Plan change doesn't "get the Mount vibe" - Local

Mount Maunganui from the top of Mauao. Photo: Photo: Stephanie Martelli.

Mount Maunganui's unique beach vibe could be ruined by more housing, residents and businesses say.

Concerns about traffic congestion, pollution and a lack of infrastructure were raised on day four and five of the Tauranga City Council (TCC) Plan Change 33 hearings.

Mount resident Barry Brown said more housing would affect the way people lived in the Mount.

Some of the experts' technical evidence didn't “get the vibe” of the seaside suburb and any change should be carefully considered, Brown said.

The plan change is in response to the Government’s changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that allows for greater intensification in urban areas.

Under the plan, building heights in downtown Mount Maunganui could rise. Heights of six storeys could be allowed in the shopping area and within 400 metres of it, then four storeys between 400-800m of the shops.

Mount resident Barry Brown said the expert evidence didn't “get the vibe” of the Mount. Photo: Alisha Evans/SunLive.

Whareroa Marae and Ngati Kuku environmental representative Joel Ngātuere said it was irresponsible to allow more people to live in an area where “everybody was slowly being poisoned” from air pollution.

The marae on Taiaho Place is surrounded by the Mount Maunganui Industrial area, including the Port of Tauranga.

In July, Te Whatu Ora released a report saying poor air quality in Mount Maunganui was creating significant health risks.

“Industry, traffic, and port activities all contribute to the poor air quality in the Mount Maunganui area,” Toi Te Ora medical officer of health Jim Miller said in a statement.

Ngātuere said three people in the community had died from respiratory illnesses, which were believed to be linked to air pollution, in the past three years.

The marae wasn’t anti -industry and knew the port has its place, but “noxious industries and residential can’t coexist”, he said.

Ngātuere said he wasn’t opposed to intensification, but a lot of work needed to done before it could happen. This included a belt around heavy industry to buffer it from the residential area.

The council did not have the support of the marae’s hapū Ngāti Kuku and Ngāi Tūkairangi for this plan change, Ngātuere said.

In 2020, the marae called for the managed retreat of heavy industry away from their whenua. In February they were told the businesses had existing land use rights under the RMA so there was no legal reason for their relocation.

Whareroa Marae environmental representative Joel Ngātuere said it was irresponsible to allow more people to live in the Mount. Photo: Alisha Evans/SunLive.

Lawyer Kate Barry-Piceno, of Clear the Air, raised a conflict with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Port. The council monitors the air quality, but also owns 54 per cent of the port.

“There's a reason why this community gets pretty hot about the issue of air quality. That's because they feel that the councils are failing them on this issue, and they have for some time.”

Barry-Piceno, who is also the Mount Business Association chair, said the downtown area had a unique beach vibe.

“It has the feeling of being on holiday. It’s very different to other centres around Tauranga.”

However, she said problems arose when the Mount became a “domestic mecca" in the 2020 tourist season.

“We were burgeoning at the seams with tourists over the summer. The collapse in our rubbish systems and the smell of sewage on the Mount downtown street was real.

“Those are the aspects where the services that are here and the needs associated with it haven’t been addressed."

Kate Barry-Piceno said the Mount was unique and rapid growth needed better consideration. Photo: Alisha Evans/SunLive.

“The Mount is unique. It needs care. If there’s going to be rapid growth here, it needs better consideration.”

Jonathon Earles, who represented his neighbourhood of Korowai St in Arataki, said plan change 33 was “extreme”.

He felt there wasn’t enough budget to allow for infrastructure and the roads were already congested.

“We’re ok with intensification, but we want a more balanced approach. One that is more suitable for the community today, tomorrow and in 30 years’ time.”

Submissions are being heard by an independent panel made up of chairperson David Hill and commissioners Vicki Morrison-Shaw, Richard Knott and Fraser Campbell.

The hearings continue on October 9 and 10.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.

4 comments

WE NEED MORE HOUSING BUT......

Posted on 07-10-2023 09:22 | By Bruja

NO MORE in the Mount!!! It's a 'beach town'. Leave it alone!!! There are absolutely MASSES of land where housing can be built. To hell with 'rural GREENSPACE' pc nonsense. One thing we're not short of is land despite what those who want to wreck the Mount might pretend. Outward not upward.


Not everyone against the changes

Posted on 07-10-2023 09:54 | By jed

I'm pro the changes. Intensification of course means infrastructure expansion, but that's normal anywhere in the world.

I feel Mt Maunganui residents are being a bit selfish here.

The bigger issue is the Mt Industrial area. It needs to go.


Not so selfish

Posted on 07-10-2023 13:06 | By Naysay

It's not working now during holiday time. It's a very real issue with sewerage running down the street. Lack of services such as Fire and ambulance. That is if they can get into the Mount. Seasonal beach villages laying at the foot of a very special landmark in which the town is named after needs to be preserved.


Why not just...

Posted on 07-10-2023 17:03 | By morepork

... close the whole place (Tauranga AND Mt Maunganui) to any further building permits and declare it "FULL!" ? We can "OPEN" it again when the Commissioners are gone and we have an elected Council that is addressing the realistic current needs and priorities of the area, instead of vanity projects like CBD rejuvenation and road works that take years to do a few KM... Just because the Government is allowing urban intensification, does NOT mean that we have to DO it. (There's probably a shedload of money being given to projects that undertake it and our administration have their beady eyes on the cash... If that's true and they plan to put some of it to getting Cameron Road open again, I'll soften my objection...) I empathize with Mount residents; it IS a special place and it's hard to see it being ruined by incompetence and greed.


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