Consultation on reserves proposal opens next week
Community consultation on a proposal to revoke the reserve status of 10 reserve sites in Rotorua and make them available for housing will open next week.
Feedback received will be used to assist with decision-making about whether to proceed with the proposal and how.
It is proposed that if the sale of the identified sites – 2 full reserves and 8 parts of reserves – goes ahead, the proceeds of sale would be used to improve Rotorua’s reserves network, in the areas where sites are sold, 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 will open on Monday, 30 May 2022 and will close on 1 July 2022.
Decisions to be made following community consultation will include:
- Whether or not to proceed with the revocation and sale of any reserve or part reserve;
- The legal method for revocation and disposal (ie via a 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 purchasers.
At its meeting today [Thursday 26 May 2022] the Full Council voted in favour – 6 votes to 5 – of recommendations from the Strategy, Policy & Finance Committee which considered the matter earlier this month and recommended going to consultation ahead of decision-making.
Mayor Steve Chadwick, as chair, had to use her casting vote today due to a split vote. Councillors Tania Tapsell, Reynold MacPherson, Raj Kumar, Fisher Wang and Sandra Kai-Fong voted against the Committee’s recommendations, having voted in favour of an amended motion put by Cr Tapsell, removing in-principle support for 6 of the identified sites to be sold to Kāinga Ora.
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.
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.
The recommendations passed today were:
1. That the Council 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 Space 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.
2. That the Council 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.
3. That the Council approve 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 (ie 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.
4. That the Council approve 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)
5. That the Council notes the Statement of Proposal identifies 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.
6. That the Council notes 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)
And that the sale of those reserves to Kāinga Ora be conditional on:
a. Kāinga Ora and Council reaching agreement on the value of the identified sites; and
b. Kāinga Ora committing to providing mixed model housing developments that includes a mix of social housing and progressive home ownership models and market sale; and
c. Kāinga Ora committing to delivering housing on the identified sites within two years.
7. That the Council notes, subject to consultation, 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.
A motion moved by Cr Tania Tapsell that removed the in-principle support for 6 of the identified sites to be sold to Kāinga Ora was lost, 5 votes to 6, with Mayor Chadwick, as chair, having to use her casting vote.
Councillors Tapsell, Kumar, MacPherson, Kai-Fong and Wang voted in favour of Cr Tapsell’s motion with Mayor Chadwick and councillors Donaldson, Raukawa-Tait, Yates and Maxwell voting against.
You’ll find the facts about the proposal at THIS LINK on Council’s website. This includes maps showing the identified sites.
You can go directly to this part of the recording of the livestreamed meeting via THIS LINK on Council’s YouTube channel.
You can view the full report that was considered earlier this month by the Strategy, Policy & Finance Committee HERE (p23 of the agenda from that meeting). You can go directly to the part of the meeting recording relating to this proposal by going to THIS LINK.