COUNCILMADEMISTAKE, SAYS DEVELOPER
Residents fighting Mega store plan win court case
WELLINGTON residents who fought plans for a Mitre 10 Mega store in their neighbourhood have won a court case that overturns the city council’s zoning change for the site.
Creswick Valley Residents Association chairwoman Sarah Holden says opposition from residents was more directed toward the high-level principle that the council should listen to its ratepayers rather than a ‘‘not-inmy backyard’’ attitude toward the hardware store.
People were indignant at the council’s disregard for due process, she said.
‘‘There was a legally and morally correct action to take and they chose to do neither,’’ Ms Holden said of the council.
The tragedy was that residents would end up paying twice for the council’s mistake – once as ratepayers who have to contribute to the council’s legal bill and again for their own legal expenses, which are likely to be between $100,000 and $200,000, she said.
About 30 association members had contributed to its legal fund. One couple had raised a $100,000 mortgage against their house Wellington developer Eyal Aharoni is vowing to develop the Curtis St, Karori land where he planned to build a new Mitre 10 Mega store and says it is up to Wellington City Council to sort out the zoning problem.
The high profile property developer says he hopes he doesn’t have to sue the council.
The High Court has rescinded a change to the district plan, effectively blocking construction of the store on a 1.1 hectare former council depot site.
The court ruling in favour of a challenge by the Creswick Valley Residents Association was a ‘‘terrible decision and a very disappointing while others had promised week over a year or two.
The association went to the High Court to challenge the way the council had added the Curtis St, Karori, open space into a largescale rezoning proposal.
Residents knew nothing at the time when the site’s zoning changed from outer residential and open space to ‘‘business 2’’.
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a Consent was also given for largescale earthworks without them being told. The first they heard of plans for the site was when a few residents were notified of the application to build a Mitre 10 Mega.
Residents asked the council last year to reconsider the zoning change, but it refused.
Ms Holden believes residents in other areas of Wellington are yet process, Mr Aharoni said. He was getting legal advice. ‘‘Council made a mistake, it wasn’t a deliberate mistake and I hope council will assist in getting the planning done correctly.’’
The site was so good that it ‘‘has got to be developed,’’ he said. This land was a council depot for 60 years so in his view it always had a commercial use.
Mr Aharoni said Mitre 10 was upset about the decision and wondering where to go. It had big stores in Upper Hutt and Petone and planned another big store in Porirua, but this was the only large site available for a Wellington store. to find out about the zoning changes that have ‘‘slipped’’ in without their knowledge.
Developer Eyal Aharoni’s plans are on hold and a High Court judge has said the rezoning decision was invalid and the earthworks consent cannot stand.
Mayor Celia Wade-brown said she and several councillors were worried about public consultation procedures and last year asked council staff to review processes.
‘‘That review is under way. The High Court has shown that there are clearly some specific issues with district plan change processes.
Curtis St campaigner Michael Gibson said the council’s decision last year not to talk to local residents about their environment had cost the council $500,000.
Mr Aharoni says the court ruling was a terrible decision and very disappointing.
Justice Mackenzie said the council’s description of rezoning changes to ‘‘better reflect existing uses’’ was materially misleading because that was not the motivation for the Curtis St change.
For the Curtis St site at least, the council was required to decide whether any ratepayers would be directly affected by the rezoning and to send them enough information to draw that proposed change to their attention, he said.
But there was no evidence that the inclusion of the Curtis St site in the rezoning plans was ever considered against the council’s own criteria for the wide-scale district plan changes.