Most cyclone-impacted homeowners in Hawke’s Bay are facing an extended wait for approval to rebuild and return to their homes following a hotly-anticipated zoning decision.
Zoning decisions and maps were finally released to cyclone-impacted property owners via email on Thursday morning to provide clarity around the future of their properties.
Flood-prone areas have now been placed into one of three risk categories (or zones) covering about 3000 property owners in Hawke’s Bay.
The Government and councils also announced they will offer a buyout option to any properties placed in category three, which is the highest risk category and refers to areas deemed unsafe to live on due to unacceptable flood risks.
A total of 236 properties in Hawke’s Bay have been provisionally included in category three including a large part of Esk Valley, a section around Tangoio Beach, and small pockets of Pakowhai, Rissington and Twyford.
One Eskdale resident Dan Gale said he did not want to leave and felt his property, which has been in his family for 35 years, was being confiscated.
The Eskdale Holiday Park owner said the zoning announcement raised more questions than answers.
“They are saying category three has an option for a voluntary buyout, but what does that mean?
“Does it mean we can still live there [if we opt not to sell] and rebuild our houses? Are we able to be reinsured?” he said.
“All it does is throw up a whole heap more questions and feels like we are having our land confiscated.
“You can’t put your family in a position of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to rebuild just to have no insurance.
“You could have a house fire [in the future] and without insurance you are done.”
Meanwhile, 2526 properties around the region were provisionally zoned in category two on Thursday, meaning conditions such as improved stopbanks or raised homes need to be met before owners can safely return home.
That includes some properties that were not damaged in the cyclone of February 14.
Pakowhai resident Lynley Halpin has been provisionally zoned in category two and anticipated a lengthy wait before they can rebuild.
“Because category two is split up into three different sections, I think it’s going to take a long time to figure out,’’ Halpin said.
“I think the ones will be clearer and the threes but, with the twos, it’s going to take ages. There’s flood protection, spillways, stopbanks, building codes and whether they’re going to build us higher.’’
She said she was now unsure whether she wanted to stay.
“In all honesty, we’ve started looking for something else,’’ Halpin said.
“I don’t want to be renting or in limbo for the next three to five years. I don’t want to be wondering and I don’t want to be planning for the rebuild of our home if it’s not happening.
“I’ll be surprised if it’s 18 months before they’ve made the decision [on category two properties] and then you’ve actually got to get the builder and get it done. Realistically, we’re looking at three to five years before we’re back in Pakowhai.’’
Areas provisionally categorised in zone two include parts of Wairoa, Whirinaki, Puketapu, Awatoto, Dartmoor, Elsthorpe, Omahu, Pakowhai, Porangahau, Twyford, Waiohiki, and Waipawa. It also includes small pockets of Rissington and even Havelock North.
Properties placed in category two or three are indicative only, meaning they could still be moved to another category in the future following community consultation, which will begin this month.
Meanwhile, just 163 yellow- or red-stickered properties (in Napier city and Hastings District) were zoned as category one, which means homeowners can now safely return to their properties, rebuild, and move on with their lives. That category also allows owners to settle house insurance claims.
Haumoana, for example, suffered flooded homes during Cyclone Gabrielle but has been deemed safe to rebuild on and added to category one.
Minister for Cyclone Recovery Grant Robertson said a voluntary buyout would be offered to those in category three.
“What we can confirm today is that the Government will be supporting local councils to provide a voluntary buy-out scheme for people who are in category three,” he said.
“The costs will be split between central and local government. The process to understand how that split will work is under way and will be completed by the end of June.”
He said the cost of buying out properties across New Zealand in category three from Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods was around $1 billion. Not all of that will be paid by councils and Government.
“Ultimately, the final buyout decisions will be made by local councils.”
Associate Minister of Finance Michael Wood said other regions will also be announcing which areas are in each category soon.
“Our understanding is Auckland Council will be talking to property owners from June 12 and Tairāwhiti has already begun contact with property owners in Category 3, with the remainder to be finalised over coming weeks,” Wood said.
“Initial indications are that across all regions there will be about 700 category three properties, and up to 10,000 homes in category two areas.”
Hawke’s Bay’s five councils, in collaboration with the Government’s Cyclone Recovery Taskforce, have been working on which areas should be placed into each category locally.
“For our category two and category three areas, there is still a significant amount of work to be done,” a joint statement from the five councils read.
“The reality is that categories two and three cover a wide spectrum of scenarios and circumstances, including properties that weren’t damaged because of the cyclone, and we want to work closely with our impacted residents to ensure we understand the valuable local knowledge that exists within our communities.”
The provisional zoning process was based on data from the regional council, Ministry for the Environment, and insurance company claims data.
Whirinaki resident Maggie Braviner said her home had been placed in category two which provided “a little bit of disappointment”, as she and her partner wanted to get on with the rebuild and return home.
“We were hoping for category one, but obviously something needs doing, maybe stopbanks [to protect against the] river. But it is what it is.”
She said she was not surprised to be in category two, following the flooding they experienced at home.
“We knew that something would need doing in the end [for improved flood protection] but we thought they would just let us get on with it,” she said.
“I think the council is going to get in touch with us again in about a week’s time and then they will meet with us to discuss things.”
Pakowhai couple Sue and Mike Brown are still taking time to absorb what it means now that their Sissons Rd home has been deemed to be in category three provisionally.
”Neither Mike nor I really want to move from here, so I want to talk to [Hastings District Council] and see why they think we should be level three,” Sue said.
She said they were willing to suffer the consequences if it meant they could stay in Pakowhai, including insurance costs and extra resource consenting.
Mike said he wasn’t surprised they were put in category three, but he still feels they should only be in category two.
He said they would not even consider a potential offer of a Government buyout until they knew more details about what that entailed.
Sue said many people would be competing for a limited amount of land, builders and construction materials if they all took the buyout offer.
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