The Auckland Regional Council has appealed Waitakere City Council’s Plan Change 35 (Oratia Local Area Plan) and PC 36 – economic wellbeing in the Waitakere Heritage Area. See its Appeal to the Environment Court here. _1029104238_001

PC 36 sought to foster tourism and economic development in the Heritage Area, in particular the Waitakere Ranges, Coastal Villages and West Coast. PC 36 would have made it easier for new retail and restaurant/bar facilities to establish and harder for local people to object as more applications would have been processed on a “non-notified” basis.

It would have enabled existing eateries to get bigger, meaning more large buildings in the landscape. It also weakened controls around traffic movements for home occupations and allowed larger signs.

A major objection was that it treated all settlements the same whereas the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act under which the Plan Change was done, says that the uniqueness of the coastal villages should be preserved.

Another major reason for the opposition to the PC 36 was that the Act provides for the development of Local Area Plans for individual areas, and this has not occured yet for any coastal settlement. PC36 preempted that process and enabled commercialisation before local communities had had a change to say what they wanted for the future of their areas. Over 60 submissions came from Piha opposing PC36 while only 3 supported it.

Protect Piha Heritage’s submission is here. Submission on PC 36 March 2010