Charge hike for Hamilton developers
A legal challenge could still be aimed at a policy that hikes charges Hamilton developers pay for their projects.
Hamilton City Council on Thursday passed a development contributions policy which includes increased charges, perbedroom calculations, and a disappearing central city remission.
Council expects to collect $313m in development contributions over the coming decade, and will use the money to deal with extra demand on city networks from new developments.
Developers aren’t happy, saying charges in some areas will more than double, and it could be a stumbling block for Hamilton.
Hamilton Mayor Andrew King, on the other hand, described the new policy as ‘‘a huge step forward to have growth pay for growth’’.
‘‘It’s been too long that ratepayers have been subsidising development under our previous policy because of our unexpected extreme growth,’’ he said in a statement.
Several development companies will be looking at legal options, Property Council New Zealand head of advocacy Matt Paterson said.
Property Council is disappointed with city council’s decision, he said, and developers in some areas face increases of up to 144 per cent.
Council did change a modelling assumption to reduce the hikes, but developers say they’ll still be significant.
Yeoman Homes managing director Andrew Yeoman previously said he’d have to develop elsewhere if the policy went through.
After the decision, he said he was committed to Hamilton – though he is in the early stages of some Auckland work.
The changes would slow down Hamilton development and affect affordability, he said.
‘‘If Hamilton City Council want to reduce the number of houses being built at a time when we need more of them, they’ve done the right thing,’’ he said.
A June report to councillors warned of a possible legal challenge but said the new policy should go ahead.
On Thursday, council discussed ‘‘potential legal matters’’ relating to the draft policy in a closed-door session.
The doors reopened after about an hour – before an 11-2 vote in favour of the policy – but there was no debate in the public session.
Crs Siggi Henry and Angela O’Leary voted against the policy, which will be implemented from July 1, 2018.
Key changes in the policy include using the number of bedrooms in a home to help calculate the charges and phasing charges for CBD developments back in.
The policy change will also allow council to charge for projects planned further into the future, and remove the caps for charges in certain areas, such as Rotokauri.