Bay Harbour: May 18, 2016

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PAGE 18 BAY HARBOUR Wednesday May 18 2016 Every bit of progress should be celebrated Port Hills Labour MP Ruth Dyson says the rebuilding of community facilities should be equal across different communities: Everywhere you turn, there are signs of new life – some just budding – like the sign notifying the “soon to start” work on the construction of the Heathcote Valley Community Centre and Library, and the Lyttelton library while others are in full bloom – such as the magnificent Sumner Surf Life Saving Club. Every bit of progress should be celebrated and often represent very long periods of insurance haggles, fundraising, planning and sheer hard work. Much of this work is undertaken by volunteers backed by generous donors and innovative fundraising (the ‘Strictly Sumner’ amazing effort not the only one but certainly the most glamorous!). And of course, many of the facilities are being rebuilt by the city council, often with additional local or benefactor funding. Two things are important to me as we watch this progress. The first is that we should do everything we can to ensure that there is equity between communities. We know that some parts of the city were hit much harder than others. That must be a factor in the consideration of priorities, particularly in timetables. Replacement of new facilities should go into the areas which have been left with little, otherwise they will find it very hard to retain their population and the residents who do stay will be pretty demoralised. Neither of those are good outcomes. The second important point is that the community should have a say in the shape, size, function of replacement community facilities. If this happens, we are more likely to get a facility which is genuinely fit for purpose and which excites the community. If it is imposed, it will likely be a mismatch and cause puzzlement or frustration. Again, not good outcomes! I have seen some weak community engagement and I have seen some excellent engagement. We are lively, passionate, committed communities. Let’s tap into the talent and ideas of local people as we build our city for the future. The transport agency has decided it could lower the speed limit through Little River from 70km/h to 60km/h, but not to 50km/h as residents had requested. Last week Bay Harbour News asked its readers whether people thought 60km/h was low enough: Lisa Ashfield (mother who is too scared to let her kids Evie, 8, and Charlie, 6, of Little River, cross this road to get an ice cream) – In my opinion 60km/h isn’t low enough. I work on the main street and my office door is open right to the street so I see and hear it all. I have witnessed huge trucks with trailers on, blasting through here, overtaking cars that are doing the current speed limit, or perhaps a little lower, on a busy summer day when both sides of the road are full of parked cars. I have seen and heard the speed that cars constantly do through here any time of day or night. When the limit’s 70km/h people go 80km/h. When the limit’s 60km/h people do 70km/h. 70km/h is simply too fast for the village, especially when it’s busy. So reducing it to 60km/h would make a scrap of difference. Tourists hurtle through here in their hoards - oblivious they are passing through a lovely populated little town, going too fast, just focused on getting to their destination – Akaroa. Folk don’t often know we’re here, so they’re not thinking to be watchful of pedestrians, especially not children. The place is full of motorbikes in the weekends, visiting the cafe, and sometimes I’d estimate there to be at least 50 bikes at any one time. Then add the cars to that. In the summer months it is extremely busy and a very dangerous road to try and cross at these times. CONCERNED: Lisa Ashfield is not the only one who is concerned about the speed limit. Residents Holly and Lucia Liberona (left), Marcus Puentener, Gabe Calcott, Paul Bradford holding Ayla, Laurie Williams holding Callen and Sharon McIver also want it lowered to 50km/h. Locals of the peninsula, who travel through each day get complacent and are often the worst culprits at speeding through the village in a hurry, racing to get ahead of the campers and farm vehicles. I don’t understand why, in three years of living here, that I’ve only once seen a police car sitting on the street checking the speeds. The local children have paved a common route each day after school from the library on one side of the road, to the store for an ice cream or lollies afterwards on the opposite side, and there isn’t even a zebra crossing. There isn’t even one outside our school and we don’t even have a school zone speed limit. We need this road to be safe for our population, and any visitors, before there’s a tragedy. There have already been near misses, and there has been the death of people’s pets hit by cars. Please help us to reduce our speed limit. We can’t think for the life of us why this would be such a difficult thing to achieve. Just down the road in Cooptown the speed limit is reduced from a 100km/h zone to 70km/h – and there are no businesses. No library, no shops, no school, only houses, and very few pedestrians crossing the road. MEGA DEALS! NOW ON Europa Optisoft Suite This customisable optisoft leather suite features two in-built recliners for comfort. Available in several colours and configurations. Corner Suite was $4289 now only $2999 now 30 % off up to 40 off % selected ranges SALE ENDS THURSDAY View our collections online: targetfurniture.co.nz AVAILABLE TO ORDER IN OTHER FABRICS 2 Piece Suite was $1949 now only $1259 Ivon 3 plus 2 Seater (Promo Fabric) Unique modern design, NZ Made with 5 year warranty. 