Waitematā and Gulf Ward councillor Mike Lee has filed two motions of notice calling for the prohibition of private helicopters in residential neighbourhoods. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
A motion to block helicopters from Auckland's residential areas has become ensnared in a web of bureaucracy.
Councillors gathered on Thursday to discuss Waitematā and Gulf Ward councillor Mike Lee's two motions of notice calling for the prohibition of private helicopters in residential neighbourhoods.
It comes after Auckland rich-listers Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams were approved to build a helipad at their Westmere home, a decision now being challenged in the Environment Court.
Councillor Lee's first motion urged the council to change the city's Unitary Plan to make private helipads in residential areas a prohibited activity city-wide.
The second motion called for the same change, but only for the Hauraki Gulf Islands section of the council's District Plan.
The second motion was passed by the council, though it would still need to be approved by the central government.
However, the motion to change Auckland's Unitary Plan proved to be much more complicated.
Council advisory staff said a city-wide ban would be too difficult to implement.
It would require the council to seek permission from the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop, a request many councillors believed he would decline.
Councillor Richard Hills, chairing the meeting, instead proposed an amendment to Lee's motion requesting the council seek a declaration from the Environment Court to strengthen its case before approaching the Minister.
"What I'm trying to do here is give us a chance," he told councillors.
"You can bet when we have to go and beg to the minister to put through a plan change ... If we said we don't have staff backing and we don't think we have experts, there is no way the minister would say yes to that."
Councillor Richard Hills proposed an amendment to one of the motions. Photo: Alexia Russell
Councillor Lee described the amendment as an ambush.
"There have been ample breaks in this meeting today and this obviously didn't fall out of the air, I would have appreciated the courtesy of some consultation," Lee said.
"This outcome-by-ambush approach with no forewarning whatsoever is not going to help the reputation of the council."
Speaking after the meeting, Hills said he felt proceeding without the amendment would have only led to disappointment.
"We would be giving false hope to people if we went ahead, against advice, over a two year period and spent millions of dollars for an outcome that everything points to we wouldn't have had," he said.
"It might make us feel good in the moment, but actually we have to try and get the best, clearest, strongest [outcome] as quick as possible."
Councillor Shane Henderson said he voted in favour of the amendment because it was more likely to be approved by the minister.
"We were kind of worried it would fail at the end of the day and we would be in a very difficult position," he said.
"So we wanted to get something that was more practical and workable over the line."
Lee disagreed with the others councillors' assertion that the minister would block the change.
"The minister's intention is to stop councils spending a fortune on 10-year reviews of their district and regional plans, I don't think the minister would attempt to block plan changes which correct or modify the existing plan."
He believed prohibiting helipads in residential areas was an obvious move and would bring Auckland more in line with its international counterparts.
"Internationally, Auckland is an outlier. Just about all the major international cities strictly control or prohibit private use of helipads in residential areas."
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