Housing bosses to front over controversial Flagstaff project
Flagstaff residents alarmed by a proposed state housing development in Hamilton’s northeast will get the chance to grill housing bosses face-toface.
Ka¯ inga Ora has organised a public drop-in session at Flagstaff’s Suburbs Community Sports Club on June 22 for residents to quiz staff and give feedback about its proposed 70-unit development on Endeavour Ave.
The proposal features two- and three-storey buildings on a 1.9-hectare site and will be a 50/50 mix of public and privately owned housing.
No one from Ka¯inga Ora would front for a media interview but, in a statement, staffer Martin Chandler said colleagues had already met with a range of groups, as well as Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate and deputy mayor Geoff Taylor, to discuss the housing proposal.
The scale of the housing development, the height of some buildings, and its potential impact on traffic and facilities in Flagstaff has alarmed some residents.
About 2775 people have signed a petition calling for the housing project to be halted.
The petition was organised by Hamilton East MP, National’s David Bennett, who will present it to Parliament next week.
‘‘We want to get it in front of Parliament quickly because there’s only six weeks left at Parliament,’’ Bennett said.
‘‘To get a public hearing we need to get the petition down to Parliament next week and that will give the community a chance to have a public hearing.’’
Bennett expects the petition will be handled by Parliament’s governance and administration committee.
Resident Kate Monahan Riddell signed Bennett’s petition and said Ka¯ inga Ora needs to take notice of the community’s concerns.
Any suggestion that residents’ pushback against the housing development reflects Nimby-ism is unfair, Monahan Riddell said.
‘‘I think the vast majority of people in Flagstaff are really caring, kind people who care about their neighbours,’’ she said.
‘‘We all understand there is a real need out there [for housing] and there’s a huge problem with homelessness, so we’re definitely not against social housing.
‘‘We just want it to be done in a way where we all get a say and collaborate so it’s more in character with the neighbourhood.’’
Resource and building consents are still to be granted for the Endeavour Ave development, with construction timed for 2021-22.
Aspects of Ka¯inga Ora’s current design do not meet some of Hamilton City Council’s District Plan, including the height of some apartment buildings.
Southgate has called on the housing agency to opt for a publicly notified resource consent, saying anything else would not be acceptable given the public’s interest in the proposal.
In Chandler’s statement, he said the organisation would consider ‘‘the nature of future engagement’’.
Labour list MP Jamie Strange supports Southgate’s call that Ka¯ inga Ora should pursue a publicly notified resource consent.
Strange will attend the public drop-in session on June 22 and said he’s focused on ensuring residents’ views are heard.
‘‘Hamilton does have a housing shortage and so we do need to increase our housing supply,’’ Strange said.
‘‘That housing though has to be done in consultation with the residents in the area of where the housing is going to go.’’
Brigid Sturm, a member of Flagstaff Residents Inc, recently met with Ka¯inga Ora staff and believes the agency has started listening to residents’ concerns.
‘‘We’re still hopeful that Ka¯inga Ora will change their plans to make the development more sympathetic to the existing environment,’’ she said.