City council eyes ‘area of interest’
The ever-expanding city of Hamilton is looking over its borders to neighbouring land.
Hamilton City Council is eyeing an ‘‘area of interest’’ as it plans for future growth, but it’s in the Waikato District Council patch.
The area stretches from near Temple View, up around Horotiu, and out as far as Tauwhare.
Hamilton Mayor Andrew King says council needs to protect the bits that will eventually move into the city boundary.
Areas of concern for the city council include residential development on its borders, and fragmentation of land destined to eventually become part of the city.
City staffers and councillors spent part of yesterday’s meeting debating what they needed to say in a submission to Waikato District Council, which is setting its district plan. Hamilton is New Zealand’s third smallest local council in terms of land area, King said, yet the population is growing by two busloads a week.
‘‘Hamilton has a population of 165,000 people,’’ he began.
Point of order, said Cr Dave Macpherson: it’s 170,000.
‘‘Sorry, it’s gone up since I started the speech,’’ King said. ‘‘If you could re-start the clock, please, before it goes up again.’’
The city council needs to protect areas of land which will come into the city in time, he said.
Big residential developments by the border could put pressure on Hamilton City services and infrastructure, city council general manager of growth Jen Baird told councillors.
It could also create urban sprawl, undermining plans to keep the city compact.
The councils need to work together to manage the impact of growth, she said, and the submission on district council’s proposed district plan is an an opener to a longer conversation.
‘‘For future growth of this city it’s just critical that we don’t ever find ourselves in a situation where we’re kind of locked out of areas because they became inefficient to grow,’’ Cr Geoff Taylor said.
‘‘And I am concerned about the subdivision of farmland into smaller lots, which then makes it really, really hard to bring into the city at a later time.’’
Deputy Mayor Martin Gallagher said people who buy property on the outskirts of Hamilton ‘‘are driven primarily by the facilities and amenities and advantages of living on the fringes of New Zealand’s fourth major city’’.
‘‘The one difference is they don’t get to pay any of it [through rates].’’
City councillors voted 12-0 in support of the submission staffers had drafted.
Cr Rob Pascoe was absent.