Whangarei's mayor was on the verge of opening a can of berms when she suggested council take on the maintenance of a contentious rock garden.
Whangarei District Council is caught in the middle of a bout of neighbourly bickering over an Onerahi rockery with a shady history.
Allegedly installed inthe 1980s - though the origins are unclear - the rockery prevents the thoroughfare of vehicles along a private accessway on Church St and was meant to protect pedestrians and discourage speeding. Property owners on one side of the rock barrier wanted it to remain for these reasons.
Neighbours on the other side were Housing New Zealand tenants and said it caused them trouble backing out of their driveway, particularly when they were towing a boat and there were parked cars. Both parties wrote fervent letters to the council stating their case.
Councillors voted the rockery should stay at last week's planning Committee meeting.
Mayor Sheryl Mai suggested the council could maintain the overgrown rockery as consolation for the defeated residents, but was shot down by other councillors who said it would set a precedent for the maintenance of such areas.
"Can you imagine the can of worms we are opening?" said councillor Crichton Christie.
