Frustrates leaders
able.”
He said he hoped council officers worked with more urgency.
Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell said she understood the frustration but said the staff had been “working very hard” at the regulatory approach.
“They have provided a direction of how we can move forward and give the community confidence that through our district plan, through the Building Act and through the Resource Management Act, and now with new leaders around the table, the community will see a different approach.”
She said there was “awkwardness” for councils nationally “when the Government is choosing to use buildings in a way that they were not consented for”.
Councillor Robert Lee said he was pleased to see the council taking enforcement steps despite challenges.
“The council are moving forward with enforcement even though MBIE haven’t got off their — um, haven’t done their job yet.”
Councillor Rawiri Waru said he couldn’t wait until the determination was delivered as it “would help” but it was a nationwide struggle.
Gaston said he understood MBIE’S work had delays stemming from extracting evidence from motels, as well as staffing challenges.
Deputy mayor Sandra Kai Fong said the council was trying to move as quickly as possible to take a strong regulatory approach.
“We’re trying to shut the door for motels that had previously operated as emergency housing and wanting to move back into that space, that they can’t then go back.”
In the meeting Gaston also said the council was making sure potential motel buyers knew emergency housing was unconsented activity by flagging it in Land Information Memoranda (LIM) reports. Kai Fong said it was another disincentive “for moteliers to think that they can sell their motels for exorbitant sums of money, thinking they can continue to make money for an unconsented business”.
Councillor Gregg Brown said he felt the approach “makes perfect sense”.
“At some point in time, when we’ve got all of our tools in place, that we draw a line in the sand and we take enforcement action for those who won’t play the game . . . sooner rather than later.”
Outside the meeting, MBIE building resolution national manager Katie Gordon said the determination was an important matter for the operation of emergency housing and the safety and wellbeing of the people involved.
She said it had been “given the appropriate prioritisation in the current caseload” and MBIE had issued a draft decision on November 14.
There was now an opportunity for “parties” to the decision to provide MBIE with submissions before the determination was made, she said.
In the meeting, the council also unanimously agreed to appoint councillor Gregg Brown as the councillor representative to the Rotorua Lakes Community Board, and councillor Karen Barker to the Rotorua Rural Community Board.
Three items were discussed in a public-excluded section of the meeting. They were a contract for road seal extension on Maleme Rd, “industrial land development” and the Rotorua Housing Accord.