27 August 2007

Residential one character upheld

A decision by Auckland City Council to decline consent for a property owner to build a second dwelling on a site at 21 Reimers Ave Mt Eden has been upheld by the Environment Court.

City councillors say the Environment Court decision will help to protect the heritage of Auckland's inner-city suburbs.

The Environment Court turned the property owners' proposal down in a majority decision. The court found that the effects of the proposed second dwelling on the immediate neighbourhood would be more than minor. Its decision said that permitting a second dwelling in the backyard would compromise the form and pattern of subdivision and associated streetscape in a residential 1 zone.

The court also considered that the construction of the additional house would detract from a "climate of stability and certainty" where neighbours could be confident that an out-of-character development would not be consented "over the back fence" in future.

Councillor Glenda Fryer, who chaired the council's hearings panel, notes that the site is very similar to others in the area. "Allowing the additional house may have led to other similar developments in the street, and diminished the heritage values of the area."

Councillor Faye Storer, chairperson of the Planning Fixtures Committee, which deals with appeals to the Environment Court, says that this is a good outcome for the council. "This decision is particularly important for the residential 1 character areas of the city where the council is attempting to discourage future unsympathetic development," she says.

ENDS

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