No parking: Remuera realty agent Mark Sumich pinged for illegal car park

An Auckland real estate agent has been served an abatement notice by Auckland Council for operating an illegal car park in Remuera.

Mark Sumich tore down two neighbouring century-old homes at 78 and 80 Remuera Rd in recent months and replaced them with an 18-space commercial car park.

The properties had a combined CV of $2.75 million.

While Sumich sought necessary demolition permits he failed to obtain resource consent for the car park as required under the Unitary Plan.

Following a Herald story last month on four separate Remuera Rd properties being bulldozed and turned into car parks, Auckland Council launched an investigation into Sumich's activities.

Compliance officers met Sumich at the site to assess the car park and discuss relevant planning rules.

An abatement notice was issued on July 12 requiring Sumich to cease operating the unconsented parking lot.

It means Sumich could face daily infringement notices if he fails to comply with the council notice or prosecution under the Resource Management Act.

But time appears to be on Sumich's side.

Auckland Council has given him 113 days to comply, meaning he can keep charging motorists for parking till October 11 before he faces any penalty.

"Auckland Council enforcement officers will from time to time undertake inspections to check whether you are complying," the abatement notice says.

A letter to Sumich from Licensing and Regulatory Compliance investigator Peter Brahne said the abatement notice provided a "reasonable timeframe should you wish to apply for the necessary resource consent".

"The other option is to remove the paid parking operation. There is no restriction on parking for family or friends."

Team Manager Compliance Investigations team manager Kerri Fergusson said the abatement notice required the owner to cease car park operations.

"It also specifically says the owner must stop charging members of the public to park their vehicles at the address. The owner now has 113 days to comply and if the conditions aren't met an infringement notice may be issued."

Sumich declined to comment or say what his plans were for the site.

"What I'm not going to do is make any comment. Don't call me anymore."

Property records show Sumich bought the neighbouring 1910 homes in March 2007 for $1.085m each.

Sumich told the Herald last month the properties had been run down and it was uneconomic to bring them up to new Government standards.

"So we thought we'd just get rid of them and try our hand at car parking."

He admitted then being unaware that he needed consent to operate a parking lot.

"I wasn't under that impression but everyone tells me different things every day. You're giving me information that I haven't heard before."

This is the second time a Remuera Rd property owner has been investigated by Auckland Council for tearing down an old home and putting in a car park without obtaining necessary consents.

In 2016 the Herald reported that a grand, century-old Mediterranean-inspired house at number 62 - next door to Newmarket Police Station - had been knocked down and transformed into a 30-lot parking area.

The house was sold September 2012 for $1.86 million. QV documents show the buyer was Ganzhong Ni.

It is understood the house was bulldozed in 2015 before being turned into parking.

This month's abatement notice follows revelations that four historic Remuera Rd properties had all been bulldozed and turned into car parks in recent years.

They are all within a stone's throw of each other, at 62, 75, 78 and 80 Remuera Rd. The properties are collectively valued at almost $10 million.

The street is the gateway to one of the nation's rare $2m suburbs but the historic homes' fate have raised questions about how the city values its heritage.