Salim in the spotlight: Auburn deputy mayor may be forced to rip up artificial turf

Australia's most controversial deputy mayor is back at it again after installing artificial lawn outside his lavish Lidcombe home without the consent of the council that he has been suspended from.

Salim Mehajer, Auburn's suspended deputy mayor, may be forced to rip up the artificial lawn that he had installed before the wedding that shut down his street in August last year and propelled him into the public eye.

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The Daily Telegraph reports Mr Mehajer lodged an application to the Auburn Council for approval at the same time as it was installed.

Auburn Council staff have also reportedly recommended the Independent Hearing Assessment Panel reject Mr Mehajer’s application and order the removal of the artificial grass from the nature strip, according to News Corp.

Mr Mehajer in August also applied to increase the height of the fence surrounding his Frnces St property to 2.1 metres, according to a council report.

The report, which will be dealt with by Auburn Council’s Independent Hearing Assessment Panel on Wednesday, claims a decision to allow the artificial grass to remain and the fence to be so high "would set an undesirable precedence" in Auburn.

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• 'Mehajer is the only one who should be suspended': Auburn major

In February, the mayor of Auburn hit back at the NSW government's decision to suspend the city's councillors, saying their controversial colleague Salim Mehajer is only one who should be sidelined.

Mayor Le Lam was forced to hand back her $100,000, taxpayer-funded Lexus RX450 after Local Government Minister Paul Toole suspended the council pending a public inquiry into allegations of misconduct.

The council is being investigated for a number of questionable property deals alleged to have benefitted some councillors including Mr Mehajer, a property developer and groom at the "wedding of 2015".

Ms Lam, who is the strata manager at two of Mr Mehajer's properties, told the Parramatta Advertiser other councillors should be allowed to continue to serve as the inquiry is carried out.

"When you’re guilty, a decision is made according to the verdict, but without proof, we aren't guilty of doing something wrong," she said.

"They have made the decision based on presumptions.

"At the moment we’ve been shut-out without solid reasons."

All 10 of Auburn's councillors, including Mr Mehajer, have been benched and forced to hand over phones, laptops and tablets.

In December, Fairfax reported the council had voted 4-4 to approve the sale of one of the city's properties to a business connected to Mr Mehjaer's family at nearly half market value.

Both Ms Lam and Mr Mehajer abstained from the vote.

Mr Mehajer said in a statement the decision to suspend the council was premature.

"The decision of the 'suspension' remains respected. I am however disappointed that the 'indefinite suspension’ has taken place prior to the completion of the ongoing investigation," he said.