A tale of two rebuilds
Two homeowners are determined to build new homes on their red-zoned land. They tell Michael Wright how they are doing it.
The end is in sight for Tony Ging.
October. That’s when his family’s new home on their old property in the Port Hills will be finished. It will be the culmination of years of planning, appealing, cajoling, lobbying and waiting.
When his six-year-old son who knows nothing but living in earthquake limbo will move home. Still, it is a touch bittersweet.
The story starts six years ago, when Ging’s Avoca Valley property was redstickered after the February 2011 earthquake. The rock fall risk was too great. Eventually the property was redzoned by the Crown. Buyout offers followed.
‘‘Initially we thought we had no other option,’’ Ging said. ‘‘I guess I’m a bit of an obstinate bastard sometimes. Kept on asking questions.’’
Ging was confident he could put a design for rock fall protection to the Christchurch City Council that would get the section 124 notice [red sticker] lifted.
The notice barred entry to the property because of the rock fall danger. The red-zoning, and everything that came with it, was predicated on that risk. Solve that problem and everything else should fall into place. Should.
The design – a 40-metre long, 10-metre wide flat terrace with a half-metre high earth bund on the lower side – came through. Once it was in place above the property, the s124 notice was gone and building and resource consents were granted. Fresh insurance cover was forthcoming. Things were starting to move.
The next hurdle was the insurance company. It had a blanket rebuild policy for all red-zoned claimants. Problem was, it wanted to do the rebuilding somewhere else.
‘‘They were basically insisting we had to build on a different site,’’ Ging said.
‘‘It took quite a lot of convincing for them. We actually had to amend the contract. They were basically saying, because we were red-zoned, they didn’t understand the fact that we could rebuild on the same site. We had to get other people to explain it.’’
Ging and partner Janna Fitzsimmons were also planning on rebuilding slightly bigger, which meant getting a loan. The land had been valued at less than half it’s pre-quake worth, thanks to the redzoning. The bank didn’t want to know.
‘‘Getting finance on a property that’s valued at $250,000 when we’re trying to borrow more than that is quite difficult. We’ve had to pay for independent valuations. It’s another headache that we’ve had to deal with.’’
In fact, all of Ging’s and Fitzsimmons’ headaches can be traced back to that single source.
Their property, red-zoned because of a rock fall risk that no longer exists, is still red-zoned. The artificially low valuation remains. Despite the fact that the risk has been mitigated to the point that they could get building consent, insurance coverage and, eventually, a mortgage.
‘‘The biggest thing for me is our largest asset, our house and land, is so devalued,’’ Ging said. ‘‘If something unforeseen was to happen and we needed to sell the property . . . my partner would be left in the lurch. She wouldn’t really be able to access our main asset.
‘‘In reality the red zoning doesn’t affect us except for that one thing and it’s very frustrating because it’s only been called [that] by an organisation [the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority] that no longer exists. It was established to help people recover and it’s been the most destructive force on us for the last six years.’’
A court hearing at the Land Tribunal is the only way Ging can contest the valuation. That has been delayed since new valuations came out last year. The 1.5ha site is still valued at just $250,000. A smaller section across the street was put at more than double that. Ging is philosophical.
‘‘They don’t make properties like that any more. It’s a brand new house on a great section. It’s a fantastic place for the kids to grow up.
‘‘I realise that we’re actually probably the lucky ones in that we’ve pushed on and tried hard and got to where we are. I know there’s a lot of people out there who accepted the red zone offer and are still living with a lot of regret.’’
THE WAITING GAME
While Tony Ging has forged ahead, Stephen Bourke has stood still. His redzoned Brooklands home was deemed a write-off long ago and his insurance company paid him out. ‘‘We started to plan,’’ Bourke said. ‘‘We went to council. I took the old plans for my house in, got an architect, got some prices, sent it in. This was probably three years ago. They said there’s no reason why we can’t give you building consent.’’
Everything looked good until details emerged of the Government’s plans for the future use of the residential red zones. Crucially, the Crown’s powers included compulsory acquisition of land. His rebuilding plans went on hold.
‘‘I don’t want to spend a million dollars on rebuilding my house and then they’re going to take it off me.
‘‘I’ve already had six years of fighting with them, going through the red zoning. You get sick of fighting the insurance, the council and the Government.’’
Regenerate Christchurch is in the preliminary stages of a regeneration plan for the Otakaro/Avon River corridor – the new name for the main red zone bloc in east Christchurch – right now.
The Southshore and South New Brighton red zones will be next up for consideration, then Brooklands. Bourke knows it could be some time before a Brooklands plan is finalised and he knows whether or not the Crown may need to acquire his land. He is optimistic it won’t.
‘‘An area like this, what are they going to do here? The council don’t really want, it, the Government don’t really want it. Remediate the land, rebuild it, put residential sections or lifestyle blocks on it. It’s an ideal place.’’
In the meantime, more waiting isn’t a problem. The traffic, mail delivery and rubbish collection are all back to normal. Bourke is used to living in a house where you can get seasick walking to the kitchen. ‘‘It’s quite a weird feeling going to a house where everything’s flat, and cooking on a stove where everything’s flat. You’re not used to it. I’ve got into a habit of turning the frying pan all the time.’’
‘‘We’re actually probably the lucky ones in that we’ve pushed on and tried hard and got to where we are. I know there’s a lot of people out there who accepted the red zone offer and are still living with a lot of regret.’’ Avoca Valley resident Tony Ging