Piha foes clash again over court costs

A community group says it is surprised and disappointed that Waitakere City Council is pursuing it for legal costs over the Piha Cafe stoush.

But an angry Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey says the council did it because it had had a gutsful of ratepayers' money going to respond to court appeals by "vexatious individuals".

Last week, the Environment Court ordered cafe opponents Protect Piha Heritage Society to pay $5000 towards the council's costs of defending the society's appeal against resource consents for establishing a cafe.

Judge R. Gordon Whiting also ordered the society to pay $10,000 to Preserve Piha, which is building the cafe with the aim of opening at Labour Weekend. In making the order, Judge Whiting said the consents were upheld by the court last February, and both the city council and the cafe company sought costs awards.

The council sought to recover up to half of its $85,179 costs and the company up to 67 per cent of $87,630 costs.

One of the council complaints was that the society's case lacked expert evidence in heritage, landscape heritage and conservation architecture, but the council was forced to hire additional expert consultants in these fields to defend its approvals.

Judge Whiting said costs should be awarded, albeit on a lesser scale than sought, because the society raised a number of unmeritorious points. Its case should have been more focused.

However, the society had an arguable case with respect to the substantive issues relating to the effects on the environment. He accepted that no expert evidence was given by the society on heritage, archaeology or landscape effects of a cafe.

But they were addressed in the evidence of Sandra Coney, who is a member of the society, author of Piha historical books and chairwoman of the Auckland Regional Council's parks and heritage committee. "She is a person with considerable practical and hands-on experience in relation to these matters," said Judge Whiting.

Last night, Mr Harvey singled out Ms Coney for generating the society's appeal. "The people they are punishing are the ratepayers, who are forced to respond to these vexatious individuals. They fund-raised so they could fight these poor buggers who only want to serve a decent coffee in Piha."

Ms Coney referred the Herald to society committee member Peter Hosking, who said the council's claim did not mention that the appeal was vexatious. "We take exception to the mayor for making such a statement."

He said the society represented concerns not just about the cafe, but about Waitakere City Council's attempt to commercialise Piha in the interests of tourism in the Waitakere Ranges.