September 2000 Newsletter
Contents
Hope
in sight?
Society
Meets Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
Key
Environment Court Victory Supports Protection of Waitakere Ranges
Councillor
Wrong Over Compensation
Waitakere
Valley Community Planting
Waitakere
City Annual Clean-up
Resource
Consent, 174 Kauri Road
The
period since our last newsletter to members has been one of very significant
gains for the Society and for the cause of conservation in the Waitakere
Ranges.
First,
we had an important victory in the Environment Court over a keenly contested
and controversial subdivision proposal in Titirangi. The Court found in favour
of the Society and cancelled a subdivision consent that was granted by
Waitakere City Council to Brand Housing Ltd for a 14-lot subdivision in
Rimutaka Place. The hearing was a long, seven- day one, and we called three
ecologists to support our case. Details of the decision are reported elsewhere
in this newsletter but I have to say that it was a major morale-booster for
our team and established some important principles that will apply across the
Ranges.
Second,
we won a case before the Council in which a Karekare resident sought consent
to subdivide a 4 hectare block into two lots. This would have been the first
subdivision of a 4-hectare lot in Karekare and a large number of locals made
submissions in opposition. Maintaining the 4-hectare rule in the Ranges proper
is crucial if we are to preserve the open landscapes that give the area its
character.
Third,
we had a good meeting with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
who is promoting a Heritage Area for the Ranges. This concept is not new - our
consultant, Gary Taylor, first suggested something like it as early as 1983.
But it now has some fresh legs. We are also delighted that the Environmental
Defence Society (EDS) has entered into a strategic alliance with us and has
offered to put professional resources into investigating and developing the
concept further.
Finally,
as a reminder that vigilance is always required, a landowner in the Oratia
Valley has just applied for resource consent to subdivide his property. The
property is within the Oratia Structure Plan area in which average lot sizes
were set by the Environment Court at 1.6 hectares. In spite of that, this
landowner has applied for lots averaging 1 hectare.
John
Edgar
President
Planning
for The Ark in the Park mainland island is progressing steadily. A scoping
report outlining the pros and cons of each potential site has been completed.
The next step is to distribute the report to members of WRPS, Forest and Bird
and the Friends of Arataki for their feedback. The Ark in the Park committee
will then meet to recommend a site and forward this recommendation to Iwi, ARC
and DoC for their comment.
Sport
Waitakere are sponsoring a series of bushwalks guided by Ark in the Park
committee members on Saturdays and Sundays throughout September 2000. The
walks will be fun, informative and a good opportunity to learn more about The
Ark in the Park and the Waitakere Ranges. The cost is $5 per person and
bookings are essential. For a registration
form phone Kay at Sport Waitakere 836- 7719
Jane
Alexander and Simon Chapman
The
Society met again recently with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the
Environment, Dr Morgan Williams, who also met with Waitakere City Council to
discuss the long-term future of the Waitakere Ranges.
Dr
Williams had earlier encouraged the Council to "lift its sights" and
warned that the Ranges faced "death by a thousand cuts" if a
long-term solution to the problem of ongoing subdivision and development
wasn't found soon.
The
Society told Dr Williams that it supported his suggested Heritage Area for the
Ranges, a special form of administration that would be backed by an incentive
fund to encourage landowners to practice conservation. We told the
Commissioner that we had entered into a strategic alliance with the
Environmental Defence Society (EDS), a national environmental law group, that
was working up a detailed model for such an approach.
EDS personnel recently looked at protected areas management in other
countries and is putting some professional resources into developing the
Heritage Area concept further.
Dr
Williams undertook to give serious consideration to ways in which the Heritage
Area concept could be advanced both in Waitakere City and elsewhere. He
reinforced his view that such an initiative needed strong community buy-in if
it was to work.
The
Society told the Commissioner
that it strongly endorsed the view that there was a need for some special
arrangements for the Ranges.
As
we pursue more and more conservation objectives through an unceasing round of
hearings and appeals, the Society's resources become more and more stretched.
While we use professional advisers at no or greatly reduced charges, the
amount required is still always considerable. Photocopying charges alone for a
seven- day Environment Court hearing can amount to several hundred dollars!
We
know that we can rely on our members for on-going support. But what we really
need are a couple of big donations to lift our fighting fund for Ranges. Can I
ask members to think about possible sources for such support - wealthy
individuals, business, bequests - and contact me personally with any
suggestions (8128 555).
