues in 4 relation to this scenario. Note also that you do not need to consider any environmental planning instruments to answer this question. This includes that you are not expected to consider s 1.5(1)(f) of the EP&A Act (previously numbered subparagraph (f) of the definition of development in s 4(1)).