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Hearings
Committee
12 March 2014
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Appointment
of Commissioners: Objection to Costs for PPC36
File No.:
CP2014/03683
Purpose
1. To appoint independent commissioners to hear a cost objection by
Haines Planning Limited on behalf of Atlas Concrete Limited and make a decision
on the fees to be paid for the processing of Private Plan Change 36 to the
Auckland Council District Plan (Franklin Section) – Bombay Motorway and Rural
Services Special Zone (PPC36).
Executive
Summary
2. Council received a notice of objection to costs
from Haines Planning on behalf of Atlas Concrete Limited pursuant to Section
357B of the Resource Management Act 1991 on 13 February. The objection to costs
relates to the processing charges for PPC36 in an interim invoice which covered
all processing costs up to the hearing and a final invoice which covered all
processing costs up to the release of the decision.
3. Council provided a response to the objection received
to the interim invoice in August 2013, which provided an explanation to the
costs charged and a small adjustment to the invoice to reduce some of the
administration time charged. This has not been accepted and an additional
objection has been received for the final invoice. Haines Planning have
requested that the cost objection be heard.
4. It is recommended that a panel of independent
commissioners be appointed to hear the cost objection to the two invoices and
make a decision on the fees to be paid.
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Recommendation/s
That the Hearings Committee:
a) appoint
a panel of independent commissioners to hear the cost objection and to make a
decision on the fees to be paid by Atlas Concrete Limited for the processing
of Private Plan Change 36 to the Auckland Council District Plan (Franklin
Section) - Bombay Motorway and Rural Services Special Zone.
b) delegate
authority to the Chair of the Hearings Committee to make replacement
appointments in the event that any of the independent commissioners being
unavailable.
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Discussion
Background
5. PPC36 sought to rezone 3.5
hectares at 2038 Great South Road, Bombay from Rural to a new Motorway and
Rural Services Special Zone. The proposed zoning provides for rural service
activities within the southern portion of the site and fast food, café
activities and a service station in the northern portion of the site.
6. PPC36 was lodged on October 2010
and was publically notified on 18 September 2012. Twelve submissions were
received.
7. Following a
hearing, the council’s decision to approve the Plan Change with amendments was
released on 12 September 2013.
8. Following the
resolution of an appeal, the Auckland Development Committee approved PPC36 to
be made operative on 13 February 2014.
Objection to Costs
9. PPC36
was invoiced in two stages. An interim invoice which covered processing charges
from when the plan change was lodged through to just before the hearing, was
sent out in June 2013. A notice of objection from Haines Planning on behalf of
Atlas Concrete Limited pursuant to Section 357B of the Resource Management Act
1991 was received in July 2013. The notice objected to planning, stormwater,
development engineering and administration charges.
10. A
response to the objection, providing an explanation to the matters raised in
the objection and offering a reduction in administration charges was sent in
August 2013. No response was received to this letter.
11. A
second and final invoice covering processing charges relating to the hearing
and decision on the plan change was sent out in January 2014. This was
accompanied by a letter requesting a response in relation to the cost objection
to the interim invoice.
12. A
second notice of objection was received by council on 13 February, objecting to
costs in the final invoice, rejecting the response provided to the objection to
the interim invoice and seeking that the objections to costs in both the
interim and final invoices be considered and heard together. The concerns
raised in the second cost objection are similar to those raised in the first
objection and primarily cover planning, stormwater, landscape and development
engineering charges.
13. The
objection seeks that on a without prejudice basis that the Council’s total
processing charges be reduced from $85,006.42 to $40,000 (excluding GST).
Consideration of the Objection
14. Notwithstanding
the applicant wishes to be heard, the cost objection will initially be
considered by an independent person. This will enable a more independent and
transparent process and is consistent with the recommended approach provided by
the recent commissioners decision on an objection to costs for the processing
of Private Plan Change 38 to the Auckland Council District Plan (Manukau
Section). The planner will review the invoice, supporting information and
objection notices and recommend whether the costs charged are reasonable or
whether a reduction is appropriate.
15. Council will endeavour to resolve the objection to costs without
proceeding to a hearing. However if a hearing is required it is recommended that a panel of independent commissioners
be appointed to hear the cost objection to the two invoices, and make a
decision on the fee to be paid.
16. Although it is not yet known whether the objection will proceed to a
hearing, as objections are required to be considered as soon as it reasonably
practicable and are governed by other statutory working days in accordance with
S357C of the Resource Management Act 1991, it is considered prudent to appoint
commissioners in anticipation of a potential hearing. This ensures the cost
objection is processed efficiently.
Consideration
Local
Board Views
17. The views of the Franklin Local Board have not been sought for the purposes of this report which
addresses a procedural matter in appointing commissioners to hear an objection
to Council’s processing costs for PPC36.
Maori
Impact Statement
18. Ngāti Te Ata and Ngāti Tamaoho
have had continuous involvement in the plan change process for PPC36. The views
of Ngāti Te Ata and Ngāti Tamaoho have not been sought for the purposes of this report which addresses a procedural matter
in appointing commissioners to hear an objection to Council’s processing costs
for PPC36.
General
19. There will be costs associated with hearing the objection. These
include administrative, planning and commissioner costs. These costs can be met
from the Regional and Local Planning and Democracy Services Department’s
budgets.
Implementation
Issues
20. The recommendation to appoint
independent commissioners to hear the cost objection (should it proceed to a
hearing) and to make a decision on the fee amount required to be paid is
consistent with the Council’s policies and strategies and does not trigger the
significance policy.
Attachments
There are no
attachments for this report.
Signatories
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Authors
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Lisa Miers – Planner, Regional & Local Planning
Manager
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Authorisers
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Penny Pirrit – Regional & Local Planning Manager
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