The Waimakariri District Council is “standing up” for the community in opposing a rule change that would allow the number of homes in a small town to double.
Councillors voted to approve a submission opposing private plan change 31, submitted by Rolleston Industrial Developments Ltd to develop a 850-house subdivision at Ohoka, at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Cr Niki Mealings, who has lived at Ohoka for 23 years, said the Resource Management Act had reduced the council to the status of “just another submitter”.
“But we are not just another submitter, we are standing up for our community.”
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Mealings’ comments were met with applause from more than 30 residents in the public gallery.
The council’s submission was prepared by its lawyer, Andrew Schulte, a resource management lawyer with Cavell Leitch.
Schulte said choosing to make a submission opposing PC31 and delegating the final decision to independent commissioners carried a risk.
“If the council is not happy with the decision of the commissioners it would leave you with very little room.
“It would need to be an extreme situation for the council to appeal to the Environment Court.”
David Hill/LDR
More than 30 people were in the public gallery to hear the Waimakariri District Council approve a submission opposing a proposed private plan change at Ohoka.
Cr Kirstyn Barnett said the law left little room for the council to oppose the development.
“We don’t really have the power to deny it and if we chose not to make a submission we would have no voice.
“By making a decision to do this [make a submission] this council is sending our message to the commissioners to say we have done the research, we have worked through our district plan and we have the evidence to oppose it.”
Paul Williams said he supported development, but had serious concerns with the downstream drainage effects in Kaiapoi, should the Ohoka development go ahead.
He wondered if Rolleston Industrial Developments Ltd could be persuaded to put in an application to develop a more suitable site.
David Hill/LDR
Waimakariri district councillors prepare to discuss a submission opposing a private plan change at Ohoka.
Cr Joan Ward grew up in Ohoka and said she would “hate something to happen to it like this developer is proposing”.
While the developer had found a loophole in the National Policy Statement on Urban Development, which allowed for development in growth areas, such as Greater Christchurch, the proposal went against the council’s previous planning work, Barnett said.
This included the operative district plan, the draft district plan, which was notified last year, and the non-statutory rural residential development strategy, which was prepared in 2018.
The strategy found that rural residential development – sections of 5000 square metres – was unsuitable on the site proposed by Rolleston Industrial Developments Ltd, which is proposing to develop 500sqm sections.
Public submissions on the proposed plan change to allow the Ohoka development close at 5pm on Friday, August 12.
