15 July is the last date to request a hearing

If you made a submission, then the last date to request a hearing is next week! See below for more dates. 

Show your support by attending hearings on these dates:

Tuesday 30 July 2019 (Reception Lounge) Wednesday 31 July 2019 (Reception Lounge) Thursday 01 August 2019 (Reception Lounge) Friday 02 August 2019 (Reception Lounge) Tuesday 06 August (Council Chambers)
9.30am
Reception Lounge
Level 2, Auckland Town Hall 301-303 Queen Street, Auckland

Council Chambers
Ground Floor, Auckland Town Hall 301-303 Queen Street, Auckland

Key Dates for this hearing:

Council S42a report available Monday 08 July 2019 at 5pm

Applicant’s evidence due Monday 15 July 2019 at 12 noon

Submitters expert evidence due
Monday 22 July 2019 at 12 noon

Attendance forms returned Friday 19 July 2019

The following is from Don Stock, Chair Mission Bay Kohimarama Residents Association: 
 
Resource Consent Hearings
Mission Bay Development
30 July - 6 August
  Update on Mission Bay 8 storey development

We have now received the Council report on the application.  Unfortunately, the news is bad.  Council staff have concluded that the development is consistent with the goals and objectives of the Unitary Plan, and they therefore recommend approving it in its current form.  That means with all 8 storeys and the full 28m height.

Somehow they have concluded that this massive bulk fits quite acceptably into a suburb that the Unitary Plan envisages will eventually be primarily 3 storey.  Our planner has great difficulty understanding this at a technical level. The rest of us who believe more in common sense than arcane interpretations of supposed rules really struggle to understand how such a counter-intuitive decision could be reached.  But that is the decision.  Perhaps that is part of the reason that recent surveys have shown that only 15% of Aucklanders have a favourable impression of the Council.

Now it is even more important that we put forward a strong case at the hearings.  These are before independent commissioners who are generally much more knowledgeable and balanced than Council staff.  We are preparing our arguments and believe that they are very strong, but history has shown that anything can happen.

You can find all the documents filed so far here, and the Council report here.

What can you do to help?Arrange to appear at the hearings to present your submission in person.  If you want to do this, you will need to complete an attendance form and return it by Friday 19 July.  You can find the form here https://gallery.mailchimp.com/8d270326536f8df0aff2cd868/files/8434e1fd-e5e0-44b6-a824-b964b7f7aec5/Tamaki_Dr_et_al_Attendance_Form.pdf . To help you think about what you want to say and how to present it effectively, we will let you know what we consider to be the strongest arguments.  Not all arguments will be considered to be relevant under the Resource Management Act, and statements such as "I think it's ugly" will not carry much weight.  In general, the most effective approach is to keep it short and snappy, focusing on key issues rather than everything you can think of . You are, of course, free to present whatever you like.  Having a significant number of presenters can demonstrate the depth of community concern over the development which does sway commissioners.
Plan to attend the hearings as a member of the public either out of interest in the evidence to be presented, or to show that the community is sufficiently concerned about this development to make the effort to attend.  Ideally, we would love to fill the room to overflowing at least during the presentations being made by ourselves and our supporters, so the more people that can set aside the time to come and support us the better.  Please consider whether you could do this.  Talk to friends and neighbours and go along as a group to make it more interesting.  We don't yet have dates for our presentations, but the key hearing dates are likely to be around 5 or 6 August.  We will let you know more closer to the time once we know more.
If you haven't already done so, please consider donations to help us pay for our legal fees and planner costs.  Many people have already done so, and we thank you for that.  We will be sending out receipts shortly.  We have now raised approximately $3,500 which is great, but those of you who want to help but haven't quite got around to it yet, please do so now.
If you are able to donate, please make donations by direct deposit to our bank account, being sure to include your name and/or address as a reference.ASB Eastridge 123073 0052526 00

Alternatively, you can send cheques to:
Mission Bay Kohimarama Residents Association
Treasurer, PO Box 133050, Eastridge, Auckland 1146

Thank you for your support.  With your help we believe that we can avoid destroying Mission Bay's character with an 8 storey monstrosity, and guide future development towards a more community supportive approach.
 Submissions received

We have analysed the submissions that have been filed and have some interesting statistics below.

Headline numbers
700 submissions received
627 opposed in part or entirely
70 supporting in part or entirely
3 neutral

(One submission considered neutral said "Decline this application, and adhere to the maximum height in the unitary plan." which may explain how the Council interprets neutral!)

More detailed assessment
Of the 70 supporters, 14 did support the concept but opposed the height of the development, and a further 8 were executives from the applicant's company, leaving just 48 independent people who wanted the development in its current form.  Of these, just 16 live in Mission Bay, or a total of 24 in adjacent suburbs from Orakei to St Heliers.

In short, 93% of all submissions opposed the development as proposed, and 96% of submitters living in the suburbs most affected opposed the development.  That seems to be a pretty convincing demonstration that the community does not like this proposal.

By the way, a large number of submitters, including us, believe that the site should be redeveloped, just not with this design which is just wrong for Mission Bay.

We will provide another update in a week or so once we have the Applicant's evidence and our own arguments have been fully developed.
 
 
Best regards