Kapiti News
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Wednesday, November 14, 2012
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Your local news from Paekakariki to Otaki
Baking fundraiser PIECE OF CAKE: Diane Ammundsen is encouraging people to bake some cakes for a Coastlands Aquatic Centre fundraising cake stall. The cake stall takes place on Saturday, November 17 from 10am in the garden court in Coastlands. People can donate a cake to sell or enter a best decorated cake competition. There will also be a children’s cup cake competition. Cup cakes can be made on site or brought in. Children’s entertainer Krystal Wright will entertaining throughout the sale. There will also be celebrity cake sale — two of the many celebrities include Christian Cullen and Leo Bertos. ‘‘We’re encouraging people to bake a cake for the aquatic centre, but if not, just come along and buy a cake,’’ said Mrs Ammundsen, a Coastland Aquatic Centre Trust member. Kapiti Lions will be on hand to collect the cakes for sale. Please bring your cake in by 9.30am. Nearly $4000 was raised in the previous cake Photo: David Haxton / CCN091112DHcakes stall sale.
Local’s Sandy experience
Coast report disputed David Haxton
A controversial Kapiti coastal hazard report came under fire at a public meeting which attracted 200 people. Guest speaker at the Coastal Ratepayers United-organised meeting, at the Senior Citizens Hall, Paraparaumu Beach, on Saturday, was Dr Jeff Ashby, who took issue with a number of aspects of the Roger Shandauthored report, which has seen 50- and 100-year coastal hazard mapping lines affect 1800 Kapiti beach properties. ‘‘In particular its failure to take into account any accretion,’’ Coastal Ratepayers United chairman Christopher Ruthe said. ‘‘Accretion is when sand builds up. ‘‘This coast is an accreting coast. ‘‘Dr Ashby pointed out that the Horowhenua, which has a
similar coastline to Kapiti, is exactly the same classical cuspate sealine — and they [Horowhenua District Council] aren’t putting in hazard lines because they acknowledge the coast is accreting. ‘‘So we have the absurd situation of people on one side of fence saying the coast is accreting and on this side saying it’s eroding. ‘‘Dr Ashby emphasised the accretion along this coastline has been happening despite the fact there has been searise pretty constantly over the last century. ‘‘He said because of the nature of this coast, the chances of what is happening in the Shand report are a very worstcase scenario — it’s not likely to happen.’’ Mr Ruthe said the report’s figures, retrospectively, weren’t right ‘‘so if his [Shand] predictions were correct most of
the beach and properties dozens of metres away would no longer be here’’. And comments by council senior manager Gael Ferguson, reported in last week’s Kapiti News, who said affected property owners unhappy about their mapping lines could engage with an expert and the lines potentially altered after discussion with Dr Shand or council’s technical experts, were also taken to task. ‘‘We have obtained information from appropriate scientists who say each of those reports will cost each person something in the order of $17,000 to $22,000 per property,’’ Mr Ruthe said. ‘‘Dr Shand has already said he will not, and cannot, take into account accretion. ‘‘So he won’t be able to take into account those expert reports because they take into account accretion.
‘‘So the matter is clearly predetermined.’’ He said people were also annoyed at the council deferring decisions until all the evidence was gathered because timeframes, whether short or long, ‘‘wouldn’t make an iota of difference to the risk for the council’’. Mr Ruthe said ratepayers were being ‘‘exposed to absurd costs and expenses for something that should be resolved properly in terms of the Local Government Act which says people should have been consulted’’. ‘‘None were consulted.’’ And Mr Ruthe said under the draft District Plan affected property owners would face ‘‘extreme constraints’’ to alter their homes under the Building Act. ‘‘They [council] don’t want a Nature Coast — they want a Derelict Coast.’’
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