North Shore City Council: don’t stonewall; refund

Media Statement

14 May 2007

Message to North Shore City Council: don’t stonewall; refund the money; and get compliant with the law

North Shore City Council is exposing its ratepayers to an ever-increasing budget and funding crisis with every day that it delays correcting its development contributions policy, according to the Property Council of New Zealand.

Connal Townsend, chief executive of the Property Council, said the High Court found in March 2007 that North Shore City Council’s 2004 development contributions policy was in error of law, and the onus is now on North Shore City Council to correct those errors.

The High Court found that North Shore City Council had:

“… made an error of law in failing to ensure that its development contributions policy complies with the requirements of the Act to assess development contributions against a “development” (as defined as s197) that generates a demand for reserves, network infrastructure and community infrastructure.”

“The [North Shore City] Council has made an error of law in adopting a narrow concept of economic efficiency in the causative approach it has applied to the assessment of development contributions, and excluding appropriate consideration of the distribution of benefits and equitable and proportionate allocation.”

“It follows that the Council has made an error of law in failing appropriately to explain in its development contributions policy, as required by s106(2)(c) why in terms of s101(3) it has determined to use development contributions as a funding source.”

“Having now received the High Court’s declaratory judgment, the North Shore City Council must immediately take steps to ensure that its development contributions policy is compliant with the Local Government Act 2002.

“The Property Council is concerned that any further delay in correcting multiple errors of law, which have been clearly identified by the High Court, will further expose North Shore City ratepayers to an even bigger budget black hole, which grows larger with each day that this situation remains unresolved.

“The Property Council used its draft Annual Plan submission to set out a roadmap for ensuring that North Shore City Council is compliant with the Local Government Act 2002 and the High Court’s declaratory judgment. Today we recommended that North Shore City Council:

1. suspends the charging of development contributions forthwith and until such time as it can design and adopt a policy that complies with the Local Government Act 2002;

2. refunds property owners and the development community the development contributions previously levied in accordance with an economic model that has been found by the High Court to be in error of law; and

3. work with the plaintiffs, their legal representatives, and organisations like the Property Council to enact a development contributions policy that is transparent, equitable and legal.”

“Delaying an amendment to North Shore City Council’s development contributions policy until after the adoption of the draft Annual Plan is not good enough. The priority must be to correct errors of law now, not next month, not next year. Now.

“North Shore City Council has run out of excuses and it has run out of time. It’s now time has come to front up, pay up, enact a development contributions policy that complies with the law and the High Court’s declaratory judgment, and to give the city’s ratepayers the certainty they deserve,” Connal Townsend said.

ENDS

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