Where a local environmental plan defines building 'height' by reference to 'the finished ground level of the completed building', this expression refers to the finished surface of the ground where it generally abuts the completed building, not the lowest internal floor level (such as a basement slab). The object of height controls in residential zones is to address the perceptible height of a building and its environmental impacts (overshadowing, privacy, visual bulk), not to minimise ground disturbance or excavation.
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