Strategy, Policy & Finance Committee decisions
The Strategy, Policy & Finance Committee is recommending that Council proceeds to consultation on a proposal to dispose of excess reserve sites and make them available for housing.
It is proposed that the proceeds of sale be used to improve Rotorua’s reserves network, in the areas where sites are disposed of and that this would be by way of improved facilities or purchasing new reserve land in areas where there is currently an under-supply.
Community consultation is proposed prior to decisions being made.
The proposal identifies 10 sites – 2 full reserves and 8 parts of reserves – that do not meet the objectives of Council’s Open Space Level of Service Policy and could be used for housing of various types. The sites were identified during a review of urban reserves that was undertaken as part of implementing the open space policy, which was adopted last April following community consultation.
The areas proposed for disposal total approximately 9.5 hectares, about 0.6% of Council’s overall reserves network which currently includes more than 370 individual reserves totalling approximately 1500 hectares. Maps below set out areas proposed for disposal.
Two full reserves are identified for potential disposal – Gallagher Street Reserve, which is not used for recreation but for grazing animals; and Lee Road Reserve which has no facilities and is close to other large reserves.
Eight other sites identified for consideration are parts of reserves that fall short of safety design standards and/or have no clear purpose or function and/or are areas where safety is a concern.
Scroll down to view maps
What happens next?
The Committee’s recommendations will be considered at the next meeting of the Council, which is scheduled for 26 May.
If the recommendations are passed by the Council, the proposal will proceed to consultation and feedback from the community will be used to then make decisions about whether to proceed further and how.
Recommendations passed by the Strategy, Policy & Finance Committee today
Following presentation of the proposal, questions and discussion, the committee passed the following recommendations:
- That the Committee notes that the reserves or part reserves for possible revocation and disposal have been identified using the levels of service identified in the Council’s approved Open Spaces Level of Service Policy and the following criteria:
- There is excess reserve provision in the area;
- There is no clear purpose for or function of the reserve;
- The size of reserve significantly exceeds the minimum size identified in the Open Spaces Level of Service Policy and could be reduced without compromising recreation or open space values;
- The provision of housing on part of the reserve would improve the safety and use of the reserve; - There are no viable options to improve the reserve to meet level of service standard.
- That the Committee notes the significant housing deficit that exists in the Rotorua urban area (identified in the Housing and Business Capacity Assessment (HBA)), the below average number of transitional and public homes available in Rotorua and significant emergency housing problems.
- That the Committee recommends to Council that consultation with neighbours of all reserves proposed and the wider community be undertaken through the distribution of a Statement of Proposal (SOP) document inviting written feedback, for a period of 4 weeks, on the proposals detailed below. That the feedback be used to inform Council’s decisions on:
- Whether or not to proceed with the revocation and disposal of any reserve or part reserve;
- The legal method for revocation and disposal (i.e. Local Bill or existing Reserves Act process);
- The reserves to be developed or enhanced with funds received from the proceeds of the disposal;
- Any conditions to be applied to housing development by the purchaser.
- That the Committee recommends to Council that the following reserves (two full reserves and eight parts of reserves) be proposed for revocation and disposal in the Statement of Proposal:
- Lee Road Reserve - Coulter Road Reserve (part only)
- High Street Reserve (part only)
- Glenholme Reserve
- 117 Clinkard Avenue (part only)
- Gallagher Street Reserve
- Linton Park West – 16 Kamahi Road (part only)
- Wrigley Road Reserve (part only)
- Turner Drive Reserve (part only)
- Park Road Reserve (part only)
- Steeles Lane Reserve (part only)
- That the Committee recommends to Council that the Statement of Proposal identify in-principle the preferred legal method for revocation and disposal of reserves be through a Local Bill and notes that all proceeds of land sales will be re-invested in improvements to existing reserves or the purchase of new reserves.
