The then Wollongong City Council general manager Rod Oxley met developers when their projects found opposition from council officers and meddled in the work of experienced planners, the Independent Commission Against Corruption heard yesterday.

David Broyd, the city's former environment and planning director, told ICAC that Mr Oxley had a close relationship with some developers and was "too open for representations" from them.

He said Mr Oxley had approved changes to Wollongong planning laws that helped developer Frank Vellar obtain approval for a building that would have been previously classed as "oversized".

ICAC was also told that at least three senior planners, including two former planning directors, had expressed concern about Mr Oxley's interference.

Mr Broyd, who became the department's director in November 2003, told ICAC he resigned on July 1, 2005, after a "clash of values" with Mr Oxley.

Mr Broyd said when he started staff in the planning department told him there was "significant dissatisfaction and low morale" due to what they described as the "level 10 factor", a reference to the location of Mr Oxley's office.

Staff referred to this because of a "domination of the general manager in planning issues and the high level interference in carrying out their professional duties, directions to change their positions on planning matters and really quite strong intervention and direction being placed upon them frequently by the general manager at that time, Mr Oxley".

The resignation of a number of staff members before Mr Broyd's arrival - including previous director Michael Mouritz, who warned him about Mr Oxley's interfering ways - had left the department in "turmoil".

The counsel assisting ICAC, Noel Hemmings, QC, tendered a 2002 letter to department heads from Nadine Luckman, the council's then development project officer, claiming developers sought meetings with Mr Oxley when planning officials expressed reservations to them about their developments.

"In all three instances the general manager has verbally directed that the development applications be approved, usually as a matter of urgency and without comprehensively dealing with all of the identified issues," she wrote.

In a return letter, Mr Oxley rejected the claims, saying he was just helping to streamline the DA process when he felt it "appropriate" to become involved.

Mr Hemmings asked Mr Broyd what he thought of Mr Oxley's dealing with developers and their applications.

Mr Broyd replied: "That it was excessive and too open for representations to be made by developers to him when they were aggrieved by positions taken by the planners or in terms of advocating their development before lodgement or in the early stages of its assessment".

Talking about developments approved during his time at the council, Mr Broyd said a conflict arose with Mr Oxley "because of the extent of the variation and some of the outcomes were very questionable in terms of their legality".

Mr Broyd, a planner with 30 years' experience, doubted the ability of Mr Oxley, a former council treasurer, to deal with development issues.

Mr Broyd cited the controversial eight-level Platinum development on Crown St as one example of Mr Oxley's interference.

The planning director had advised the applicant the project would not be approved because it was out of character for the area.

But Mr Oxley had pulled rank and written a favourable report himself which led to Platinum being approved by councillors.

Mr Broyd said Mr Oxley had also been a supporter of developer Frank Vellar's proposal for the $100 million Quattro project.

Mr Broyd said he, the NSW Department of Planning and the council's independent review panel had all indicated the development was too big to be approved and "unacceptable".

It was more than four times the height, and had a floor space ratio at least double the limits set out in council planning policies, ICAC heard.

But this problem was overcome, Mr Broyd testified, after a new development plan for the city centre had inserted a specific mention of the Quattro site so it could be built at 14 storeys.

Mr Broyd said he requested this be removed from the plan but Mr Oxley overruled him.

He said less than two months after he quit the council, Quattro was approved by town planner Beth Morgan with "significant inadequacies" in the report outlining her reasoning for the decision. It did not go before councillors. Quattro is yet to be built.

The Victoria Square development was also approved by Ms Morgan, despite outstanding concerns over its size and traffic problems.

On the North Beach Bathers' Pavilion, Mr Broyd had asked an independent planner be appointed to assess proposals, but this did not happen.

Mr Broyd also testified he was so concerned about the relationship Ms Morgan was forming with Mr Vellar that he had raised the issue with John Gilbert, the manager of development, suggesting she be removed from assessing Quattro.

After Mr Broyd's resignation in mid 2005, engineering department manager and Labor personality Joe Scimone was appointed as a planning manager and Mr Oxley himself acted as director. Mr Broyd doubted whether either man had the qualifications for the jobs.