Council staffer not convinced about proposed development
After hearing the pleas of developers and community members, a council resource management team leader was still not convinced they should approve a proposed housing development in south Invercargill.
Alister Wright and Liz Gray, of Bluewater Southland Limited, applied for resource consent for a residential development on the corner of Conon and Crinan streets in Invercargill on March 23.
They proposed to build a 12 unit development on two sections of property on the corner of Conon and Crinan streets.
The dwellings are to be laid out three rows of four units, each 73sqm in size, with a 6.2m area around them, and a drive way to each.
Yesterday, a hearing was held at the Invercargill City Council to determine whether the application should be granted or declined. The hearing panel consisted of Cr Karen Arnold and Cr Darren Ludlow, who was the chairperson.
Council resource management team leader Gareth Clarke said the proposal was not compliant with urban design standards and would result in adverse effects for those living in the development that were more than minor.
As the application currently stood, Clarke’s recommendation was to decline it.
The main concerns from the council were the impacts on visual privacy and noise, as well as the visual quality of the design.
The way the units are laid out there was a direct view of the bedroom at the rear of the units from the living areas of the opposing row of units.
Surveyor Don Muir, who represented the applicant, said he disagreed with the planner’s assessment.
Muir said it was common for properties in Invercargill to back on to each other with little in between to create privacy. ‘‘It’s wrong to describe a situation as common and well accepted, as this as a negative effect.’’
It was unrealistic to suggest the privacy was of such significance that this application should be declined, Moir said.
The applicants had proposed to install day curtains in the windows, but if the council was still not satisfied, Moir suggested the council require them to tint the windows.
He understood the Invercargill property market and there was a shortage of housing stock as well as a shortage of rentals, Moir said.
The proposed development was a small but significant step towards easing the housing shortage in Invercargill, he said.
When asked by Cr Arnold how important it was for council to follow the urban design protocol, Clarke said it was a non-statutory strategic policy. But it had been built into the district plan and used to inform medium-density housing policy and he considered it important, Clarke said.
The hearing was adjourned and the councillors had planned to make a visit to the site before making a decision.
The main concerns from the council were the impacts on visual privacy and noise, as well as the visual quality of the design.