It
would be great if we could build a fund of, say $50,000, to see us thought the
next 18 months of hearings and appeals.
John
Edgar
A
decision of the Environment Court has been described as a significant advance
in the conservation of the Waitakere Ranges. The case was an appeal by the
Waitakere Ranges Protection Society against a decision of Waitakere City
Council to allow a 14-lot subdivision on 6 hectares of forested land in
Rimutaka Place, Titirangi. The hearing took place over 7 days and involved no
fewer than six ecologists giving evidence.
This
decision is a real boost for the protection of the Waitakere Ranges.
It not only saves a really important area of puriri forest on the
subject site - it also sets a benchmark for future subdivision proposals and
for all of the forthcoming district plan appeals. It is the most important
decision on the Ranges for many years.
Environmental
consultant Gary Taylor, an adviser to WRPS, represented 281 local residents.
They collectively supported the Society's appeal against the
Council’s decision to approve the subdivision. The Society was represented
at the appeal by Douglas Allan (Ellis Gould).
Two
key findings will affect the entire Ranges:
1.
Significant
Vegetation
First,
the Court examined the issue of ecological significance. This is important
because if forest is "significant", then it has to be protected from
adverse effects.
Section
6 (c) of the Resource Management Act provides for:
The
protection of areas of significant indigenous vegetation and significant
habitats of indigenous fauna.
There
was disagreement as to the forest's significance. Dr Peter Maddison (for the
developer) and Dr Vaughan Keesing (for the Council) both argued that the
forest was at best of local significance. However, ecologists Dr Andrea
Julian, William Shaw and Alison Davis (for the Society) and Shona Myers (for
the ARC) argued that it was regionally and nationally significant.
Importantly
for the rest of the Ranges, the Court cited with approval the evidence of
William Shaw, consultant to the Society, when he said
“The
relatively large track of indigenous vegetation in the Waitakere Ranges is
significant on a national and regional basis. Ongoing subdivision and related
fragmentation poses a significant threat to the integrity and sustainability
of the remaining vegetation in the Ranges.”
If
the entire Ranges forest cover is henceforth regarded as
"significant", that sets a much higher threshold for developers to
meet. It brings the Waitakere Ranges clearly under the protective umbrella of
section 6 (c) of the Act.
This
is a very important and useful precedent, not only for the Ranges but for all
areas in New Zealand where subdivision is proposed in areas of native forest.
It
establishes that subdivision, even if sensitively designed, has adverse
effects on the ecology of native forest. These adverse effects can include
edge effects; increased potential for weed invasion; loss of connections
between areas of indigenous vegetation; and forest fragmentation.
While
the decision does not mean there can be no subdivision in bush, it does mean
that the density of subdivision will have to be much reduced before those
adverse effects can be avoided.
2.
Outstanding
Landscape
The
second important finding by the Environment Court is that the entire Waitakere
Ranges consists of "outstanding" landscape. The Court said of the
proposal:
“In
a wider sense, it would represent the inappropriate subdivision of an
outstanding natural feature and landscape, being the Waitakere Ranges…”
By
this finding, the Court has invoked section 6(b) of the Act and established
another high threshold for any developers to pass.
This decision should have immediate flow-on consequences for appeals on
the district plan relating to protection of sensitive ridgelines.
We
are truly delighted at this victory but know there is still along way to go
before we have secured the protection of the Ranges for all time.
We hope the Council takes heed of this decision and backs off its
rampant pro-development stance.
Waitakere
City Councillor Jenny Price, is quite wrong when she said in the Western
Leader that landowners are entitled to compensation under the Resource
Management Act. In support of her contention she refers people to section 85
of the Act and says we should read it.
In
fact what it says is that compensation is not payable with respect to
District Plan controls over land. People who think that they are being denied
reasonable use of their land by the District Plan can apply to have a rule
changed, but there is no compensation. Section
85 is headed, Compensation not payable
in respect of controls on land.
Council
is therefore entitled to increase lot sizes if it produces better
environmental outcomes and is consistent with the Act. No compensation is
payable to landowners if it does that. So long as a landowner can build a
house on his or her land, that would meet the reasonable use test as well.
It
is disturbing when councillors, who administer the district plan on behalf of
the community, demonstrate a lack of understanding of the Act. We hope that
the misunderstanding be corrected because, otherwise, Council could be
deterred from imposing reasonable controls on land in the mistaken belief that
they face compensation claims.
