26 March 2004
Press Statement

Graham Gordon sentenced to 320 hours Community Service; Warned that further breaches could mean jail

Waitakere man, Mr Graham Gordon, of Shaw Road, Titirangi has been sentenced to 320 hours of community work, for failing to comply with a court imposed Enforcement order and breaching the Waitakere City District Plan; both being breaches of the Resource Management Act.

Mr Gordon had been found guilty in an Environment Court jury trial in November, 2003, on charges relating to the storage of car wrecks and unauthorised dwelling units at on 184 Shaw Road and the presence of unauthorised dwelling units on the adjacent property, 202 Shaw Road .

Judge Fred McElrea adjourned sentencing until March 22 to give Mr Gordon the opportunity to clean up his property and improve his position before sentencing. Sentencing was completed on 23 March 2004 with Mr Gordon being sentenced to 320 hours of Community Work.

The Court also ordered Mr Gordon to pay $5,000 towards the costs of prosecution and made new enforcement orders requiring the removal of remaining unauthorised dwelling units and car wrecks and prohibiting new unauthorised dwelling units being established and car wrecks being brought onto the property.

In sentencing Mr Gordon, Judge McElrea stated that Mr Gordon had been extremely close to receiving a prison sentence. Judge McElrea recorded that he was giving Mr Gordon a final warning in relation to imprisonment, warning Mr Gordon that, if he were convicted for breaches of Enforcement Orders again, he could expect to go to prison for a significant period of time.

Judge McElrea indicated that because Mr Gordon had not removed all of the offending items from the property the amount of Community Work imposed was higher than it could have been had he completed the work.

The sentencing is the latest step in a saga that started in 1993 when Enforcement Orders were made by the then Planning Tribunal (the predecessor to the Environment Court).

The Council issued new proceedings on separate charges in 2001 and the prosecutions were finally dealt with in November last year.

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