HRC operations manager Allan Cook said yesterday that in 2007, there was a report that "there was no appetite to progress the relocation of the houses" by the community.
Mr McDonnell told the Chronicle the community would have had to foot most of the expense to relocate.
The village was flooded in 2004, with water up to a metre deep in some houses.
A second flood in 2006 was relatively minor, and this week's flooding came to just under the floorboards in Mr McDonnell's house. There is mud 18 inches deep in his sheds and covering his daughter's property next door.
Another disgruntled local said they would get nothing for their properties if they had to sell; instead he wanted the culverts in the settlement to be fixed.
Mr McDonnell agreed and said that the small road that ran from Russell Cuff's property to SH3 was a natural dam; water gathered there and could not drain out, and a culvert would help to clear out the water.
The water sits in a paddock and along SH3 and across the highway it covers the Whangaehu Beach Rd and the adjacent paddock, making it impassable except for trucks and 4WD vehicles. The infrastructure in the settlement is the responsibility of the RDC.
Turakina Ward councillor Soraya Peke-Mason visited the settlement and said there would be more discussions.
Mrs Peke-Mason said declaring a state of emergency was a directive from chief executive Ross McNeil. Mr McNeil was in a meeting and unavailable for comment yesterday.
Maggie Collard was philosophical about the water that overflowed the Whangaehu River and the mud that covered their corner property and the downstairs where her daughter's furniture was stored. "It's just a nuisance. We have Whangaehu Motors and service the farmers in the community, so we have to get on with it."
She said it was four months before they were back in business after the 2004 floods.
Mr Cook of the HRC said the latest flood was a 22-year event, and "an engineered flood protection was still not practicable in that area".
