Battle to stop high-rise in court

A battle to stop a seven-storey terraced apartment building in the Bay of Islands has gone to court.
The Far north District Council gave Auckland-based Paihia Ltd the green light to build the apartments on a steeply sloping site at Wallace Lane, off School Rd, Paihia.
But work cannot start until an appeal by Marsden Cove Apartments resident Violet Johnson against parts of the consent is settled by the Environment Court.
At hearings earlier this year, independent commissioners Joe Carr and Les Robertson recommended the council grant a resource consent for the building, after concluding the environmental effects would be minor. That was despite 15 out of 19 submitters opposing the project, saying it could trigger slips and clog traffic on the narrow, no-exit road. Other concerns included inadequate parking and the effects on stormwater flow.
Among the conditions of the consent were that the company keeps to permitted noise levels and uses heavy equipment only between 8am and 6pm on weekdays.
Ms Johnson, who lives directly below the construction site, said she would not be able to stop the project - but she might succeed in cutting back the number of levels in the building.
In her appeal, she wanted the construction hours cut to 9am to 5pm and the apartments to be occupied by owners only, not leased or rented out.
Hugh Wallace was concerned for homeowners further down the road because of the unstable ground at the construction site.
"I know for a fact, after living here my whole life, that the hill is moving and it won't be able to stand the building," he said.
Martin Crooks, owner of Ala-Moana Motel on Marsden Rd, said the building would add to the list of apartments in Paihia that had become eyesores. He called for measures to make sure the apartment building remained as a residential block.
Paihia and Districts Residents and Ratepayers' Association deputy chairperson Val Cadell said unstable ground conditions and the size of the proposed building were of concern.
A hearing date for Ms Johnson's appeal has yet to be set.
Attempts to contact Paihia Ltd proved unsuccessful yesterday.
The stoush follows similar concerns from residents of Davis Crescent after Pacific Developments won a resource consent for a 14m-high development near the waterfront in September 2007. Neighbours said the development would severely limit sunlight and sea views. Another proposal, for a 15-storey building across the road from Te Tii Beach between Paihia and Waitangi, was thrown out by the Environment Court in 2006 after an appeal by the Paihia and Districts Residents and Ratepayers Association.