That's how Lake Macquarie City Councillor Jason Pauling and Member for Swansea Garry Edwards have described the councillors' decision last week to overrule a council staff recommendation to refuse a dual occupancy development application in Swansea.

Staff recommended refusal because of concerns about the "intensification" element of council's sea level rise policy.

Councillors voted 7-3 to approve the dual occupancy application.

Councillor Pauling said for the last two years the council had been pushing "an unproven and hysterical agenda" on sea level rise and flood risk.

He said the vote was "a positive sign that the majority of councillors are using their common sense" and not blindly following council staff recommendations.

Mr Edwards said the Coalition government scrapped the 2050 sea level rise benchmarks - which were part of the former Labor government's sea level rise policy - and instead gave councils discretion to plan for perceived environmental and planning impacts of sea level rise, should they occur.

"However, it is clear that Lake Macquarie City Council has, to date, refused to adopt a common sense policy in relation to sea level rise and, in fact, is pursuing the most extreme policy adopted by any council in NSW.

"This has directly resulted in causing the maximum detriment to the affected Lake Macquarie residents," he said.

"More than 10,000 homes around Lake Macquarie carry section 149 certificate notations and as a result, insurance premiums have skyrocketed, house values have plummeted and people are struggling to sell their homes," Mr Edwards said.

Council maintains insurance premium increases have been driven by other factors, and that it is obliged to note known risks on property certificates.