A plan to build on a street that was among the worst hit by flooding in South Dunedin last year could show there was "life after death'' in the embattled suburb.
The consultant planner for a man wanting to build in Richmond St, near Tonga Park, which was inundated during floods last year, said it was possible to mitigate the problems the suburb faced.
Conrad Anderson said building in the area would be "very good for South Dunedin''.
"You've got to put a stake in the ground and say ‘Yes, we can build here'.''
His comments were backed by Dunedin South Labour MP Clare Curran, who said, when contacted by the Otago Daily Times, with sensible designs and council and government initiatives to deal with the issues the area faced, the suburbs on the flat could thrive.
"I absolutely think it's possible to build in South Dunedin.''
Mr Anderson argued the case for building at 38 Richmond St yesterday during a resource consent hearing before committee chairman Cr Andrew Noone, Cr Lee Vandervis and commissioner Colin Weatherall.
Council senior planner Kirstyn Lindsay, in a report to the committee, had recommended the proposal be declined.
The proposal was to remove the house, identified by Heritage New Zealand as having been built between 1891 and 1895, and build two single-storey townhouses in its place.
It was non-complying because the developer wanted to establish two houses on a 438sqm site in a zone where 300sqm per house was required.
Owner Laurence Prattley has said the house was uninhabitable after being under 20cm of water during the June floods.
Mr Anderson told the committee the applicant understood the risks and hazards the area faced.
The question was whether the effects on future tenants could be mitigated.
"The answer is yes,'' he said.
He said flooding could be mitigated by increasing the floor height to above the flood level.
Liquefaction could be mitigated by construction of a concrete base with reinforced steel.
"The experience of Christchurch is liquefaction has caused concrete foundations to break, which means either the whole house has to be lifted up off the foundation for a replacement, or the house is no longer liveable.''
But if the base was engineered with reinforced steel, the foundation would remain intact.
The house might tilt, but it was possible to relevel it on its foundation.
At the meeting, commissioner Colin Weatherall asked if a positive development in the area showed there was a way forward, or "life after death'', considering what had been reported about rising ground water and land subsidence in the suburb recently.
Mr Anderson said it would.
A report to the hearing from the Otago Regional Council said during the 2015 flood there was 10cm to 30cm of water near the property.
Groundwater was at an average of only 40cm below the surface.
"The consequence of a high groundwater table and large catchment area with no natural drainage is regular flooding.''
The June 3 event was not an "unusually heavy'' rainfall, and similar events could be expected in future.
ORC natural hazards manager Jean-Luc Payan told the committee the mitigating measures suggested would not deal with problems of services and access at those times.
Ms Curran said she did not have planning experience, and could not comment on the specific issues for the resource consent, but new buildings, businesses and houses being developed in South Dunedin would show residents the council was taking a sensible approach.
She said the recent discussions about the area had not taken into account initiatives that could protect against flooding.
"The community hasn't even had that discussion yet.''
Cr Noone reserved the decision, and said a ruling would be made within 15 working days.
