District and regional council officials have cleared developer Stan Semenoff of any wrongdoing on his Raumanga land, which might have led to signs of subsidence nearby Manuka Place resident Dan Watts claims to be noticing at his house.
Photo / Michael Cunningham.
District and regional council officials have cleared developer Stan Semenoff of any wrongdoing on his Raumanga land, which might have led to signs of subsidence nearby Manuka Place resident Dan Watts claims to be noticing at his house.
Photo / Michael Cunningham.
Council officials have investigated a Manuka Place resident’s claims of land subsidence caused by recent earthworks at developer Stan Semenoff’s adjoining land and found no wrongdoing by him.
Daniel Watts - a teacher and former One Party candidate for Whangārei - told the Northern Advocate lastweek his house in the cul-de-sac end of Manuka Place was starting to show signs of subsidence.
Watts pointed to recent earthworks by Semenoff on his adjoining development land, which had included the removal of some drainage there, as the likely cause.
Watts was also concerned the recent earthworks on the Semenoff site were for housing, yet said Whangarei District Council (WDC) had given him an assurance before he bought his house in 2021 there wouldn’t be any housing on the land - unless Semenoff did some major retaining work first.
Watts said he’d alerted the district and regional councils and his insurance company to his concerns but “hadn’t got anywhere”, so he went to media in the hope a lawyer might take up a civil case against Semenoff pro-bono (for free).
He didn’t want to end up like a homeowner opposite him whose house was condemned in August, 2019, after a landslip for which Semenoff was later found partly responsible.
Northland Regional Council and WDC each said they had followed up Watts’ complaints but found no wrongdoing by Semenoff.
Slumping on Stan Semenoff's Raumanga development land in 2019. Daniel Watts bought his house adjoining property in 2021. Watts' property, with a long fence, is seen to the right of this image. Photo / John Stone
The regional council’s compliance monitoring manager Tess Dacre said site visits on March 7 and 12 this year established Semenoff “has not breached any regional rules, resource consent conditions nor any other legislation. We have advised the complainant that it is a civil matter between themselves and Mr Semenoff.”
“There was evidence that an industrial mower was being used to clear vegetation. There was also evidence that the existing drainage had been cleared. There was no evidence of material earthworks.”
Sephton said WDC had discussions with Semenoff around requirements for stormwater maintenance on the site, and was working with him to ensure the missing drainage identified by Watts was reinstated.
That mechanism - a drainage “sock” combined with special sheeting to prevent water absorption along the drainage pathway - was one WDC had directed Semenoff to install after the 2019 landslide. It was intended as a temporary measure until a permanent solution was found, Sephton said.
The WDC had no record of when it disappeared. Seminoff claimed it was during Cyclone Gabrielle.
Sephton said the only active consent currently associated with the Semenoff land was one issued in 2022 for industrial lots.
A consent had been issued in July 2019 for an industrial and residential development but that was surrendered as part of the grounds for a consent for industrial lots that was lodged in November 2020 and issued in 2022.
Another consent for a 13-lot residential development was applied for in February 2021 but withdrawn in March last year.
Criteria for land developments are specified in the District Plan. Sephton said that in the case of the Raumanga development, “The subdivision consent required that the geotechnical experts demonstrate that no adverse effects from instability would occur either on neighbouring properties or building platforms within the development prior to consent issue.
“An engineer’s completion report to confirm works have been undertaken in accordance with the approved reports and plans was part of the consent conditions.”
Semenoff told the Northern Advocate last week he currently had no particular plan for the land, especially given the current downturn in the housing market. However, he didn’t rule out perhaps one day applying to build “10 to 17 houses” on it.
He believed Watts’ claim of recent subsidence was unfounded and based on a personal vendetta sparked by a previous dispute between Watts and another neighbour.
Stan Semenoff claims stormwater being directed onto his development land at Raumanga, frrom neighbouring properties - including Manuka Place resident Daniel Watts' - is adding to land instability. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Semenoff also claimed stormwater wrongly being directed on to his land from Watts’ and other neighbouring properties had added to any land stability concerns.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