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Wednesday May 18 2016 BAY HARBOUR PAGE 19 EQC UPDATE KEEPING YOU INFORMED | MAY 2016 EQC’s approach to its repair obligations Land settlements update Keith Land, EQC Head of Canterbury Land Settlement EQC is now working on the remaining eleven percent of green zone properties and red zone properties (not owned by the Crown), which still need their land claims resolved. “From a total of 73,000 such properties which had land claims, there are now around 8,000 where the land claims still need to be settled by EQC,” says EQC Head of Canterbury Land Settlement, Keith Land. This year EQC is aiming to complete these remaining land damage settlements, with the majority of work focusing on claims for Increased Liquefaction Vulnerability (ILV) and Increased Flooding Vulnerability (IFV) land damage. As of early May, 60 percent of potential Increased Flooding Vulnerability (IFV) customers (9,600) have had their IFV claims resolved. This also includes any outstanding visible land damage settlements these customers may have. Together with resolving remaining IFV claims, the priority now is on settlements for the around 4,400 ILV customers. Some properties have both ILV and IFV land damage. “We’re on track to start making the first payments to ILV customers from late June,” says Mr Land. Settlements for ILV land damage will be made by cash payment, in line with how IFV and other types of land damage from the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes have been settled to date. ILV settlements will be based on one of two approaches: repair cost, or reduction in market value of the property due to ILV land damage – also called Diminution of Value (DOV). Information on ILV, and details of these settlement approaches, including answers to a number of questions, can be found on the EQC website at www.eqc.govt.nz/ILV ILV land damage settlements on the basis of DOV EQC expects that most ILV properties will be settled solely on the basis of DOV. This is because, where the house has remained in place after the earthquakes (as many have), there will not generally be repair methods available to repair ILV damage on the property. The first payments made in late June will be to those customers with ILV land damage whose settlements are based on DOV. “The ILV DOV approach and settlement amounts will be similar to how we’ve been handling IFV claims,” says Mr Land. Claim deadline looming Christchurch residents whose homes suffered damage in the 29 February 2016 earthquake still have time to lodge a claim with EQC. The deadline for lodging a claim is 30 May 2016. This deadline does not stop you from lodging a new claim with EQC if your dwelling incurs new damage as part of recent or future quakes. EQC encourages anyone whose home suffered damage in this event to make a claim even if the damage appears minor. “We’ve been working closely with customer advocates groups to make sure the settlement communications our customers receive is clear and helps them understand our decision.” ILV land damage settlements on the basis of repair cost Work is underway to determine the settlements for ILV customers whose payments can be based on repair cost. “We are planning to start contacting customers in early June who, based on the information we have to date, have the opportunity to complete a ground repair on their property to address the ILV land damage,” says Mr Land. Before the repair cost settlements can be made, EQC will be working closely with these customers to understand their plans for rebuilding on the site and whether the plans include any ground repair. “We will have a dedicated team case managing these customers to ensure EQC has a good understanding of their situation and they are kept up-to-date with their claim’s status,” says Mr Land. Land assessments and settlements in general “We have identified different types of land damage – visible land damage, IFV and ILV. For each type of land damage, we use a range of assessment processes that allow the appropriate settlement for each customer and are consistent with the legislation in place. “Each property is different and is assessed on a case-by-case basis, so one customer’s settlement is not indicative of another’s,” says Mr Land. For more information on the approach to land claims and their settlement, visit www.eqc.govt.nz/land. “We also have an open and robust review process in place for those customers who want us to review our decisions on whether their insured land has damage and/or the settlement amount paid,” says Mr Land. Check out www.eqc.govt.nz/landreview for more information on land settlement review. Land settlements for red zone properties EQC is assessing all residential land claims across Canterbury in a consistent way – whether they are green zone properties or red zone properties. The Government’s decisions related to the red zone are separate