Public to have say on red zone offers

The public is being invited to have a say on a Recovery Plan addressing Crown offers to buy vacant, uninsured and commercial/industrial properties in the Residential Red Zone.

The Preliminary Draft of the Residential Red Zone Offer Recovery Plan is now available for viewing, and for people to provide written comments as part of the development of the plan, including on social media.

The Chief Executive of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) has been directed by the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery to prepare the Recovery Plan for these offer categories following the recent judgment by the Supreme Court on the challenge by the Quake Outcasts group.

The Court directed that the decision-making on the Crown offer to buy properties in these categories should be revisited and that a Recovery Plan was an appropriate approach.

CERA Acting Chief Executive John Ombler says input by the public into this Recovery Plan is crucial.

“It’s not just those who are directly affected by owning properties in the red zone. The Crown offer is funded by all taxpayers, and I encourage everyone to take a look at the issues and have a say on what they think is reasonable in the circumstances.”

The expired Crown offer, made in September 2012, to buy vacant, commercial/industrial and uninsured properties in the flat land red zones was 50 per cent of the 2007 rateable value of the land (or 2008 rateable value in the Waimakariri District), and in the case of insured commercial/industrial properties, the option of 100 per cent of the rateable value of the insured buildings.

Owners of properties in these categories in the Port Hills red zones have not yet received an offer. An offer will be made to them on the basis of the outcome of the Recovery Plan but will not be less than the offer already made to those in the flat land red zones. Consideration will also need to be given to those who did not accept the September 2012 offer and those who had a reduced offer as a result of significant underinsurance.

Any property owner who accepted the September 2012 offer will be offered a top up if there is a larger revised offer.

The Preliminary Draft of the Residential Red Zone Offer Recovery Plan can be viewed online at www.cera.govt.nz/redzoneoffer, or in hard copy at the offices of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) and at Christchurch City Council and Waimakariri District Council service centres from later today.

Comment can be made on the CERA website, by emailing info@cera.govt.nz, on CERA’s Facebook page, on Twitter @ceragovtnz using #redzoneoffer, or by mailing Preliminary Draft Residential Red Zone Offer Recovery Plan, Freepost CERA, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, Private Bag 4999, Christchurch 8140. Comment must be received by 5pm on 19 May.

This public comment will feed into the development of the Draft Recovery Plan, which will also be released for public comment from 26 May. Following analysis of this second round of comment, it is expected the Recovery Plan will be finalised and decisions made on the Crown offer by the middle of this year.

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