Overview of the Council Vote Meeting - we need to get to 10,000 for the Judicial Review in August!

Hi there valuable Supporters

• We have 9400 signatures-  That is great- nearly 10,000!
• Attached and also pasted below is an Overview of the Council Meeting where they Voted-  and would not delay the Decision, even with the new better offer that was presented to them.
• We have the Judicial Review started by 'Save Queen St', and  has been set down for August this year.  There can be no sale until this has happened.  So we have stalled it.
• We need to get the Petition Numbers up to 10,000 by then - PLEASE can you help by sharing with everyone.
• We are awaiting 'Save Queen Street' organisation to start a funding page, so we can contribute towards the legal costs.  I will be in touch when this is done.

• HOW TO INCREASE NUMBERS:  

  If you can spare $10, you can pay Change.org to boost it to their other users.

  You can send an email to your local Councillor, and Letters to the Editor (Councillor emails are in my last update) EASY.

  Here are other ways to help please:

  If you haven't yet- please send to Friends/Family/ ALL Social Media, especially Facebook.  (see my notes below, for the best format, for Social Media, with all the '#' in it).  

  THE BEST WAY TO BOOST NUMBERS, I FOUND WAS TO SEND IT TO ALL YOUR EMAIL CONTACTS.   When I did this, my numbers  went from 880 to 2500!  and then 4940!   It went viral.

  Imagine if you all did that!  We would be unstoppable - the people's voice would be heard.  '-)   

  They are all very similar, but for GMAIL here it is, and very simple:

  After you have logged in.
  Then, create a new email addressing it to all of your contacts by:
  Putting your own email address into 'To' box
  Then click on 'Bcc', which is Blind copy- so nobody can see all your contacts, for privacy reasons.
  Then click on 'Bcc' on the left side.
  Ticking the box at the top, which is selecting “all contacts” when selecting the recipient.
  INSERT
  Compose your message, and then click the “send” button to have the email sent to all of your contacts.

  
  Good Luck and a BIG THANKS for your support in trying to save 2000 carparks in the CBD, and the great luxury of connecting  to VIADUCT,   COMMERCIAL BAY   and QUEEN STREET  safely with a short walk, all under cover.

  THANK YOU SO MUCH!  '-))

  Kindest regards

  Shery

12 COUNCILLORS' MYOPIC VIEW DAMAGES THE ENVIRONMENT
 - GAEL BALDOCK
Claiming that removing 1944 carparks is beneficial for the environment when in fact demolishing the Downtown Carpark [DTCP] for $15 million is far more detrimental.
With 99,000 tons of concrete, requiring 5,500 18 ton double truckloads belching diesel fuses through the city to a landfill site (with about 500 year decomposition time) or to the Onehunga concrete crushing machinery for recycling,
The Goff led Auckland Council received an “unsolicited approach” to purchase the Downtown Carpark according to Councillor Coom’s Motion FIN/2020/104 15.12.2020. Councillor Darby’s Motion at the Planning Committee PLA/2021/52 3.6.2021 approved a “competitive process”, but that is not what happened. (Full details available www.AucklandCouncil.govt.nz
Precinct Properties, owner of Commercial Bay and properties had all but one leasing agreement with the DTCP, which is held by the hotel on the seaward side of DTCP, who have agreed to waive these rights during construction for $13Million. So Precinct had a competitive edge, no other developer could demolish it. Precinct therefore held Eke Panuku, Council’s property division, ‘over a barrel’ during deal negotiations in a noncompetitive market process.
They also knew the value of carparks (public $90K / private $200K) and have recently purchased the Viaduct carpark behind the Tepid Baths for their customers. Their 2 tower proposal, which would take 5 years for demolition and to build, includes 740 underground private carparks dug into this possibly toxic reclaimed land, requires an additional 10,021 truckloads carted through the city.
Everything changed when new information was presented by Save Queen Street Society Inc. [SQS] 23.11.23 showed that the sale price could have increased by at least $200Million. By building a podium on top of the existing building, as is best practice worldwide, instead of demolishing having less impact on the environment, saving most of the carparks, whilst opening up a competitive market process and only take 2 years to build. https://youtu.be/C9BkXum8iu4?si=LidhNg52WfLWfm-s
This alternative strategy should have started a competitive ‘bidding war’ by opening the sale process to other developers.
Precinct’s $122Million offer doesn’t provide any public parking and is conditional on Council demolishing the Hobson Street flyover. First conceived in the Centre City Master Plan, it includes providing a public park and reconfiguring the surrounding roads. This has been moved sideways to the Long Term Plan and therefore the $75Million cost onto the ratepayers. Therefore the real net sale of the Downtown Carpark to Council is $47Million. Certainly not worth the loss of this strategic regional asset.
Prior to the meeting, another developer had offered $180Million to build a podium on top of the existing structure, whilst retaining ownership of 1200 carparks for public use and without the cost $75Million to ratepayers of demolishing the flyover. Therefore $133Million more than the Precinct offer.
Council’s legal team stopped 2 presentations at the Governing Body meeting - Heart of the City with a petition from retailers wishing to save public parking and Gael Baldock on Downtown Carpark’s strategic location as a ‘Transport Mode Change Hub’. Waiheke Local Board, to whom these carparks are vital and had not been consulted, were moved to the ‘closed-door’, confidential section, along with most of the debate.
Council voted to accept Precinct’s offer in their confidential meeting, Ignoring Councillor Lee’s motion to delay the decision until the new information was researched, therefore going against sections 77 and 79 of the Local Government Act 2002 that demands “It is the responsibility of a local authority [in] making judgments, must have regard to the significance of all relevant matters, identify all reasonably practicable options, assess the options in terms of their advantages and disadvantages.” Council failed to comply, hence Save Queen Street Society Inc. applied for a Judicial Review, the court set a hearing for August.
The carbon footprint and the congestion to the city centre of the proposed demolition would be highly impactful. It could be avoided, along with expensive litigation by a design shift to a podium on top of the existing structure, by Precinct or another developer, then maybe those councillors wouldn’t be remembered in a bad light. 1200 public carparks could be retained, the Downtown Carpark could be sold for a fair price with its amenity value to the city so avoiding possible rate increases in the Long Term Budget.
Gael Baldock, Community Advocate GaelB@xtra.co.nz Ponsonby News
https://issuu.com/.../ponsonby_news_february_2024_web/34