Gary
Taylor
Research
on NZ long-tailed bats in the Waitakere Ranges has been ongoing since December
1999. The research has benefited greatly from the efforts of WRPS volunteers
– thank-you!
We
will be running further volunteer survey evenings this Summer. These involve
walking along tracks (e.g., Cascade Track, Auckland City Walk) in groups of
four, with one person holding a bat detector and the others holding torches.
The evenings will begin with a talk
on bats and instructions for the survey. Surveys begin at sunset and take
between 20 minutes and 3 hours, depending on the track. If you would like to
be involved in the monitoring and conservation of native bats please call or
email us. We'd also love to hear from anyone with recent or historic
information on bats in the Waitakeres.
Jane
Alexander and Simon Chapman
(09)
837 4621 or (025) 234 8593
Email:jflower@ihug.co.nz
Born
in New Zealand August 7, 1907
Died
in Tucson, Arizona, June 8, 2000
It
is with great sadness that the society records the passing of our esteemed
patron, Dr Lucy Cranwell-Smith.
Dr
Cranwell-Smith was patron of the society since 1976. She gave the society
great support over those years, and took an active interest in the ranges long
after she left to live in USA with her husband, Major Watson Smith.
Dr
Smith grew up in Henderson on an orchard at the conjunction of the Opanuku and
Oratia streams, the land that was given to the city by the Cranwell family now
known as Cranwell Park.
In
1929 she began her work at the Auckland Museum as botanist and was responsible
for many of the natural history displays, which were always a source of wonder
and education. A pioneer in the
botany of the Waitakere Ranges, Dr Cranwell-Smith was responsible for a
considerable collection of native flora in the Auckland Museum herbarium.
Her book “The Botany of Auckland” published in 1940 is still
available at the museum and is a definitive work on the region.
She travelled widely in New Zealand, often together with Dr Lucy Moore,
collecting specimens for the collection.
She gained international recognition for her research into plant
pollen, especially fossil pollens and their study to elucidate climate
history.
She
was the recipient of numerous scientific awards, and the society published
some of these lifetime achievements in our newsletter in December 1999.
Although
I never met her, during the time I have been president I have received letters
from her, always with questions relating to various issues in the Waitakere
Ranges such as weed and pest management.
Dr
Cranwell-Smith’s passing is a great loss for the Society, and we will
remember her in the next few newsletters by printing some letters and articles
she wrote to the society over the past 27 years.
We
would also like to celebrate her life with a tree planting in a Waitakere
Reserve and will work towards this with the Botanical Society and with her
family.
John
Edgar
[The
society is honoured to acknowledge our other patron, Dr. John Morton, who
became a patron at the same time as Dr. Cranwell-Smith. Any members who would
like to share memories of Dr Cranwell-Smith are invited to send them to the
society in time for the next newsletter in November.]
- ed.
The
following is a letter written to the Society in 1982 following an appeal for
articles for a Waitakere Book. It
illustrates Lucy’s profound love and respect for our forests and beaches.
Your
letter has come as a surprise as I’d have thought you could easily have
found someone more in touch with
Waitakere affairs of the past 40 years. Truly,
it will be 40 years, come February, since I left New Zealand…
You
have asked for memories. I am not
old enough to have seen the northern front of the Ranges with Colenso; nor to
have found horopito with Cheeseman; nor again, to have sat whistling up birds
for skinning with Reischek; but I did know some of the older naturalists and
flavourful codgers of the area. I
have the fondest thoughts, all the time, about the remarkable places and
people I knew when growing up in the -then- village of Henderson.
I
saw, as well, the cutting of fine kauri stands on Cowan’s farm, and on the
Annandale and Annett farms farther north, near the Mokoroa, where Goldie had
milled. The sharp edges of my
concern for so much inevitably wasted have never really softened.
My main regret now is that I did not listen more, and did not follow
every ridge and stream, nor try to pad on foot around the whole Waitakere, as
Rex Fairburn, the poet, once did – or so they say.
I
write now on a hot, humid day of the Arizona monsoon.
Oh, for the cool little lakes – Kawau Paku and Wainamu – and the
quicksandy reaches of the lower Waitakere; and the pleasant, safe streams –
Opanuku flowing over fossil shells near the Walker kauris on Mountain Road;
Cannibal Creek with its plunge-pool; and above all, the Anawhata flowing
mysteriously over the sands in the moonlight, with its tracks that used to
lead to Maori gathering places. Women
and children would collect karaka fruit on hot summer days, soaking,
stripping, and at last heating them for food, all the while redolent of that
spicy aroma I still savour. From
all the valleys and headlands these Kawerau people have fled or been sucked
down in the whirlpool of the sad and violent times of the war parties.
