Update
Revised plans for a highly controversial development site at Sutherland will be determined without councillors being able to express an opinion.
This was the outcome after most councillors declared a conflict of interest and left the room when the matter came before the council meeting on Monday night.
The situation arose because the applicant is represented by a planning company with which former Sutherland Shire Councillor Matthew Daniel is associated.
Mr Daniel is a long-time Liberal power broker and fundraiser for the party in the shire.
Labor councillor Michael Forshaw and independent Steve Simpson, the deputy mayor, joined Liberals in declaring a conflict of interest.
Only six Labor councillors remained in the meeting room and, without a quorum, the recommendation by staff that the application be refused, could not even be discussed, let alone a vote taken.
When the other councillors returned, the matter was delegated to the acting general manager Manjeet Grewal.
Ms Grewal said, because of the short time limit for comment, council staff had already provided the Department of Planning and Environment with a conditional draft submission opposing the application, "but it does not carry the endorsement of council".
The revised proposal will be determined by Sydney South Planning Panel where the council representatives are unlikely to be able to participate in the decision.
Earlier
The simmering development issue in Sutherland Shire could boil over just days out from the state election with revised plans for a highly controversial site due to be considered by the council tonight (Monday),
The site at 10-14 Merton Street, Sutherland - between St Patrick's Primary School and Sutherland Public School - was used by the Labor Party this month to illustrate a promise to end spot rezoning.
Council planning staff have recommended the council not support the latest of many revisions to the plans, which still provide a maximum building height and floor space ratio (FSR) well above the limits set down in the local environmental plan (LEP).
The staff report also advised "Councillors should be aware the applicant is now represented by Pacific Planning Pty Ltd, a company with which former Sutherland Shire Councillor Matthew Daniel is associated".
Mr Daniel, who formerly worked for the Department of Planning, is a long-time Liberal power broker and fundraiser for the party in the shire and supported Cr Kent Johns in his failed bids to win Liberal Party preselection for the federal seats of Werriwa and Hughes.
Mr Daniel was named in allegations in 2013 that developers and businesses with Liberal Party connections were receiving special treatment by the then Liberal dominated council.
Mr Daniel's contract with Liverpool Council, where he was the deputy general manager, was terminated in 2013 after it was found he had failed to declare he was an undischarged bankrupt.
The allegations involving Sutherland Shire Council were referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) by mayor Kent Johns, who chose not to seek re-election for the position in 2013.
In 2015, Cr Johns returned to the role after the ICAC found "there was no indication that any of the council officials had engaged in corrupt conduct or acted with corrupt motive".
A proposal for a spot rezoning of 10-14 Merton Street first came to the council in March, 2016.
The proposal was for a FSR of 3:1 and a maximum height of 36 metres (12 storeys), compared to the LEP controls of 1.5:1 FSR and 20 metres (6-7 storeys).
The initial plans were rejected by the council and planning panels, and several modifications have been made since.
The latest proposal is for an increased FSR of 2.2:1 and a maximum height of 25 metres (eight storeys) and 20 metres in a staged development.
The council staff report said an independent analysis by an architectural firm, commissioned by the Department of Planning and Environment in May 2018, found the most appropriate built form controls for the subject site was a maximum height of 22 metres and FSR of 1.8:1.
"This finding is generally consistent with the conclusions of council officers following their earlier assessment of the proposal," the report said.
The council's planning committee recommended to the full council meeting on Monday the revised plans not be supported.
Four Labor councillors voted to recommend refusal and there were no votes against.
The three Liberal members of the committee who were present when the agenda item came up declared a non-pecuniary conflict of interest because of Mr Daniel's Liberal Party membership and took no part in the debate and did not vote.
While the council can express an opinion, the final decision will be made by Sydney South Planning Panel.