Regulatory Committee Agenda - Waipa District Council

consent authority considers relevant and reasonably necessary to determine the
application.
The following assessment addresses all relevant considerations under Section 104 of
the RMA as they relate to this application.
7.2 Assessment of Environmental Effects
7.2.1 Telecommunication connection effects
The applicant seeks that no telecommunication connection is installed at the time of
subdivision to service proposed Lot 2. The reasons for this request are outlined in
Section 3.2 above, with the main reasons being that an alternative means of
connection can be provided to service the allotment, and it is cost prohibitive to
provide the connection.
The lack of provision of a telecommunication connection may however result in an
additional cost on a subsequent land owner of the proposed allotment on the basis
that if they wished to connect via this means, the costs will be borne by them. Given
the size of the proposed allotment and the close proximity of the allotment to both
Pirongia and Te Awamutu, it is anticipated the site will be attractive to future
purchasers as a rural-residential allotment who would generally expect this
connection to be provided to the boundary of their site without additional costs
(apart from service lead-ins).
While a Consent Notice, in accordance with Section 221 of the RMA, could be utilised
to advise any potential purchasers or land owners that a telecommunication
connection was not existing for the site, this mitigation measure is considered to be
inappropriate in this instance due to the location of the site, and on the basis that the
applicant has not demonstrated that alternative connections can be appropriately
provided to service the site. Whilst the costs of providing this connection are
relatively high, the costs are reflective ofthe nature of development in this locality.
An amendment to this condition could also impair public confidence in the consistent
administration of the District Plan and set a precedent for the misuse of the
telecommunication connection provisions. In the last 12 months three subdivision
consents have been granted in the surrounding area which are required to provide
telecommunication connections. Should this application be approved for an
exemption, it would be unfair to the surrounding subdividers who have complied
with this condition.
7 .2.2 Overall assessment of effects
There will be no adverse visual or traffic effects as a result of the proposed
subdivision. An amendment to the requirement for a telecommunication connection
is considered to have an effect on the future land owners of the site and the
Report to Regulatory Committee Meeting - November 2012
AL & ARJ Hooker- Section 127 Application- Planners Report
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