- That the Committee recommends to Council that it includes within the Statement of Proposal, that it supports in-principle, a direct sale to Kāinga Ora of the following reserves (or parts of Reserves):
- Lee Road Reserve
- Coulter Road Reserve (part only)
- High Street Reserve (part only)
- Glenholme Reserve
- 117 Clinkard Avenue (part only)
- Turner Drive Reserve (part only)
- Steeles Lane Reserve (part only)
- Kāinga Ora and Council reaching agreement on the value of the identified sites;
- Kāinga Ora committing to providing mixed model housing developments that includes a mix of social housing and progressive home ownership models and market sale;
- Kāinga Ora committing to delivering housing on the identified sites within two years.
- That the Committee recommends to Council that remaining identified reserves (or parts of reserves) be sold via market sale or directly to a community housing provider where appropriate, conditional on the purchaser committing to delivering housing within two years.
And that the sale of those reserves to Kāinga Ora be conditional on:
The recommendation relating to direct sale to Kāinga Ora was opposed by councillors Tania Tapsell and Sandra Kai Fong who supported the remaining recommendations.
Councillor Raj Kumar and Te Tatau o Te Arawa representative Poutaua Biasiny-Tule voted against all recommendations.
Summary of report to Committee
The report explains the existing use of each site, along with current issues and opportunities, noting the disposal of the identified sites presents an opportunity to contribute towards achieving housing outcomes for Rotorua.
Assessment of the district’s reserves network against the Open Space Level of Service Policy identified sites that do not meet the policy’s objectives and/or are in excess of minimum requirements and where disposal of these would enable open space outcomes to be improved (eg by increasing use, safety and access to the reserve network and enabling re-investment in the network).
The report follows in-principle support from elected members last October for staff to begin due diligence processes for the potential revocation and disposal of identified reserves.
The report notes there is significant over-supply of reserve land in some areas (due to historic use of these as sportsfields before Rotorua moved to a more centralised sportsfield model), compared with limited or no provision in other areas.
Early consultation has already begun with mana whenua and local community groups.
The Wrigley Road Reserve was included in the proposal following discussion with the Fordlands Community Association which is working to achieve housing and wellbeing outcomes in its community. It is proposed council staff continue working with the association to identify a suitable community housing provider to develop housing there.
A kōhanga reo and a kindergarten leasing adjacent parts of the High Street and Coulter Road reserves respectively have both expressed support for making these sites available for housing.
What type of housing is envisaged?
A mix of housing types including public housing, affordable housing and private development from market sales.
Kāinga Ora has committed to developing additional homes in Rotorua if appropriate sites are available and has expressed an initial interest in purchasing six of the identified sites.
It is recommended some sites be sold directly to Kāinga Ora, conditional on certain stipulations being met, to help address a critical shortage of public housing in Rotorua. The average percentage of public housing across New Zealand is 4%, compared with 2% in Rotorua.
However, Council could decide to put all sites on the open market for sale.
What is the Open Space Level of Service Policy?
This policy outlines the approach to provision and development of the district’s open space network including determining open space requirements for new development areas and providing a framework for assessing the suitability of existing open space.
This means ensuring residents have access to quality open space that provides a variety of recreation experiences, and that the open space network is the result of good design and is highly valued by the community.
Revocation of reserve status
Reserve status for the identified reserve sites must be revoked before they could be sold. The standard process under the Reserves Act 1977 typically takes two years or more and it is recommended that a local Bill process, which will be faster, be used if the proposal proceeds.
Go to p23 of the meeting agenda to view the full report
View the slides relating to the presentation of this matter today HERE
Today’s meeting was livestreamed and you can go directly to the part of the meeting relating to this proposal by going to THIS LINK in the meeting recording on Council’s YouTube channel.
To watch the whole meeting go to THIS LINK on Council’s YouTube channel.
Maps
The maps below show Rotorua city’s Eastern, Western and Central areas, highlight all the reserves in each area and show the reserve sites proposed for revocation and disposal.
- The red highlights show reserves proposed for disposal in their entirety (a total of 2).
- The orange highlights show part reserves proposed for disposal (a total of 8 sites).