Former mayor opposes hotel
Former Taupo¯ Mayor Rick Cooper says a proposed eight-storey hotel makes a mockery of the Taupo¯ ’s three-storey rule.
However, he is happy to flout it for his own building needs.
Cooper spoke during the first day of a planned three-day resource consent hearing for a proposed eight storey hotel.
The proposed hotel, to be built on Tuwharetoa St, would have 84 rooms of
4.5-star hotel accommodation, three basement levels, retail stores to lease on the ground floor, and a roof-top restaurant and pool.
Of the 72 submissions on the proposal,
49 oppose the proposal, 19 support it and four are neutral.
Currently three storeys is the maximum height the Taupo¯ District Plan accepts, before a consent process kicks in.
Aspirations to build taller – such as the eight-storey hotel – must go through a notified resource consent process.
‘‘If this [hotel] is allowed, it would be natural to assume we could also build to this height,’’ Cooper said at the hotels’ consent hearing on Monday.
‘‘So my question is: what happens to the eastern border of this hotel? Would they then be able to object to us building four storeys [on a neighbouring property]?
‘‘I personally believe a building of this magnitude even having the opportunity to apply to be consented makes mockery of the District Plan.’’
Mayor from 2007 to 2013, Cooper owns the nearby Farmers buildings and buildings leased by Burger King, No 1 Shoes, Opus, Tuaropaki Trust, Piccolo, Master of India, Malcolm Flower Insurance, Indian Affair Restaurant, Taupo¯ Dairy and Noodle Canteen.
‘‘Farmers only has three years left on their lease,’’ he said. ‘‘We are currently planning a four-storey retail building on that site.
‘‘I know the law is three, but I think, a fair and reasonable commissioner will probably allow us four.’’
Cooper said a larger site would be appropriate for a four-storey hotel.
‘‘The site the applicant has is approximately 1000 square metres. The site next door [11 Tuwharetoa St], owned by Tuwharetoa, is 2000sqm. So to achieve what these people want to achieve, Tuwharetoa’s building would only need to go up four levels to achieve the same floorspace that this hotel is trying to achieve – not eight.’’
Cooper also claimed the land occupied by the hotel – sold by council to a private party in 2016 for $960,000 – would have been sold too cheaply, if the eight-storey proposal goes ahead.
‘‘We personally believe when council sold this block of land, basically owned by ratepayers, that the purchase price reflected the allowed benefits of the District Plan. Therefore, if an eight-storey hotel is allowed on this site, can one honestly say fair face value was given to the ratepayers?’’
The resource consent hearing was adjourned yesterday, with a final submission to be made via email. A decision on whether to grant or decline permission to build the hotel at 29 Tuwharetoa St will be made in mid February.