The Commissioner upheld the appeal against refusal of a development application for a 106-place childcare centre, finding that the applicant had demonstrated safe evacuation of children and staff from the first floor via fire stairs, supported by a qualified childcare expert's evacuation plan and evidence that accommodating 2-3 year olds on the first floor is reasonably common practice. The respondent council's town planning expert conceded the proposal was not unsafe but preferred the older cohort on the first floor; the Commissioner gave no weight to this preference as it fell outside the expert's planning expertise. The case was distinguished from Frangi v City of Parramatta Council [2022] NSWLEC 1034 on its facts, as the specific evacuation deficiencies identified in that case did not apply here.
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