It is over 50 years now since my heart greeted a Kawerau child –
brown and beautiful – on the coast.
One
does well to remember the element of danger that makes our West Coast
different from anywhere else in the Province, perhaps.
Otherwise, the whole Waitakere is so pleasant, if often so wet; it’s
an ideal place for living and playing. It
is not large – it could slide easily into the Grand Canyon – but, with its
reserves and well-kept gardens and orchards on its periphery, and its handsome
regenerating scrub with its nurse-child, “the bush”; with its streams,
lakes, beaches and noble cliffs, it offers much quiet living and recreation
close to a sprawling city.
It
was as a guest at R. A. Lippincott’s bush retreat (above the Scenic Drive)
when he was architect for the most attractive parts of the University, that I
realised how elegantly a building could melt into a landscape.
I have learned since that such care for natural beauty is in the best
American tradition, where so many revere the memory of John Muir and Audubon.
I should add that Lippincott was an American.
I
plead for the sensitivity in all contacts with this area.
Let us all think of tomorrow and keep a green shade, sparkling harbours
and streams, and clean beaches and sandhills for our children, both brown and
white.
Lucy
M. Cranwell
June
10, 1982
This
year’s plantings involved an extensive area alongside the Waitakere River,
near Te Henga Road Bridge. Despite
the floods and frosts at inopportune times, it is starting to look good.
Some more weed eradication by the ARC will also enhance the spot.
We
are now looking for volunteers for the summer programme, which includes
releasing the little plants from the strangling grasp of long grass, and also
nursery work (potting-up, weeding, etc.).
If you have a few spare hours (I know they are like gold!) give me a
ring.
Colleen
Pilcher
810
9540
If
you hate the sight of litter in your
area, why not volunteer to coordinate a clean-up?
Phone Gretchen Schubeck, the coordinator of Keep
Waitakere Beautiful, at the Council on 839 0400. Enlist your neighbours
for an hour or so one afternoon. Any
sized area – large or small – it all makes a difference.
Council supplies the bags, gloves, etc.
(Deadline for submissions 29th Sept.)
WCC
have issued their formal proposal to change boundaries and representation for
the next local body elections in 2001. They
have decided to change the boundaries of Waitakere Ward and thereby reduce the
number of representatives to two.
This
is a gross injustice, since Waitakere Ward covers an area of 26500 ha, (5
times the size of Massey and 13 times the size of Henderson).
However, they have made their calculations based on population, and
have reduced the population of Waitakere by shifting the boundaries with
Henderson and New Lynn Wards. This is nothing short of gerrymandering, and the
public have until 29th Sept to make written submissions to Council.
WRPS
will be making a strong case for the status quo (3 councillors), and as many
people as possible should make submissions to protect our democratic rights to
have 3 representatives in Waitakere Ward. As Councillor Hulse has stated,
“this is a cynical move to punish Waitakere Ward for standing up to the Go
Waitakere Councillors”.
John
Edgar
The
landowner has lodged a notice of appeal to the Environment Court against the
Council’s decision. The Society
and the KareKare Residents and Ratepayers Trust will be party to this appeal.
Many
thanks to our members who have donated to the Spragg Bush Conservation Fund.
To date, nearly $8,500 has been raised toward the property purchase.
Wonderful progress! Alongside the Spragg family descendants, WRPS hopes
to see this section at 14 Turanga Road permanently added to the Park. At
present, this section is zoned so that it could be cleared for development. It
is our aim to see that this land remains in native bush for perpetuity.
We have made a good start to our fund-raising effort, but if you have
not yet donated and would like to, please send cheques payable to “Waitakere
Reserves Fund” and marked for the Spragg Bush Conservation Fund.
Our goal is to raise $100,000.
WRPS
is to produce a run of t-shirts using our new logo designed by Keith
Strode-Penny. The logo will be
screen-printed in one colour on the front of the shirt in the usual upper-left
position, and also on the back, enlarged.
The shirts will be made from 190g 100% cotton, and will be available in
two colours – natural and green. The
size range is S, M, L, XL, XXL and XXXL.
Price $25.00 each, including postage and packing.
Please
send your orders giving size and colour preference to WRPS, PO Box 15668, New
Lynn. The production will be
initiated within three months.
Graeme
Ramsay
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