Waikato Business News October/November 2016

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WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS October/November 2016 3 Mayor’s dramatic housing plan for city There will be a building boom in Hamilton’s south, Hamilton planning rules will be loosened and the CBD Association’s future will be uncertain if Andrew King’s luck holds. By GEOFF TAYLOR But the new mayor is frank about the fact that he’s “not hanging on to the job tightly” while the recount requested by second placegetter Paula Southgate takes place. “(In the meantime) I’ll continue with the job and get things moving and bring everything together.” Mr King is presently acquainting himself with his new council and developing a committee structure for the upcoming term. And if his mayoralty is confirmed he has big plans. Mayor King says the council has failed to ensure there are enough sections for housing in the city. He intends to change that by opening up more areas for development which will create competition in the market and regulate price. With the council’s support, this will include dramatically fast-tracking the Peacocke subdivision – stages 1 and 2, south of Dixon Rd, the equivalent of another 9000 sections. To pay the huge infrastructural costs associated with opening up Peacocke, Mr King wants the council to borrow $200 million from the Government’s $1 billion infrastructure fund. Loans would need to be paid back within 10 years through $30k development fees from each section. “We need to move fast. We need to grab $200m now which is what it will probably cost. It’s an interest free loan for only 10 years so we need sections under way within that time so we can pay it back. So we want to bring the whole of Peacocke forward as fast as we can.” Mr King said parts of the south of Hamilton have high levels of social deprivation while there are schools that are half empty. Opening up Peacocke will bring in money, young families and provide a better balance to the city. He is also adamant that if Andrew King is getting on with the job. his election stands he wants to have a team go through the “restrictive” District Plan so there are fewer rules and it is less complex to follow. “At the moment if you want to do something you need a planner, a lawyer, there are all sorts of costs to do almost anything and I believe that’s too restrictive. It creates uncertainty - not just for the developer but for the person who lives next door who’s trying to decide whether the developer is able to do what they want to do.” “Even the council has to run off to lawyers to get opinions about what’s legal and what’s not and you shouldn’t need to do that.” He says rejigging the District Plan won’t be a “quick fix” but having fewer rules will make it quicker and more affordable to do business. The mayor has been open in the past about his views on the CBD Association’s performance in rejuvenating the CBD, describing the organisation as a puppet of the council. There is some support for the creation of a more powerful CBD Board with more wide-ranging powers. The mayor wants to commission a report on the best way to advance the central city. His efforts to commission such a report last term were constantly thwarted by the last council. That is unlikely to happen if he remains mayor. “I’m not saying we go away from what we have, I just want to see the choices that we have available,” he says. The mayor also has concerns about the Hamilton River Plan. His major issue is the fact that the architect’s plan allows for construction of apartments on reserve land near Ferrybank. He says he doesn’t think the public realises it is actually commercial activity on that site. He doesn’t mind restaurants or museums on reserve land but doesn’t think someone should make a profit from expensive apartments. But other than his reservations about cost he indicates that there is room for compromise on the plan. Is this business community behind him as mayor? “I don’t know. I presume they are. “I imagine the business community is very aware that I’ve been in business for a long time and I understand that a city is built by businesses largely, they are the ones that risk everything.” Mr King was in a minority on Julie Hardaker’s council last term but denies there is any bad blood carried over to the new council. But expect others who were also on the outer such as Dave Macpherson, Martin Gallagher and Garry Mallett to be given more responsibility this time around. “We have some of the most seasoned politicians this city has had with a huge amount of knowledge and I want to harness that knowledge by empowering them and pulling the rest of the council in. If we do that, the city will prosper.” Andrew King was holding a lead of nine votes in the mayoral race at time of publication. Introducing Hayley Willers Hayley Willers Associate LL.B DDI: 07 834 7712 M: 021 113 5680 hayley@dtilawyers.co.nz Hayley is an experienced property lawyer who deals with a wide range of private and commercial property matters including but not limited to residential and rural conveyancing, subdivisions, refinancing, retirement villages, relationship property, trusts, wills and enduring powers of attorney. She has a broad background in all aspects of property law, acting for small/medium businesses, local government, public sector and private clients. www.dtilawyers.co.nz | Level 6, 127 Alexandra Street | P O Box 9198, Hamilton 3240 | +64 7 282 0174 30093
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Waikato Business News October/November 2016

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