SENSIBLE: Doug Hendry says the recommendation was not a surprise.
SENSIBLE: Doug Hendry says the recommendation was not a surprise.
The Tauranga City Council has decided to defer the development of a residential subdivision at Smiths Farm so its completion will align with the Tauranga Northern Arterial Link.
The arterial link is due to be completed by 2022.
Tauranga City Councillor Catherine Stewart was the only councillor to oppose the move in a meeting held yesterday.
Delaying the development meant the site would need to be rezoned through the City Plan, instead of being developed under the Special Housing Area legislation.
To facilitate this future process, council staff would apply for resource consent for suburban residential development under the Housing Accord before it is repealed in September.
The council would then go through a fully notified Resource Management Act plan change process to rezone the site for suburban residential development.
Once this was done, and once more was known of NZTA's planning for the TNL development, the council would make further decisions on the sale/development of the urban residential site, including whether to sell the land to a developer, partner with a developer or undertake the development itself.
In the meantime, the council would go ahead with the development of rural/residential buffer lots between Smiths Farm and the existing Westridge subdivision.
"Progressing Smiths Farm ahead of the TNL would have created cost and risk for any residential development, and for the TNL project. Quite the contrary, co-ordinating the delivery of both projects will bring cost benefits and a better overall result for the area and surrounding communities."
However, he said residents needed to be aware that the development could happen before the proposed timeframe.
The plan change could take up to two years to work through but once approved it would clear the way for the council to settle negotiations with the New Zealand Transport Authority.
Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby
Tauranga City Council deputy mayor Kelvin Clout said it made sense to tie in the development with the completion of the arterial link.
Councillor Steve Morris said the new resource consent would cost the council about $200,000 but the money would be recouped once the sections were sold on.
"Circumstances change and you have to adapt," he said.
"By deferring the development and sale of the site it will be easier to communicate with buyers to where exactly the road will be and how it would impact potential sales. Until the thing is built and you can hear, or not hear the road and the traffic travelling along the tarmac.
You will be able to get a much better idea of what the neighbour would be like."
Last month, Tauranga's Westridge resident Doug Hendry said the recommended option came as no surprise to him because it seemed the sensible thing to do. It meant the council would get as much revenue as it could from Smiths Farm.
The council described the option as achieving "cost benefits and a coherent overall outcome from co-ordinating the delivery of both projects".
