Bill Saravinovski,the former Bayside City Council mayor,has been found guilty of misconduct.Credit:Kate Geraghty
The proposal on The Boulevard in Brighton-Le-Sands,in Sydney’s south,was one of several submitted to the council in 2017 after an expression of interest process to address a parking shortfall. All were initially rejected,before Ibrahim’s proposal in 2021 was taken under consideration.
Ibrahim proposed the council change the maximum building height on the site from 28 metres to 75.6 metres,and more than double the floor space ratio,which would have transformed the rundown two-storey car park into 180 premium units. Council staff eventually dismissed the proposal.
The primary ground for the misconduct finding was Saravinovski’s failure to appropriately declare his relationship with Ibrahim. The then-mayor declared a less-than-significant pecuniary interest after he attended the developer’s engagement party,but failed to disclose five years of calls,texts and meetings.
“Saravinovski at that time had a conflict of interest … arising from his close personal relationship with Mr Ibrahim,” Judge Rashelle Seiden SC stated in her judgment.
In September 2018,Saravinovski attended a meeting with Ibrahim and senior council staff,including the director of planning,to discuss the developer’s proposal.
An investigation by theHerald confirmed councillors were told by Bayside’s general manager,Meredith Wallace,that the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) had probed the allegations. The Office of Local Government referred the matter to NCAT around August last year,this masthead first reported.
Saravinovski said he was unaware of the judgment when contacted by theHerald. He did not provide comments by the time of publication.