The opening up of 2000 new sections in Papamoa's Wairakei subdivision is under threat if the Government does not change its development fee reforms.
A warning about how the reforms could impact on future settlement patterns in the Western Bay of Plenty has been spelt out by the region's SmartGrowth planners.
SmartGrowth, the master plan to decide where new residential and commercial development should happen, was at a critical stage of planning now that the long-delayed census statistics were out.
The proposed changes to development contributions has thrown a new spanner into the works for SmartGrowth, with the potential implications for future settlement patterns spelt out in a special report to a combined councils meeting today.
The report said the reforms would substantially transfer growth costs to ratepayers or increase the risk of not collecting enough development fees.