26 August 2021
Media: Stuff
Topic: Homelessness
Enquiry
Reporter sought comment from the mayor re homelessness as follows:
I gather there basically isn’t any people sleeping outside (‘streeties’) as they’ve al been placed in emergency accommodation? Just hoping for a few lines on this from the top.
Response
From Mayor Chadwick:
Nobody should be living rough – there are services available to ensure people do not live on the streets – and certainly nobody should be living rough during a level 4 lockdown.
I’m not aware that this is an issue currently.
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Resource consents for land use change
Enquiry
- How many land use change resource consent applications for Rotorua are currently before the council for main routes into Rotorua and where are these for (please give the street address and/or the name of the location eg Boulevard Motel or 265 Fenton St)?
- How many land use change resource consent applications for Rotorua have been passed during the past six months for main routes into Rotorua and where are these for (again, please give the street address and/or name of location)?
- Are there any resource consent applications currently before the council for 424 Fenton St/or the former site of the Silver Oaks Geyserland Hotel
- An online petition opposing transitional housing on entranceways to Rotorua is calling for council transparency and for all land use change consent applications to be publicly notified. Is this something the council would consider given the public interest around this?
NOTE: Reporter subsequently clarified they wanted to know about consents for land use change on Fairy Springs Road, Fenton Street and Lake Road.
Response
Please note questions 1 and 2 will be considered under the Local Government Official Information Act so we will refer those on to be actioned and responded to in due course.
Q3. Are there any resource consent applications currently before the council for 424 Fenton St/or the former site of the Silver Oaks Geyserland Hotel?
No.
Response to question 4:
From District Development DCE Jean-Paul Gaston:
Rotorua needs more houses to solve the crisis that we are facing. There are hundreds of people that have no permanent place to call home, and a large number of those are children. Council is working in collaboration with the Government and with Te Arawa to develop solutions so people are safe and have a roof over their head in the short-term, and to ultimately build more homes.
In regards to Resource Consents, planners need to follow the statutory process set out by the Resource Management Act, not what is requested in a petition. This is national legislation and it’s important that the processing planners remain impartial and objective when following that process. Businesses, developers and individuals all experience the same professional assessment when applying for consents.
There are many reasons why individuals, couples or families need accommodation support. Factors such as rising rents, rising house prices, the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and employment, and growing populations will only cause more housing distress for the likes of low income earners and people on pensions who rent, and we as a community need to work together to respond to that. We are starting to see other centres, such as Napier and Hamilton, that are experiencing the same challenges as Rotorua, respond to those challenges by working with Kāinga Ora to develop housing in well-connected urban areas.
Further information:
- Rotorua District Plan allows, through a Resource Consent process, for motels on Fenton Street to be converted to housing.
- During the processing of any resource consent application, the planner considers whether the application needs to be notified or not. Among other things, the decision to notify stems from the level of relevant adverse environmental effects that a new activity proposes.
- A resource consent process provides a mechanism to ensure that the likes of a temporarily converted motel is suited to residential living – this includes, but not limited to, ensuring there are appropriate living conditions and management plans to address security and on-site operational requirements, such as noise, amenity areas, hours of operation and parking.
- The Resource Management Act and resource consent process cannot take into consideration the perceptions of types of people who may be living in any type of housing. For example, the level of relevant environmental effects would be in relation to the new activity or the number of people living there, over and above what is permitted, and not who those people may be perceived to be.
- Council has identified through the Homes and Thriving Communities Strategic Framework that Rotorua needs more than 1700 homes right now. We need well connected communities and a mix of housing types including transitional and public housing.
- Fenton Street was identified through the Spatial Plan (pg 18 and 27) (adopted in 2018 following public consultation) as a future location of residential development. The Plan outlined the potential to transition the accommodation on Fenton Street to residential areas and move tourist accommodation into the inner city.
- Latest results (31 March 2021) show there are 23,688 applicants on the housing register in New Zealand. 690 of those people are in Rotorua (3%). View more info here https://www.hud.govt.nz/news-and-resources/statistics-and-research/public-housing-reports/
- Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities has intensified its involvement in Rotorua to identify transitional housing and public housing opportunities to ensure a pathway to more permanent housing solutions, beyond motel use. This work is happening across the district, not just on Fenton Street. It is expected that around 190 homes will be delivered in Rotorua by 2024 under the Public Housing Plan.
Reporter also sought comment from Kainga Ora in relation to land use change consents and received the following response:
From Darren Toy, Regional Director Bay of Plenty, Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities
“When we have plans and proposals for new housing, and are in a position to share them with neighbours, the wider community and stakeholders, we do.
“Our approach will depend on what’s planned and its significance, and I want to thank those people and communities in Rotorua who have offered support and been welcoming of the work we and our partners are doing.
“I make no apology for the efforts and progress being made to find safe, warm and dry places and homes for Rotorua whanau and tamariki to live, and we will continue this work with urgency.”
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Notices of Motion
Enquiry
We understood that there were two notices of motion on the table for discussion at the meeting today. Have these been moved to next week's meeting?
Response
There were no notices of motion tabled today. Re the ones you have copies of, you’ll find the responses to these HERE on council’s website