Local property owners believing their land is unfairly labelled a flood risk can now appeal following concessions by the Tauranga City Council, Scott Adams from Tauranga’s Urban Task Force (UTF) confirms.
“This is a significant win for the UTF on behalf of property developers and landowners. They can now get a simple storm water engineering assessment to override [council] mapping.
“This will be particularly useful where there are errors with the flood modelling and map outputs.”
The UTF took their concerns to the Environment Court following Council’s Plan Change 27, which provided framework (in April 2022) to manage the effects of flooding. New flood maps were introduced showing overland flood paths and floodable areas across the city which weren’t previously considered to be at risk. This may have hindered resource consents, development opportunities and impact land prices, the UTF contends.
Representing the city’s property owners, developers and businesses, UTF appealed citing ‘significant errors and inaccuracies’, claiming the maps did not show the most up-to-date flooding information.
Through the appeal process, parties generally accepted that there were ‘technical errors and issues with the mapping’, Adams confirms. An agreement has now been reached ensuring maps are updated and reliable for developers and landowners.
“Council has accepted through the appeal that a site specific technical assessment on flooding will now prevail over the indicative maps currently shown on the council’s GIS (Geographic Information System) layer.”
The UTF raised further concerns regarding how roadworks might affect flooding.
“Throughout the city, roads are designed to help carry storm water during major floods,” Adams explains. “When council makes improvements to roads (raising their height or adding engineering features), it could cause floodwater to spill onto nearby properties or reduce the ability of storm water to flow along the roads.”
To address this, Plan Change 27 has now been altered and nearby neighbours must be notified if roadworks might cause flooding on their properties. Policies have also been updated to focus on reducing flood risks, rather than just managing activities, Adams adds.
“UTF is pleased with the outcomes from our appeal. However, we would still be keen to hear from any of our members undertaking developments involving land identified as subject to flooding on the council GIS layer to ensure new provisions are being appropriately interpreted and implemented.”
Visit www.urbantaskforce.co.nz for more information about Plan Change 27 and the UTF.
