In December, Karen Arnold objected to a bylaw notice being issued against her vacant section which has breached council rules for several years.
A report prepared for a hearing panel today shows the site has drawn three complaints since early 2022 and failed eight of 10 inspections during that time.
It said the most recent inspection, in October 2024, found it was mostly covered in gorse.
Those concerns included the notice failing to inform what date the appeal period ended, not factoring in public holidays, not describing how the property was in breach and not being signed.
Ms Arnold said the required remedy of removing and disposing of all vegetation was unreasonable because long grass was allowed, subject to conditions.
In response, the council said the letter and bylaw notice were both dated, and 62 days given to complete the work — an increase on the standard 28 days.
It said the request to clear the land was reasonable given its overgrown nature, the notice providing a general statement on the breach.
"The letter and notice are signed by the environmental compliance officer. This has been the officer’s signature for many years."
The report said Ms Arnold bought the property in 2019. The previous owner told the council all sections were clean and tidy at the time and efforts made to remove gorse.
— Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter
— LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
