A decision to add kerb extensions, a pedestrian crossing and signs to a main Rotorua connector road could see Rotorua Lakes Council defending itself in the High Court if it receives final sign-off tomorrow.
Peter Baars on Marguerita St, where road changes have been recommended to Rotorua Lakes Council. Photo: File / Andrew Warner / Rotorua Daily Post via LDR
Marguerita St property owner Peter Baars, who started a petition calling for the retention of the status quo on the street, sent the council a letter through his lawyer yesterday, ahead of the full council meeting tomorrow.
Council chief executive Geoff Williams said the council would respond to the letter "in the appropriate manner", not "through the media".
The letter stated that any change from the "literal status quo" would be "unreasonable, procedurally flawed and illogical".
It follows public consultation on three proposed options for Marguerita St, prompted by concerns from Arvida Glenbrae retirement home residents who reported shaking and rumbling from heavy vehicles on the streets.
The three options were to keep the street as it was; install traffic management features such as chicanes or road narrowing; or close the road to through-traffic near the western, residential end.
The consultation prompted Baars' petition, which opposed any changes being made to the street.
Baars' petition attracted 680 signatures while a residents' petition calling for changes collected 57. The consultation closed on 31 July this year and showed an overwhelming majority of submitters - about 88 percent - supported keeping the status quo.
However, at the 5 November Operations and Monitoring Committee meeting, council officers recommended a "modified status quo" - introducing four sets of kerb extensions, a pedestrian crossing and signs advising motorists of the residential area.
An amendment to leave the street as it was, suggested by councillor Sandra Kai Fong, was narrowly defeated with a split vote that was broken by the casting vote of the committee's chair, councillor Tania Tapsell, who opted for the modified status quo.
That means that tomorrow the council is to make a final decision on whether to adopt that recommendation or not.
In Baars' letter - sent to Mayor Steve Chadwick, all councillors, and council chief executive Geoff Williams - lawyer James McDougall said the vast majority of feedback on changes to Marguerita St supported "the literal status quo".
The purpose of the letter was to "challenge councillors' rationale and logic" and to "put [them] on notice".
Marguerita St, near Glenbrae Retirement Village. Photo: File / Andrew Warner / Rotorua Daily Post via LDR
If the council opted to implement the Operations and Monitoring Committee recommendation, Baars would refer it to the Ombudsman for investigation or for judicial review in the High Court "on the basis that it will be unreasonable, procedurally flawed and illogical", the letter said.
"What is deeply concerning is that [the] council has extensively consulted ... on three specific options and then recommended implementation of an option which was not actually consulted on, which disregards community views and is illogical and ineffective.
"These changes to the road layout are ineffective at addressing the residents' concerns of noise and vibration and do not solve any perceived or actual concern of the public.
"[Councillors] should use your good conscience and logic to vote against the recommendation."
Yesterday, Baars told Local Democracy Reporting the proposed kerb extensions would disincentivise traffic on Marguerita St.
"It can only be detrimental to business."
His lawyer, James McDougall, said the proposed modifications had no support from the public and made "no rational sense".
"It appears council staff and half the councillors are ignoring their own feedback process and are failing to exercise independent judgment to identify whether installing kerb extensions address residents' concerns.
"Any decision to modify the road without evidential support, or based on incorrect assumptions, is highly likely to result in [the] council being required to repeat the consultation and decision-making process."
He said there was no evidence the proposed modifications would alleviate noise or vibration issues which were "the primary concern of residents".
He said kerb extensions would also create unintended safety issues which he believed had "not properly been assessed".
Council chief executive Geoff Williams said since the matter would be before the council tomorrow, it would be "inappropriate to pre-empt final discussions and decision-making".
"[The] council will respond to the correspondence received in the appropriate manner, rather than through the media."
Local Democracy Reporting also asked what the proposed changes would cost to implement, and how much consultation regarding Marguerita St had cost to date, but answers to these were not provided.
Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers' Association and NZ On Air.
