Building Act breaches investigated

QUEENSTOWN’S council has revealed it is investigating a dozen Building Act breaches around the district, following the sentencing of a woman who used two illegal shipping containers for visitor accommodation.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council said in a statement yesterday that it welcomed the sentencing of Lisa Karen Kalazich (49), who was fined $12,000 for failing to get proper consents for the shipping containers in Arthurs Point.

It was the first prosecution of its kind in the Queenstown Lakes District.

Judge John Hassan told Kalazich her offending had a ‘‘high degree of recklessness’’, and that she ‘‘took a risk with other people’s lives’’.

By placing the containers in a ‘‘relatively perilous position above the Shotover River’’ without approved foundations, she had exposed their occupants to the risk of injury or death.

The council has now revealed it is investigating more breaches of the Building Act.

Council communications adviser Rebecca Pitts said the enforcement department was investigating a dozen instances of ‘‘unlawful Building Act matters of varying degrees across the district’’.

‘‘We’re not able to comment on the details of these ongoing investigations.’’

It comes just weeks after the council filed charges under the Building Act against Dominion Construction Limited and one of its former employees over the bungled Kmart building.

They face fines of up to $200,000 each after the council alleged steel reinforcing bars were removed during construction.

The construction company was issued a Notice to Fix by the council during the project last year.

According to council figures, 30 Notices to Fix were issued between January and September last year — 17 residential and 13 commercial.