Court recall opens way for residents to give feedback
A TROUBLED Karori development has hit another road bump after last month’s Environment Court ruling giving it the go-ahead was reversed.
In a rare move, the court recalled its final decision this week on the Curtis St rezoning and earthworks for the planned development.
The recall allows residents to provide their feedback, after they were left out of a joint submission on the interim decision sent in by Wellington City Council.
The council had consulted on final terms and conditions for the area of land with the developer, Primeproperty.
But in a departure from the norm, none of the opponents to the development, including the Creswick Valley Residents Association (CVRA), were approached for their input.
This omission was ‘‘a possibility that simply had not occurred to the members of the court’’, the recall decision said.
Primeproperty Group chief executive Eyal Aharoni said the recall was a ‘‘minor hiccup’’ and he was sure the court would reissue the decision when they next met on October 7.
‘‘It’s just a minor thing that, when the decision was issued, they didn’t allow people to make comments, so it was simply a procedural error. It’s nothing to be concerned about.’’
Aharoni said if the decision was reissued in his favour, it would have been eight years since he first applied to develop the Curtis St land.
The process of getting resource consent and appealing the decision had cost him more than $1 million, he said.
Resource management lawyer Chris Fowler, who had advised the CVRA, said it was a highly unusual move by the Environment Court in reaction to the council’s atypical decision to not work with all parties.
‘‘It provides a reminder that judges still have a sense of fair play. It’s surprising council has allowed this to occur.’’
But Wellington City Council city planning manager Warren Ulusele said they had been clear in their memorandum that they had not consulted other parties.
‘‘The fact that the court missed that I can’t answer to,’’ he said.
He saw the delay as administrative and unlikely to have a significant impact on the decision.
The council was first taken to task by the courts over the site in 2012. A High Court decision on the then-proposed rezoning found the material supplied by the council to residents was misleading, the rezoning did not meet the council’s own criteria, and the council did not properly identify who would be affected.
CVRA spokesman Wayne Newman said the recall was a welcome chance for residents to have their say on how the council responded to the court’s directives to protect the area.
The original decision, released on August 28, allowed for the rezoning and earthworks approved by council.
But the three judges ordered the inclusion of new rules to protect vegetation in Curtis St and Whitehead Rd, and tougher controls on any subdivision.
The August decision also said a concept plan to address building setbacks and vegetation must form part of the plan change.
Newman said residents had a ‘‘shopping list’’ of concerns on how the council had interpreted these orders.