There were no apologies.

There were no late items.

RESOLVED

THAT the minutes of the meeting of the Hearings Committee held on Thursday 18 August 2005 be taken as read and confirmed.

HC05/32 Gordon/Bubb CARRIED

Reports of the matters dealt with by way of delegation from the period 1^st August 2005 were submitted separately for the Committee’s information.

RESOLVED

THAT the reports of delegated matters from the period 1^st August 2005 be received.

HC05/33 Carmine/Bubb CARRIED

NON-NOTIFIED RESOURCE CONSENT APPLICATIONS

APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO SUBDIVIDE LOT 5 DPS 47048 IN A RURAL ZONE TO CREATE TWO LOTS - F D AND M J ROBINSON OF 546 HAURAKI ROAD, TURUA (82.036.230)

The Applicants,  F D and M J Robinson of 546 Hauraki Road, Turua have applied to subdivide their property being Lot 5 DPS 47078 into two lots.

A detailed report was attached.

A hearing had been scheduled for 10.30am. The hearing commenced at 10.30am.

RESOLVED

THAT the report be received.

HC05/34 Bubb/Gordon CARRIED

Mr F D Robinson (Applicant) and Mr Dunwoodie (Surveyor) of Dunwoodie & Green Surveyors were in attendance for the benefit of the hearing.

Mr Dunwoodie spoke on behalf of the applicants, Mr and Mrs Robinson. Mr Dunwoodie outlined to the members the location of the property at 546 Hauraki Road, Turua. He stated that the Robinson’s have retired and wish to continue living in the house on the property in which Mr Robinson has lived for over 20 years. Proposed Lot 1 of the property is a land area of 7910m2 which includes the existing house, a double garage and a shed. Lot 2 would contain the remaining land area of 4.2240ha. This will give them the option of selling the balance lot in the future which will cater for their retirement. The land is zoned Rural in the Hauraki Councils District Plan and has a land classification of Class I-III and falls naturally within the township of Turua.

Mr Dunwoodie stated that he considered that this subdivision will not put any additional pressure onto the Hauraki roadside in relation to access, as access to Lot 2 would be obtained from Oparia Road. He considered the subdivision of the property would not affect the land use and productivity as the land is used for grazing only.

Cr Carmine asked Mr Dunwoodie if they had considered the effect the position the existing dwelling may have on the potential access into the subdivided sites in the future (should the land be rezoned). Mr Dunwoodie stated that access to the other lot proposed in the subdivision would be provided from the rear of the property with access from Oparia Road; therefore, access would not be required from Hauraki Road. Cr Gordon asked if the 5m road frontage was ample to cater for multiple accessways, into the subdivision. Mr Dunwoodie replied that he considered 5m was ample but stated it was up to Councils discretion to consider if this width was acceptable or not.

In reponse to a question of how the stormwater and wastewater would be catered for at the subdivision, Mr Dunwoodie advised that there is an existing ‘right to drain stormwater’ easement over the property in favour of Lots 1 and 2 DPS 47048 which would be extended to include proposed Lot 1. Lot 2 will have direct stormwater drainage in to Councils’ drains which run through the property along the southern boundary.

The Planning Officer provided a detailed report of the physical description of the area of land of the proposed subdivision. The property and the surrounding properties are zoned Rural and are of Class I-III land. Lot 1 fronts onto Hauraki Road and Lot 2 is sited to the rear of the property fronting onto Oparia Road.

It was advised that in assessing the application under the rules and requirements of the District Plan, no persons were considered to be adversely affected by the proposal. It was considered that the proposal is not provided for in the rules for either general lots or lifestyle lots in the Rural zone. The rules do not provide for the creation of small lots from existing small titles (i.e. less than 8 hectares in area) as is being proposed in this case and would cause fragmentation of this productive land.

In response to a question from the Committee, it was advised that a 20m roadway would need to be constructed to cater for the number of lots which could be created (if rezoned as Residential).

It was further clarified that there is currently no easement over/along the Council land drain along the southern boundary.

Cr Gordon asked Ms van Steenbergen if it was likely that this area of land would be considered for rezoning from Rural to Residential in the future. Ms van Steenbergen stated that it is unlikely that this area of land

would be rezoned to Residential, as this area of land is well separated from the existing Turua residential area. Ms van Steenbergen advised that there is already Residential zoned land available adjoining the Turua township which is presently not receiving a great deal of interest in the market place; therefore, there is no reason to consider additional rezoning at this time.

In summary, Ms van Steenbergen stated that the proposal is significantly contrary to the rules for the creation of general lots and for the creation of lifestyle lots. The proposed subdivision is considered to be contrary to the objectives and policies for rural subdivision of Class I-III land as it will result in the fragmentation of land recognized as having high productive potential and whose protection is identified by the community as being a matter of importance to the District. Further, granting such a subdivision would affect the integrity of the District Plan and public confidence in its consistent administration. Therefore pursuant to section 104B of the RMA, Council has the discretion to decline consent.

Mr Dunwoodie stated that he did agree with Ms van Steenbergen regarding the width requirement of the accessway into the subdivision should the land be rezoned. He stated that at this stage, even if the land is subdivided, it would still be used for grazing and therefore would not alter the present use of the land as it stands.

The hearing closed at 11.00am.

The Chairperson advised that Council’s decision was reserved until it had considered the evidence presented and all other relevant matters.

After considering all of the evidence the Committee

RESOLVED

THAT pursuant to Section 94 and 104B of the Resource Management Act 1991 the Hauraki District Council decline consent to this non-notified, discretionary activity application to subdivide Lot 5 DPS 47048 at Hauraki Road, Turua for the following reasons:

The proposed subdivision will result in the fragmentation of higher quality land and potentially reduce its productive potential.

The proposed subdivision will compromise the provisions of the District Plan for subdivision in the Rural Zone particularly the objectives and policies.

The proposed subdivision will create lots of an appropriate size for lifestyle living within a zone not intended to be developed for rural-residential purposes.

The proposed subdivision will compromise the integrity of the District Plan and affect public confidence in its consistent administration.

HC05/35 Carmine/Gordon CARRIED

The meeting closed at 11.10am.

CONFIRMED

D M Carmine

November 2005