Hayley Melton and Gen and Keith Heselwood have lodged an appeal against a decision to grant resource consent to Network Waitaki Ltd to set up the storage and servicing site in Parsons Rd.
The May decision, by commissioner Allan Cubbitt, of Dunedin, lists 15 conditions addressing landscaping, operational noise and traffic concerns.
Ms Melton, who has lived in Weston for 20 years, said "a weak district plan" was allowing an industrial zone to be established next to an area that was otherwise experiencing growth, as properties were being subdivided and turned into lifestyle properties.
The amenity value of the neighbourhood was under pressure from the "cumulative effects" of what would be the second business to expand into the area.
"I’ve invested a lot of years in that property, financially and otherwise, and the thought of — they can call it what they like — but an industrial site across the road is just devastating," Ms Melton said.
Mrs Heselwood and Ms Melton both objected two years ago when Walton Earthmoving Ltd established a contracting yard nearby.
Now Ms Melton questioned why Network Waitaki would be allowed to operate in a rural area when the Waitaki District Council had established an industrial zone at the north end of Oamaru that was seemingly more appropriate for an industrial development. Mrs Heselwood said she feared the addition of a "a fair bit" of traffic from Network Waitaki trucks after seeing the change Walton Earthmoving had brought to the area.
"We have noticed a lot of difference in the noise in the area. It’s not just the birds any more, but of course Network Waitaki is going to be huge compared to Walton’s — they’re going to be a lot more noisy and a lot closer," she said.
Both were also concerned that the consent application was not properly notified and that only the immediate neighbours were made aware of the consent application, even though they said it would affect the entire Weston community. In his decision, Mr Cubbitt noted the legislation made "no distinction between public and limited notification" and so the application had been notified. Further, he wrote, "the adverse effects of the proposal are no more than minor and on that basis the limited notification process was appropriate".
Network Waitaki chief executive Graham Clark said the consumer-owned electricity network company had tried to consult with neighbours "since word go".
Following conversations with people in the area, it had "extensively" scaled back plans for the site, backing away from a proposal for a full-scale move from the current base in Chelmer St, Oamaru, to Parsons Rd.
Rather than its entire 20-truck fleet, only five trucks would use the site and the new plan would be for only 30 vehicle movements a day.
"I accept that we are going into a fringe zone," Mr Clark said.
But he said the activity was a discretionary use for the rural area.
Although the decision to forge ahead with a Weston development was based on several reasons, one important benefit of the site was the ability to access the site in times of emergency. The company was one of a number of so-called "lifeline utilities" that could be required for civil defence and so the site needed to be in an area that was not at risk of becoming flooded.
"We know the areas that are zoned for this, but we’ve also got to consider what we think is the best decision ... for the company, which is, in turn, the consumers because the consumers own us."
Grant Finn, a former town planner who assisted Ms Melton, with her submission said the commissioner’s decision could mean there was more flexibility in the district plan than most people realised and more industry could seep into the district’s rural zone.
A district plan review, under way now, needed to be prioritised by the council.
"At the moment this is going to open up the rural zone for industrial use," he said.
Council interim planning manager Sherilyn Byron said the current Waitaki District Plan made "partly operative" in July, 2004, was under review as required under the Resource Management Act and "this and all other community feedback we receive will inform the review".
