Town Centre meeting
The public has until 17th July to lodge submissions with the District Council over a proposed privately-funded town centre at 404 Ōmokoroa Road. A local kiwifruit company, JACE Group, has submitted a resource consent application for a $75m staged project.
The applicants presented to a public meeting at the Settlers’ Hall on Wednesday 24th June, hosted by the recently formed Ōmokoroa Residents and Ratepayers Association.
Plans include provision for civic buildings, shopping, a motel, apartments, an early childhood centre, a possible cinema and a green space for farmers’ markets - providing opportunities to live, work, shop and socialise at the 7.9ha holding. Of that, 5.3ha has been zoned commercial for ten years.
The land has been owned by JACE for the past five years. However, it has since been surrounded by residential development, and the Ministry of Education recently acquired the neighbouring property to the south for future schooling.
“The reality is, we can’t keep operating as a commercial orchard, and we need to bring it into the surrounding urban area. We are ready and willing to talk. We are from here; our kids were born here. We are not looking to clip the ticket and get out of Dodge City. We want to be proud of this, and able to walk down Main Street with our heads held high,” says JACE director Craig Lemon.
They’re appealing to the public to get on board with the project. Many who spoke or asked questions at the meeting were broadly in favour of the ideas presented.
However, five to eight years of staged spadework might be a couple of years from starting, as the resource consent hearing and any appeal process could cause delays. Some residents living in homes built on commercially zoned land at Kaimai Views raised the issues of noise and shading created by buildings up to 13 metres in height. Others had traffic or environmental concerns and wanted to see sustainable building practices such as solar and rainwater collection, or the use of planting and natural construction materials. JACE Group was collecting written comments and ideas on the night, and asking for photos and concept images from the public.
A salesperson for Brian Goldstone’s Harbour Ridge residential subdivision, Milton Clare, said landowners take an enormous financial risk to obtain titles through development contributions, roading and water infrastructure. Initial crowd concerns about architectural styles and Council processes soon gave way to more appreciative comments about the consultation opportunity and constructive suggestions for the project.
Council has previously stated that studies show the need for two commercial centres on the peninsula: Tralee Street to service the area north of the railway; and another south of the railway, to serve the area north of State Highway 2. Council expected that locating the latter nearer to SH2 would be attractive to the broader catchment of the surrounding hinterland and passing traffic.
Locals interested in joining the ORRA can contact Bruce McCabe on 027 654 1239 or email omokoroaresidents@gmail.com