February ’09
Michelle received an enforcement notice from Port Adelaide Enfield Council on February 3rd directing her to “replace the Zincalume sheeting with galvanised iron corrugated sheeting.”
February 11th: the Council’s Zoe Pfeiffer wrote to Michelle acknowledging receipt of the application to amend the approved plans. Ms Pfeiffer noted that in the “plans submitted … the external cladding was to be galvanised corrugated steel.” It was likely, she said, that Council would continue to insist on this requirement.
So much for head-bowed supplication.
On February 10th, Michelle appealed to the Environment, Resources and Development Court giving as her reason for the appeal that since Zincalume is a galvanised corrugated steel product she had not failed to comply with the first condition of the approval, as Port Adelaide Enfield Council had alleged.
February 17th: The court gave notice “that a preliminary conference between all parties”—Michelle Renshaw and Port Adelaide Council—would be held on Monday March 16th, 2009 and that she should attend.
March 2009
March 16th: The Preliminary Conference to decide whether the matter should be put on the Pending, Conference, or Hearing Track was held before Commissioner Hodgson. The Council's Lawyer and Planning Officer were both present, as was Michelle.
The Commissioner ascertained that the Council was not prepared to accept Michelle's claim that Zincalume is a corrugated galvanised steel product and neither was Michelle prepared to accept the Council's claim that Zincalume is not a corrugated galvanised steel product.
Commissioner Hodgson suggested that Michelle make an application to use Zincalume, admitting all the while that the Council would no doubt reject the application.
April 2009
April: At a second hearing before Commissioner Hodgson Michelle's architect, David Grieve, made clear that the argument did not turn on whether or not Zincalume was a more appropriate product to use than Heritage corrugated galvanised steel but on whether or not Zincalume complied with the approved use of corrugated galvanised steel. Council did not accept that Zincalume was in fact a galvanised steel. The Commisioner asked the Council's lawyer, Mr. Watson, whether it was really necessary to take the matter to court. It was, said Mr. Watson, after deferring to Ms. Pfeifer, the Planning Officer. Mr Watson agreed that the whole thing turned on the meaning of "a term" - i.e., the meaning of the verb 'to galvanise.' Michelle would have to go to court to establish her claim that, since Zincalume is a galvanised product, she had in fact complied with the conditions of the Planning approval.
August 2009
August 7th: Judge Trenorden ruled in favour of the Council on the grounds that, whilst Ms Renshaw had established that Zincalume was in fact galvanised, a reasonable person could not have imagined that Michelle would clad the house on Blackler Lane with that commonly used product.
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