from EQC’s decisions related to the assessment and settlement of land damage claims. As agreed with CERA and now Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), EQC’s priority continues to be to resolve land damage claims for properties in the green zone and those in the red zone, whose owners did not accept a Crown offer. “However, we continue to work with LINZ, which has taken over management of the around 7,000 Crown owned red zone properties. We expect to agree a settlement approach with LINZ in the second half of 2016, applying the same policies EQC has used to settle green zone claims,” says Mr Land. EQC has so far received just over 10,500 building, contents and land claims since the first quake on Valentine’s Day. People can lodge claims with EQC online at www.eqc. govt.nz/claims via email on info@eqc.govt.nz or by calling 0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243). The EQC call centre is open 7am to 9pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 6pm on Saturdays. There has been some discussion about how the Earthquake Commission meets its obligations under the Earthquake Commission Act (EQC Act) following the release of the Joint Statement agreed with a group of Canterbury homeowners, the EQC Action Group. Information on what the joint statement means for customers and how customers can request a review of their claim can be found at www.eqc.govt.nz EQC acknowledges that every homeowner affected by earthquake damage faces a set of circumstances specific to their property and that a different repair strategy is likely to be applied in each case. That said, EQC uses some general principles when making its decisions. EQC insures an earthquake-damaged house for its replacement value up to a certain cap, usually $115,000 including GST, according to the EQC Act. Given there has been some confusion about what “replacement value” means, it’s worth having a close look at the definition in the EQC Act, which includes three main elements: 1. the costs which would be reasonably incurred 2. in reinstating the building to a condition substantially the same as but not better or more extensive than its condition when new 3. modified as necessary to comply with any applicable laws. Some of the commentary following the Joint Statement focused on the concept of “when new”, which refers to when the house was new. While “when new” is one element, EQC needs to take into account each of the three main elements, when meeting its obligations under the Act. For instance, the concept of when new needs to be seen in light of complying with any applicable laws. How ‘replacement value’ may apply in practice Example 1 Following an earthquake, a brick chimney falls through the corrugated iron roof of a 1900s-era villa. The falling chimney smashes through the ceiling, shattering a ceramic light fitting that was already badly deteriorated prior to the earthquake. To repair the roof, the corrugated iron in the area where the chimney fell would be replaced with new corrugated iron. If corrugated iron of the same type as the damaged iron is not available because it is no longer manufactured, the new corrugated iron would be a modern product, which matches as closely as possible the profile of the damaged corrugated iron. In some situations, the new corrugated iron may be coloured steel or the corrugated iron may need to be repainted to match the colour of the existing roof. EQC may also need to reinstate or replace non-damaged parts of the roof that need to be removed in order to repair the earthquake damage, such as the iron ridging on the roof peak. The repair work to the roof would be carried out to ensure the work meets applicable laws such as the performance standards in the Building Code. The light fitting would be replaced. If the existing wiring couldn’t be safely reconnected to the light fitting then an Electrical Safety Inspection would be required. The wiring would need replacing to a point where the electrician determines it can safely be reconnected, and to meet any legal requirements for that work. Example 2 An earthquake damages the so-called ‘rubble foundations’ a home is built on. If the foundation can be repaired so that the foundation is in a condition substantially the same as when it was new and the repair work complies with applicable laws, the foundation repair will meet the “replacement value” standard. In other cases, to meet the standard of applicable laws, part or all of the foundation may need to be replaced. EQC considers each repair strategy based on the facts specific to each home. Individual foundation repairs are dependent on the nature of the foundation, the type of earthquake damage suffered and the make-up of the concrete. Customers can request a review If any customer believes EQC has missed earthquake damage to their home, disagrees with the repair strategy EQC has proposed, or believes their settlement amount is not correct, they can use EQC’s standard processes to request a review of their individual claim on 0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243) or email info@eqc.govt.nz 0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243) OR VISIT WWW.EQC.GOVT.NZ
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Bay Harbour: May 18, 2016

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