Port hits back over Hill noise covenant

RACHEL PINDER
Soundproofing and reducing noise on tugs, forklifts and cranes are just some of the measures the Port of Napier has taken to decrease noise to alleviate complaints from residents living on Bluff Hill.
That's according to Port chief executive Garth Cowie, who said he wants to set the record straight about a document which a resident signed to prevent him making noise complaints.
The resident, who did not want to be named, put in a building consent application for a property close to the Port which he was planning not to soundproof.
The Port company is being notified of building consent applications for properties close to the port and then has the opportunity to object or seek to impose conditions on development.
Mr Cowie said the "no complaints covenant" was standard practice within New Zealand and that type of covenant had been used extensively for many years to ensure both residents and industry were able to co-exist.
The New Zealand Standards for airports and ports were developed to strike a balance between the importance of vital infrastructures with the rights of residents who choose to live nearby.
Every major city, contrary to some residents' views, had used the New Zealand Standard provisions to varying degrees as the basis for their own district plans.
"This type of 'no complaints' covenant is common in Hawke's Bay. It is used where urban developments have spread to the boundaries of vineyards with bird scaring devices, or where lifestyle blocks are developed near farming operations, and is a sensible and pragmatic approach to managing the interface between industry and residents' interests or reverse sensitivity issues.
"The property developer had the option of going to a hearing or accepting a covenant on the title to enable his building to proceed. He chose the co-operative approach offered by the port.
The regulations are enforced by the Napier City Council and stem from port noise provisions within the proposed district plan, which treat residential use as a discretionary rather than an approved activity.
"The covenant does not change that in any way. Our nearest neighbours are well aware, as is the wider public, of the extensive measures being taken at the port to reduce noise. "It is critical that the district plan and the forthcoming noise hearings provide rules that allow for the co-existence of the port and its neighbours, and provide certainty for the future," Mr Cowie added.
The district plan includes planning boundaries which control land use in noise-affected areas around the port.
These boundaries define two zones; an inner zone where building new housing (or extensions or alterations) would require resource consent, and an outer zone where any new housing is required to be acoustically insulated. The inner zone includes 62 homes in Seapoint, Karaka, Hornsey, Breakwater and Battery roads. The outer zone includes Thompson, Kowhai, Battery and Hardinge roads as well as Waghorne Street, Outram Street and Kenny Avenue and contains a total of 286 homes.
Submissions on the port noise issues will be heard during a three-day hearing which starts in June.