Inconsistent application of resource consent conditions
J Burland made this Official Information request to Tasman District Council
The request was successful.
From: J Burland
Dear Tasman District Council,
on 30 January 2018, I asked TDC's CEO why the subdivision consent for my property in Seaton Valley Road stipulated recessive colours while a property at 271 Pomona Road was consented with a reflective white colour scheme.
Despite the intervention of Ms Redgrove, Governance Advisor and Executive Assistant to CEO, TDC's Consent and Compliance staff have declined to respond in a timely manner.
Here is the relevant correspondence:
My experience is that all new builds in rural-residential zones are required to be painted in recessive colours, an assessment confirmed by TDC.
To revisit my original mail: I provided you with an image of a property painted in colours that are clearly not recessive.
This is the property:
https://www.booking.com/hotel/nz/rubybay...
I asked why it was consented in its current appearance.
There can only be two reasons for its being painted in reflective white:
1. It was built without consent and thus illegally
or
2. TDC approved the consent for it to be painted in a non-recessive colour. (I assume that TDC agrees that white is not a recessive colour.)
I asked why it was consented in its current appearance.
My question - why it was consented in its current appearance - remains unaddressed.
J. Burland
Tasman District Council
Thanks for getting in touch with us.
Your message will be forwarded to the appropriate staff for action.
Have a great day,
Tasman District Council Customer Services
Email: [email address]
Phone: +64-3-5438400
Fax: +64-3-5439524
Website: http://www.tasman.govt.nz
From: LGOIMA
Tasman District Council
Thank you for your request for information received on 14 April 2018.
Under LGOIMA, your request must be dealt with as soon as is reasonably practicable and in no case later than 20 working days after the day on which the request is received. 20 working days excludes Saturdays and Sundays, Public Holidays and the period between 25 December and 15 January inclusive. On this basis, we calculate a response to your request received is due by 14 May 2018, at the latest. We shall of course endeavour to process your request as quickly as staff resources allow.
There may be a charge for the staff time in collating the information requested. Under our charging policy, staff time for the first hour is free of charge. Thereafter this will be charged at the prescribed rate of $38 (GST inclusive) per half hour. In addition, there will be photocopying charges at 20c per sheet, with the first 20 pages being copied free of charge. Under clause 13(4) of LGOIMA we do have the ability to request the amounts due are paid in advance of the release of information.
LGOIMA
LGOIMA Requests
DDI 03 543 8400 | [email address]
Private Bag 4, Richmond 7050, NZ
http://www.tasman.govt.nz
This e-mail message and any attached files may contain confidential information, and may be subject to legal professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete.
-----Original Message-----
From: J Burland <[FOI #7609 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 14 April 2018 9:34 p.m.
To: Reception Richmond <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Inconsistent application of resource consent conditions
Dear Tasman District Council,
on 30 January 2018, I asked TDC's CEO why the subdivision consent for my property in Seaton Valley Road stipulated recessive colours while a property at 271 Pomona Road was consented with a reflective white colour scheme.
Despite the intervention of Ms Redgrove, Governance Advisor and Executive Assistant to CEO, TDC's Consent and Compliance staff have declined to respond in a timely manner.
Here is the relevant correspondence:
My experience is that all new builds in rural-residential zones are required to be painted in recessive colours, an assessment confirmed by TDC.
To revisit my original mail: I provided you with an image of a property painted in colours that are clearly not recessive.
This is the property:
https://www.booking.com/hotel/nz/rubybay...
I asked why it was consented in its current appearance.
There can only be two reasons for its being painted in reflective white:
1. It was built without consent and thus illegally
or
2. TDC approved the consent for it to be painted in a non-recessive colour. (I assume that TDC agrees that white is not a recessive colour.)
I asked why it was consented in its current appearance.
My question - why it was consented in its current appearance - remains unaddressed.
J. Burland
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7609 email]
Is [Tasman District Council request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to Tasman District Council? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
hide quoted sections
From: J Burland
Dear Tasman District Council,
TDC finally responded to this request on 27 April 2018.
On 16 May, I sent the following supplementary request
"Can TDC confirm that no contributions other than standard consent fees were either requested, offered or accepted in conjunction with the consent approved in deviation from the law effective at the time of processing.
On 1 June, TDC responded as follows:
"We can confirm that in addition to the resource consent processing fees, the applicant also had to pay development contributions and the annual licence fees for the operations on their property."
On 1 June, I requested that TDC fully answer my original question:
"This does not answer the question.
In addition to the fees listed in your response, were any other fees either requested, offered or accepted in conjunction with the consent approved in deviation from the law effective at the time of processing?
This is a “closed” question, requiring a “yes/no” response
To date, TDC has not responded.
Hence this formal OIA request
Yours faithfully,
J Burland
Tasman District Council
Thanks for getting in touch with us.
Your message will be forwarded to the appropriate staff for action.
Have a great day,
Tasman District Council Customer Services
Email: [email address]
Phone: +64-3-5438400
Fax: +64-3-5439524
Website: http://www.tasman.govt.nz
From: LGOIMA
Tasman District Council
Thank you for your request for information received on 2 July 2018.
Assuming you are referring still to the property at 271 Pomona Road, our
response is as follows:
No other fees were paid, either requested, offered or accepted in
conjunction with the consent approved in deviation from the law effective
at the time of processing.
I must advise you of your right to complain to an Ombudsman if you do not
believe you have been given a reasonable response to your request. This
right to complain is dealt with in section 27 of the Local Government
Official Information and Meetings Act.
Please note that we now have a dedicated e-mail address
[1][email address] to receive requests for official information.
Direction of future requests to this e-mail address will assist in
processing time.
LGOIMA
LGOIMA Requests
DDI 03 543 8400 | [2][email address]
Private Bag 4, Richmond 7050, NZ
[3]Logo [4]Facebook [5]Twitter
This e-mail message and any attached files may contain confidential
information, and may be subject to legal professional privilege. If you
are not the intended recipient, please delete.
-----Original Message-----
From: J Burland <[6][FOI #7609 email]>
Sent: Monday, 2 July 2018 7:50 p.m.
To: Reception Richmond <[7][email address]>
Subject: Re: Official Information request - Inconsistent application of
resource consent conditions
Dear Tasman District Council,
TDC finally responded to this request on 27 April 2018.
On 16 May, I sent the following supplementary request "Can TDC confirm
that no contributions other than standard consent fees were either
requested, offered or accepted in conjunction with the consent approved in
deviation from the law effective at the time of processing.
On 1 June, TDC responded as follows:
"We can confirm that in addition to the resource consent processing fees,
the applicant also had to pay development contributions and the annual
licence fees for the operations on their property."
On 1 June, I requested that TDC fully answer my original question:
"This does not answer the question.
In addition to the fees listed in your response, were any other fees
either requested, offered or accepted in conjunction with the consent
approved in deviation from the law effective at the time of processing?
This is a “closed” question, requiring a “yes/no” response
To date, TDC has not responded.
Hence this formal OIA request
Yours faithfully,
J Burland
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[8][FOI #7609 email]
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[9]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. Click to send email to LGOIMA
mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.tasman.govt.nz/
4. Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/tasmandistrictc...
5. Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/tasmandc
6. mailto:[FOI #7609 email]
7. mailto:[email address]
8. mailto:[FOI #7609 email]
9. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
hide quoted sections
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence