About Alesia
Alesia specialises in governance and planning and environment law, focussing on planning and environment litigation including appeals, declaratory proceedings and enforcement proceedings, as well as infrastructure and governance advisory.
Alesia acts for a variety of public and private sector clients, including local governments, government owned entities, town planning consultants, and property developers as well as members of the community.
She has experience acting for clients in the Planning and Environment Court, Supreme Court and the Magistrates Court, as well as the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Alesia regularly provides advice in relation to the Local Government Act 2009, particularly in relation to local laws, recovery of overdue rates and obligations of road authorities. Alesia also provides advice about the requirements of the Planning Act 2016 and all its related legislation and predecessors, local planning schemes, town planning compliance matters, infrastructure charges and infrastructure agreements.
Specialisations
Experience
Water Infrastructure Agreement
Acting for Unitywater preparing and negotiating a water infrastructure agreement with seven developers for the development of Neighbourhood Development Plan Area No. 1 (NDP1) of the new Caboolture West (Waraba) growth area. The agreement provides for the coordinated delivery of $55 million in water infrastructure necessary to unlock NDP1 for the development of approximately 3,000 new dwellings. The agreement was multi-faceted and required input from McCullough Robertson’s construction, finance, insurance and risk, digital & IP and litigation teams. The complexity of the agreement and the volatility of the construction industry meant the agreement required numerous amendments and took nearly two years to negotiate.
Planning Appeal
Acting for Gold Coast City Council in relation to the redevelopment of the Old Burleigh Theatre Arcade, a local heritage building, including assisting Council to draft a Temporary Local Planning Instrument for the land which sufficiently protected the local heritage of the building while allowing for much-needed redevelopment, and then acting for Council in a submitter appeal against its decision to approve an application to redevelop the building into a high-rise mixed-use development. The TLPI drafted by McCullough Robertson was instrumental in the Court finding the development application should be approved (see Archer & Ors v Council of the City of Gold Coast & Ors [2022] QPEC 59).
Planning Appeal
Acting for Ipswich City Council in an appeal against Council’s decision to approve a development application for Bulky Goods Sales in Yamanto. The appeal was commenced by a commercial competitor with the key issue being the need for ‘bulky good sales’ as that term is defined in the planning scheme, compared to ‘large format retail’, a more contemporary term. The parties are awaiting the Court’s judgment.
We also assisted Council to resolve a collateral attack by the developer on the commercial competitor’s development application for a similar development nearby. The developer filed an application challenging Council’s decision on the basis that Council legally erred in approving the application and Council’s decision was therefore invalid. The application was discontinued.
Planning Enforcement
Acting for Whitsunday Regional Council in contempt proceedings for failure to comply with an order of the Planning and Environment Court requiring the unlawful use of land for camping to cease. The Court ordered fines totalling $20,000, the highest fine ever imposed by the Court in contempt proceedings, and an order that the Respondents pay Council’s costs on an indemnity basis (see Whitsunday Regional Council v Branbid Pty Ltd & Fallon [2017] QPEC 66).
Acting for Gold Coast City Council in proceedings against a scrap metal yard, including obtaining enforcement orders to cease certain aspects of the use (See Gold Coast City Council v Adrian’s Metal Management Pty Ltd & Ors [2018] QPEC 11), and subsequent contempt proceedings obtaining significant fines and costs orders against the proponent (See Gold Coast City Council v Adrian’s Metal Management Pty Ltd & Ors [2018] QPEC 45 and Gold Coast City Council v Adrian’s Metal Management Pty Ltd & Ors (No.3) [2019] QPEC 39).
Planning Issues – Short term accommodation
Acting for various Councils to assist in regulating short term accommodation (such as Airbnb) in dwelling houses units, including by drafting new local laws to require a local law permit to operate to better equip Council to regulate them. This has also included acting for Council defending its decisions to refuse an application for a permit to operate (see Escanaba Pty Ltd v Noosa Shire Council [2023] QPEC 14).
Planning Advice
Assisting Seymour Group to obtain approval for luxury multiple dwellings in New Farm, including by briefing a visual amenity and a surveying expert, considering the proposal against the applicable benchmarks and recommending changes to improve the proposal’s prospects of approval. We drafted letters that were provided to Council about the lawful assessment of the application and assisted in responding to opposing submissions. Council ultimately approved the proposal, and no appeals were commenced against that decision.
Governance Advisory – Local Laws
Assisting Ipswich City Council and Whitsunday Regional Council review their existing local laws, including providing advice about necessary and suggested amendments, drafting new local laws in accordance with the Local Government Act 2009, drafting Council resolutions and Government Gazette notices, advising on and undertaking a review of anti-competitive provisions and updating instruments of appointment following the making of the new local laws.
Governance Advisory – Rates
Advising local government clients in relation to their powers to recover overdue rates including the power to sell or acquire land for overdue rates. This included assisting the client to draft the necessary resolution to authorise the sale or acquisition and the necessary Notice of Intention under the Local Government Act 2009.
Infrastructure Agreements
Preparing a suite of template infrastructure agreements for Moreton Bay Regional Council, Sunshine Coast Regional Council, Whitsunday Regional Council and Gladstone Regional Council ranging from a standard (all situations) type agreement, to more bespoke agreements for charities, incentives and payment plans, along with supporting deeds to enable those agreements to be varied or assigned.