However, that neighbour, Ryan Geddes, said it will be a “missed opportunity” if ultimately the proposed subdivision, named Birchs Village, does not go ahead.
Commissioner Paul Thomas last week issued his recommendation to the district council for it to decline the rezoning application from Geddes’ company, Birchs Village Ltd, named Plan Change 79.
The PC79 area is 37ha on Birchs Rd, opposite the new Kakaha Park.
It encompasses Geddes’ lifestyle block and seven surrounding lifestyle blocks.
Thomas’ reasons for his recommendation included the location did not achieve compact urban form for Prebbleton, and the plan change did not give effect to the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land.
The land is on mostly class 1 and 2 soils, which have been given enhanced protection in the new legislation.
The recommendation is opposite that given last year by hearing Commissioner David Caldwell for the planned Lincoln South (Plan Change 69) development, where people objecting to it cited loss of productive land.
Residents’ group Lincoln Voice is fighting the district council’s PC69 decision in the Environment Court.
The decision was made on June 8 last year, four months before the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land came into effect.
Lincoln Voice was one of the 37 submitters to PC79.
Spokesperson Denise Carrick said it was “great news” Thomas had “listened” to opposing submitters, and recommended PC79 be declined.
Thomas said in addition, PC79 did not offer enough development capacity to meet criteria of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development, and was not required to meet residential capacity demand in the life of the Operative
Selwyn District Plan. This demand was “more than satisfied” by two other recent plan changes in the area, being Plan Change 68 and Plan Change 72.
PC68 is for 820 sections on Trents Rd, while PC72 is for 295 sections on the south side of Trices Rd and eastern side of Birchs Rd.
Sheaf said he was “thrilled to bits” by the recommendation, while Fraser echoed his sentiments, saying he “very much so” felt the same.
“It’s quite bizarre you can apply for a plan change over somebody’s land without their permission,” Fraser said.
While Sheaf and Fraser opposed PC79 and submitted against it, the remaining five landowners in the plan change area supported it.
Both Sheaf and Fraser are now waiting for another hearing decision, as Birchs Village Ltd has also been seeking the rezoning for Birchs Village through the Proposed District Plan hearing process.
The district council will be releasing its Proposed District Plan decisions by August 20.
Meanwhile, Geddes said it was too early to say whether he would appeal the decision of the district council if it decided to adopt the commissioner’s recommendation and decline the plan change.
“We will keep all our options open until we know what the decision of the district plan process is,” Geddes said.
Geddes made no apologies for including the Sheafs and Frasers in his company’s plan change application, saying his neighbours would not be forced to develop their land as part of the subdivision if they did not want to.
He also made no apologies for choosing fertile agricultural soils for the proposed subdivision. He believed the new highly productive land legislation was aimed at protecting farms, rather than lifestyle blocks, many of which did not have irrigation consents.
He said he would be disappointed if the subdivision was ultimately not able to go ahead, particularly considering it was across the road from the “great asset to Selwyn”, Kakaha Park.
“I just think it is a huge missed opportunity to have an amazing development with a proven developer, being Ngai Tahu, to deliver something that was pretty unique beside the park,” Geddes said.
