03/08/2004

ODC should change plan before Kawhia Harbour is damaged

John MacLeod is entitled to his views. However in supporting Mr Kaati's misconceived attack on the Kawhia Harbour Protection Society he should declare his vested interests.

Mr and Mrs MacLeod are property developers in Kawhia. They are annoyed that Te Runanganui o Ngati Hikairo Resource Management Committee and the Kawhia Harbour Protection Society have questioned the Otorohanga District Council's approval in February 2004 of their application to subdivide one of their properties on SH 31 opposite Lake Rd.

Issues raised with ODC include: the inappropriateness of allowing subdivision on the ecologically and visually significant Te Wharu Bay wetlands, the failure of ODC to carry out any investigation of the application to ensure compliance with the district plan's subdivision standards (minimal as they are) including the availability of on-site sewage, disposal, allowing the MacLeods to use the road reserve for residential purposes and ODC's failure to consult with iwi despite the Ngati Hikairo committee having written some months prior expressing their concerns about further subdivision of the site.

This case illustrates much of what is wrong with ODC's approach to subdivision in the Kawhia coastal environment. The wider environmental effects are simply ignored. ODC should stop hiding behind its "award winning" district plan. It was designed for and undoubtedly works well in Otorohanga township. The Kawhia Harbour is an important regional and national landscape with outstanding physical, cultural and historic features. The current subdivision standards show no recognition of this and are grossly negligent.

ODC should get on and change them before any irretrievable damage is done to the harbour landscape.

Virginia Shaw
Kawhia Harbour Protection Society

Kawhia group fights ODC on lack of subdivision control

A new society claims the greatest threat to the conservation value of Kawhia Harbour is the Otorohanga District Plan.

The assertion was made by Kawhia Harbour protection Society Inc legal advisor Virginia Shaw, who said the plan does not reflect the intentions of the Resource Management Act (1991) or the New Zealand coastal Policy Statement (1994).

At present a residential subdivision at Puti on the prominent Motutara Peninsula is proposed in the Kawhia area.

The society is seeking an immediate change to the district plan to restrict further subdivisions in the Kawhia catchment area and ensure their public notification until a comprehensive harbour managernent plan has been completed.

Miss Shaw a senior member of the Refugee Status Appeals Authority, and chairperson of the Kawhia School Board of Trustees, said ODC has shown little awareness of the special character of the Kawhia landscape, or their statutory obligations to protect the coastal environment.

"At present subdivisions are appearing and the community is cut out of any meaningful participation in the process, she said.

"We are a group that brings Maori arid Pakeha who live in the Kawhia catchment together, and we will be supporting our Maori members to exercise their legal status under the RMA."

At the last census Kawhia had a resident population of 507, more than 50 per cent of whom identified as Maori.

The purpose of the RMA is to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources in a way that enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic and cultural wellbeing.

It determines how the environment is managed to help achieve sustainability in New Zealand and requires adverse environmental effects be avoided, remedied, or mitigated.

The Act seeks to protect t historic heritage sites and recognises the relationship Maori have with ancestral lands, water, sites, wahi tapu and other taonga.

It gives specific recognition to the Treaty of Waitangi principles and kaitiakitanga the exercise of guardianship by tangata whenua).

It also makes provision. for "matters of national importance," including preserving the natural character of the coastal environment and protecting outstanding natural features and landscapes from inappropriate subdivision.

The RMA stipulates "no person may use land in a manner that contravenes a rule in a district plan or proposed district plan" unless the activity is expressly allowed by a resource consent, or has been recognised as an existing use. -

District councils may classify activities as permitted (not requiring a resource consent), controlled, restricted discretionary, discretionary or non-complying (requiring a resource consent), or prohibited (not able to obtain a resource consent).

However, that is not the approach taken by ODC, which means most subdivision activities in Kawhia do not require notification.

ODC recently worked alongside the community to prepare the Kawhia Community Plan 2004-2014.

The planning team, chaired by Nick Tautari, focused on community life, including social issues, wellbeing, history and culture, economic future, and recreation and leisure.

It identified Maori cultural and spiritual history and the "Kiwi bach" culture as important values which residents wanted recognised to "avoid being overwhelmed by mainstream commercial demands."

It also identified tourism, eco-tourism and marine activities, such as fishing and farming plus historical and cultural tourism, as ways to increase employment opportunities in the township.

Regional council Environment Waikato, recognises the natural character of the coastal environment makes an important contribution to Waikato's uniqueness.

It also recognises Kawhia Harbour as having significant conservation value.

The Kawhia Community Plan also reflects concerns about the current state of the harbour, including pollution, depleted seafood stock, erosion and ecological.

Both the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand and Ornithological Society of New Zealand recognise Kawhia Harbour as an important habitat for wading birds and a home for many native species.

It is a place where arctic breeding birds from Siberia and Alaska, including Godwits, can be seen at very close quarters.

Kawhia Harbour Protection Society sees these ecosystems and values being threatened by the cumulative effects of residential development.

"The wetlands in this area are of international significance., as habitats for native and migratory birds, and marine life," said Miss Shaw.

"The harbour needs to be treated holistically, as one environment."

ODC general manager David Hall said the Kawhia community outcomes process has identified several issues for the small community including environmental concerns and the need for affordable freehold sections.

He said the issues raised during consultation and preparation of the plan had led to a planning process, which was currently taking place.

"As a result of that planning we may review some sections of the plan which relate to the Kawhia area, but that is by no means certain." Mr Hall said the plan, which was prepared in 1999, must be reviewed every 10 years, but the council was able to make amendments in the interim.

"We certainly can make changes to the district plan if we need to, but before we would look at doing that rural community views need to be known."

Mr Hall said ODC had not yet completed its rural plan and that process was likely to raise issues for landowners, including those in the Kawhia Harbour area.

He said while he was sympathetic to the Kawhia Harbour Protection Society's objectives, their interests had to be balanced against the views of other interest groups, and rural planning was likely to identify further issues which would need to be resolved.

However, he said requiring notification of all subdivisions was unlikely to occur, as it would have unintended consequences for property owners.

Miss Shaw said residents had been aware for sometime that it was inevitable large tracts of land at Kawhia would be targeted by subdividers, as is happening elsewhere around the country.

However, she said the coastal policy statement states that "it is a national priority to preserve the natural character of the coastal environment.

The policy encourages appropriate subdivision, use or development in areas where the natural character has already been compromised, in order to avoid sprawling or sporadic subdivision, use or development in the coastal environment and their cumulative adverse effects.

"We're very fortunate that this is one of the, last West Coast bar harbours remaining in a relatively undeveloped state," she said.

"We are not saying other people can't come to Kawhia, what we are saying is that if there is to be new housing development it has to be carefully thought out.

"We have the opportunity to consider where we would like to see new people live. "That may mean expanding the historic points of settlement, such as Kawhia, Oparau, Te Waitere or Te Maika, rather than building in new areas. Said Miss Shaw.