By ANNE GIBSON and BERNARD ORSMAN
A $171 million skyscraper that will change the face of Auckland's waterfront was approved despite serious concerns raised by a council planner and without the public getting a chance to object.
There is also concern that the tower is eight storeys higher than the city's height rules allow.
Auckland City Council documents reveal serious disagreements by council experts on whether the 34-storey glass tower, to be built in lower Albert St, is within new rules.
Only days after the senior architect planner, Allan Kirk, and the acting central area senior planner, John Stoupe, wrote conflicting reports on the matter on November 24, two councillors gave AMP a resource consent to develop the site on a non-notified basis, meaning affected parties or the public could not object.
The planning fixtures subcommittee retrospectively rubber-stamped the decision by the two councillors, subcommittee chairwoman Juliet Yates and Kay McKelvie, on December 1.
Attempts over two days by the Herald to contact Juliet Yates, a lawyer and experienced resource consent commissioner, resulted in the council manager of city planning, John Duthie, yesterday responding on her behalf.
He said only the top portion of the tower required consent.
"The council had evaluations done on the shading impacts of that portion of the tower, and of the view and outlook of construction, identified from that who were the affected parties, and got their written consent. That's why the council treated it on a non-notifiable basis."
The Australian-based insurance giant AMP has nearly finished demolishing the Downtown Convention Centre and airline terminal to make way for the building, described by property developer Andrew Krukziener as "an ugly mother of a cheap thing."
His company, Krukziener Properties, has won the first round in a legal fight to seek a judicial review of the resource consents for the development.
In a damning November 24 report, Mr Kirk was adamant the skyscraper did not meet a new council rule that could allow 20m, or eight storeys, to be added to its height.
Mr Kirk had serious concerns about the "size and bulk" of the tower, saying its "abrupt and aggressive stance" would have a profound effect on other developments along the harbour edge.
Papers obtained by the Herald show Mr Stoupe ignored the advice of Mr Kirk and recommended to the planning fixtures subcommittee that the building proceed, subject to conditions, on a non-notified basis.
He said AMP did not plan to go beyond the full 20m height control plan and had provided the "required compensatory open space."
Other papers show that in April last year Mr Stoupe was concerned at a request by AMP to have the resource consent dealt with on a non-notified basis.
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