Emergency services arrived at the scene to find the three businesses were well alight with nobody inside. The family members of Salim Mehajer have had their property damaged in fire. Credit:Ben Rushton A police spokeswoman said emergency services brought the blaze under control and contained much of the damage. The property, which the Mehajer family bought in 2011 for $800,000, is in an area that has been the subject of bitter division over property development plans at Auburn Council meetings since 2014. At a meeting on December 2, an area that included the Mehajer property was approved by Auburn Council to become high-density residential and commercial mixed use.

Ms Mehajer's property, which is located in a section on the eastern side of Auburn Street, has been rezoned for commercial mixed use. Suspicious fire ... the property on Auburn Road which was damaged by fire. Credit:Janie Barrett The move will allow buildings as high as 21 metres to be built on Ms Mehajer's fire-damaged property and six others, while residential buildings up to 16 metres tall will be allowed to be constructed on the other 35 properties on the street. Auburn Councillor George Campbell, who voted against the proposal, described the planning approval as "absurd" for the suburban area. The inside of the Auburn video store that damaged by a fire. Credit:Janie Barrett

"Mr Mehajer got two big Christmas presents on the same night," said Cr Campbell. "It was outrageous." "Strangely enough, the property with the butcher shop in Auburn Road that belongs to the Mehajer family has now burnt down, like buildings belonging to Auburn council developers tend to." Rezoned on December 2. The land that includes the Mehajer property is in grey, B4, commercial mixed use. Credit:Auburn Council At the same meeting Auburn Councillors voted to approve the sale of land to Mr Mehajer's family company despite having just been told of claims the deal over a car-park could fetch a price nearly 50 per cent higher on the open-market. The NSW government has since ordered the council to hand over significant documentation relating to the approvals.

"Investigations of the strange happenings at Auburn council tend to be disappointingly slow," said Cr Campbell. On Sunday Mr Mehajer declined to comment on the suspicious fire. He said that as the Auburn Street property is currently being leased, "I suggest that you contact the tenant for comments". It is the second time a property belonging to the Mehajer family has been involved in a fire over the past two years. In February 2014, an empty single-storey house owned by ​Ms Mehajer's older property-developing brother was damaged by a suspicious fire.

The house in Ann Street, Lidcombe, was one of Mr Mehajer's 18 investment properties in the area at the time. NSW Police from Flemington Local Area Command are investigating the cause of Saturday's fire. Police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward. Do you know more? Email: eryk.bagshaw@fairfaxmedia.com.au