Port may hold height of buildings

People living in downtown Mount Maunganui will be spared the moment when they have to look at a row of tall industrial buildings on Port of Tauranga land along Totara St.
The residents, particularly along the Oceanview Rd ridge, became concerned when a big coal storage shed blocked out some of the view of the the harbour and Kaimai Ranges.
They were also upset Tauranga City Council gave the port permission to build the coal shed to a height of 25 metres - without publicly notifying the resource consent application.
There was a 20m height restriction under the district plan for that part of the port land alongside Totara St.
One shareholder sent a written question to the port company's annual meeting yesterday, asking if it was possible that in future, 20m-high structures would be built along the entire wharf at Mount Maunganui.
Retiring chairman Fraser McKenzie said "you can never say never but I can't imagine that day ... I think it would be impossible".
He said at present only 10 per cent of the port's total land area was taken up by buildings. The port owns about 170ha on both sides of the harbour at the Mount and Sulphur Point.
The port's chief executive Jon Mayson told the annual meeting in Tauranga that signing a 15-year contract with Genesis Power for the importation of up to one million tonnes of coal a year for the Huntly Power Station was one of the highlights of the year.
"We have jointly invested with Genesis in a $32.6 million infrastructure project - and let me make it quite clear that everything related to the coal shed was perfectly legal."
He said the application for the storage facility, enclosed conveyor and load out rail systems was the best one to suit the location - and just 50m away on adjoining port land the permitted height was 25m.
Shareholders were told that Port of Tauranga, which is celebrating its 50th birthday on December 6, has made an encouraging start to its new financial year despite difficulties in log exports to key markets of China, Japan and Korea.
The port's overall trade increased 3.4 per cent for the three months ending September 30 after handling 3.386 million tonnes compared with 3.275 tonnes for the same corresponding period last year.
Container movements actually increased nearly 24 per cent to 109,433 TEU's (20-foot equivalents), from 88,324 for the first quarter in 2003.
But the log trade has slumped nearly 32 per cent to 643,195 tonnes, compared with 944,827 tonnes for the first three months of the 2003 financial year.
The surplus after tax was up 5.1 per cent to $8.153 million, from $7.755 million for the same period last year.
The port made a record net profit of $33.652 million on total revenue of $151 million for the last financial year ending June 30.
New chairman John Parker said after the annual meeting that "we are a little ahead of where we expected to be - but we are far from complacent".
Mr Parker said it was going to be a difficult year with the log volumes having dropped away and showing no signs of immediate recovery.
"We have deliberately diversified and we are no longer dependent on logs. Being slightly ahead (after three months) is an insurance rather than an indication that we will keep growing.
"But we don't expect to disappoint shareholders and we remain hopeful that we do as well as last year," said Mr Parker, a Port of Tauranga director since 1996.
Mr Mayson told the shareholders the company would determinedly retain its focus on the multi-port and diversification strategy. He said the Onehunga-based inland MetroPort was now the country's third-largest container port in its own right - even though this patch of land was miles from any water.
The Port of Tauranga operation was a major part of Auckland city's infrastructure and "it's actually taking some of the load off Auckland's choked-up traffic arteries".
"We are well on the way to creating a complete integrated freight village in Auckland," Mr Mayson said.
Shareholders at the annual meeting approved a $40,000 increase in directors fees from $290,000 to $330,000. The move gained the support of NZ Shareholders Association research director Oliver Saint who said directors had more responsibility.