They are believed to have been lost when the Lands and Survey Department office was destroyed in a fire that razed much of central Napier on the day of the earthquake in February 1931.
However, the easements cannot be ignored: The subdivision includes new roads and any "encumbrances" on the land under the roads have to be removed so the project survey plan can be approved under the Resource Management Act.
Because the loss of the documents means no one can say where exactly which parts of the block were marked for possible drains and water pipes a century ago, Land Information New Zealand (Linz) is treating the matter as if they apply to the whole area, including the roads.
Wilkins said he took the matter to the High Court after Linz, which maintains the nation's property register, turned down his request to exercise its discretion to get rid of the easements.
High Court Judge Francis Cooke has now removed the easements as far as they apply to the roads and general reserves in the subdivision.
"The nature of the easements is now not known. They appear to no longer be of significance," Justice Cooke said. "There is not even a record of what they are."
He also said that Greenstone did not need to consult more than 100 local landowners who might have benefited from the easements, had anyone understood what those benefits might be.
The judgment clears the way for 18 sale and purchase agreements to be settled on the due date of July 30 – a deadline the judge noted gave the matter "some urgency".
Wilkins said the court action had cost him $150,000 to $200,000 "in time and money", including searching records and archives trying to find the missing documents.
Although he was "very happy" with the judge's decision, the matter had slowed the project by two months.
Wilkins said Hastings District Council staff were "brilliant" to work with in trying to resolve the issue.
But the company was disappointed that Linz, which he said could have removed the easements but declined to do so, told the company to go to the High Court.
"We had a ding-dong with Linz," he said.
The first stages of the Te Awanga Terraces development offer 44 sections, ranging in size from 670sq m to 1800sq m and priced between $588,000 and just over $1 million.
Another two stages will be developed over the next four years.
The Napier fire, started by burning gas jets, broke out soon after the earthquake. It burned through several blocks of the city over the next 36 hours.
Fighting the fire was impossible – firefighting equipment had been buried by rubble and water mains were broken in the quake.
