Contact: homebushresidents@gmail.com

Homebush Road Residents Group

Help us save the Ngauranga green gateway to Wellington.

History was almost made at the Council Meeting on 27 May 2009.

District Plan Change 68 was only two votes short of being rejected. Councillor Morrison was disqualified from participating as he had been a submitter and another Counsellor sold out on the environmentally aware credentials he claims to possess. These votes would have created history, as Commissioner's Recommendations have never been overturned or had more than token opposition.

The zone change was approved after a heated and at times disrespectful debate. By contrast, the previous item on the agenda, another zone change, quietly passed with brief comment as is usual for plan changes. The six Councillors who opposed the zone change had no difficulty in identifying the flaws in the Commissioner’s report and obviously believe in the integrity of the District Plan and policy documents that support it.

The most unusual argument for accepting the Plan Change was that if the Council overturned the recommendation, there would have to be a costly full Council rehearing of the matter. It seems to have escaped attention that the ratepayers will probably have to pay for an Environment Court Decision instead. It doesn’t take a long memory to recall that the Mayor claimed a $120,000 independent report would be less costly than facing Councillor Foster’s intended Environment Court challenge to the proposed location of the sports stadium.

Where to from here?

Now that the dust is settling, the submitters who include the likes of Regional Public Health, Councillor Morrison and the Forest and Bird Society, have received formal notice of the District Plan Change decision. All are now faced with deciding if they should appeal in the Environment Court . In this respect, no new territory is being charted. All over Wellington there are examples of small groups of residents suddenly realising that nearby visually and ecologically significant resources are threatened by seemingly innocuous Plan Changes that escape general public notice. At great personal cost both emotionally and financially they have in a number of cases, taken on the challenge of appealing though the Environment Court, to help leave a healthy environment for future generations.

Those who have opposed the Plan Change consider it falls short of the intent of the Resource Management Act. Many also see a need to challenge the flawed interpretation of the Capital Coast Health decision that the Commissioners adopted. The interpretation appears to effectively nullify the Open Space B provisions of the District Plan. Judge Kenderdine certainly would not have meant this in the CCH v WCC decision.

Today it is the Ngauranga gateway - which part of the environment will be under threat next?

Links

Commissioners Report - District Plan Change 68

Report>>

The following links will take you to the transcripts of Public Participation addresses to the Council Meeting

HRRG>>

Action for the Environment>>

 

______________________________________________________

What is District Plan Change 68 about?

In 2006, Prime Property Group purchaced 15 hectares of Open Space B zoned land. This zoning precludes the removal of any native growth and any construction or disturbance other than the formation of walking tracks.

The land has a mixture of Radiata pine which was planted in the mid-1970's and naturally regenerating native vegetation. This adjoins the Homebush Park block to it's east which is similarly zoned and is owned by the Wellington City Council.

Prime Property Group, have applied to have 1.2 hectares (red in image below) rezoned as Outer Residential so that a subdivision can be developed with a proposed access from Homebush Road.

The plan change should not be approved by the Council because:

The area is a naturally regenerating asset to the city.

There should be no disturbance that is inconsistent with an Open Space B zoning.

The land is part of the coastal escarpment.

As a green belt area, the land is an important ecological corridor between the escarpment, Matiu Somes Island and the Outer Town Belt.

Consent to Outer Residential zoning will inevitably result in the whole of the Ngauranga Forest block (yellow outline) being subdivided.

Once lost to development, Open Space B land can never be reclaimed.

______________________________________________________

Commissioners Report - District Plan Change 68

The Commissioners reasons for recommending Change 68 were:

Response:

Dealing with the last point first, we say this is dishonest – one written submitter out of 27 commented that visual amenity was one factor that influenced the purchase of their property. None of the HRRG oral submitters referred to loss of local amenity in their presentations. Few in Homebush Road will have their views, particularly of the harbour, significantly affected.

If self-interest is to be considered, how does one describe the three supportive submissions? Two of the submitters have business associations with the applicant and the third is an employee.

Dealing with the Commissioners other comments:

It can be done:

Yes, anything is possible, as Council will find out when successive applications rely on this decision to justify 15 hectares of residential and industrial development on the coastal escarpment.

16 extra building sites are needed in Wellington :

The Commissioners should tell that to the developers who can’t sell land on similar residential sites in the area.

There will be no major visual impact:

This may be true for 1.2 hectares, but what about when 15 hectares of residential and industrial development eventuates.

Protection of the ecological corridor is not of national importance:

Even if this is correct, there is every reason to look after the ecological assets of Wellington, especially since the area is a significant link to the other green and town belt areas.

Council Officers didn’t buy the land when it was available:

Shame on the Council officers. They claim to have had four other higher priorities, two of which seem to have advantaged developers and none are as prominent. The Commissioners have now bought in to the the same naive assumption as the council staff - that the site is too steep for development.

There is unlikely to be further development on the 15 hectare site:

Much of the site is no steeper than adjoining land that was built on in 1939. The Commisioners appear to have no appreciation of the skills of Wellington’s builders and engineers.

Should the Council ratify the developer friendly recommendation of the Commissioners?

Dompost 27 May 2008 link

______________________________________________________

Council Officer’s Report – District Plan Change 68.

Was this report of the quality that the Council should expect?

The Council contracted the preparation of the DPC 68 Council Officers Report to Peter Coop of Urban Perspectives who is understood to have been previously employed by the Council. At even a cursory glance, one would have to question the quality and contents of the report. By comparison with other similar purpose reports for District Plan Changes, it demonstrates a lack of clarity, balance and investigative rigour. There is a ready acceptance of information contained in the initial application that was acknowledged by some who provided expert evidence at the Commissioner’s Hearing as having been deficient and as an overall impression, it appears the writer began with a conviction that the subdivision should proceed, then tailored the report to this end. More>>

______________________________________________________

The Council has an obligation to protect the Open Space B status of the entrance to the city at Ngauranga by upholding the District Plan.  

Summary of legal matters:  

There are two legal precedents that have particular significance when considering the Prime Property Group application to change the zoning of the Ngauranga Forest Block to allow for residential development:

In Capital Coast Health vs Wellington City Council, the court stated that private land can be zoned for reserve purposes (as is the situation with the Ngauranga Forest Block).

In McKenna v Hastings DC, a High Court decision early in 2009 supported previous decisions that s 104(1) of the Resource Management Act requires a decision-maker to have regard not just to effects, but to national and regional planning documents, the District Plan, and other relevant matters. More >>

______________________________________________________

Aesthetic and Environmental reasons for the City Council to decline the application to rezone the Ngauranga Forest Block to allow for residential development.

In 2006, Prime Property Group purchased a 15 hectare area of regenerating native bush which extends from below Homebush Park and runs along the Hutt Road and up the Ngauranga Gorge to beyond the rail overbridge. At its northern end, the land extends to the ridge of the coastal escarpment. At present the land is zoned Open Space B. Although Prime Property Group has applied to have only a part of the land rezoned for residential development, there is little doubt that if successful, subsequent applications will be made to have the whole 15 hectares rezoned for residential use.

There are two main reference documents that cover reserved land and which set out the requirements and expectations of decision makers. They are:

(a) The Resource Management Act

(b) The Wellington District Plan  

More >>

______________________________________________________

Why replace an important ecological corridor with housing?

In its application (District Plan Change 68), Prime Property Group argued that changing the Open Space B zoning of Ngauranga Forest Block to allow a subdivision will fulfil a need for property in the area. More >>