Councils Holding the Country to Ransom

[Perry]

Do they all have an advanced degree (or PhD) in absolute arrant stupidity?

Italian food store, cafe to close because of liquor licencing restrictions
25 Jan 2018

An Italian-born restauranteur living in Wellington is upset the law is preventing him from continuing to offer Kiwis a little slice of his home. Antonio Cacace owns two hospitality and grocer businesses in Wellington: La Bella Italia in Petone, which he opened 17 years ago, and Bel Mondo in Rongotai, which he opened in 2016.

Both his businesses were designed to offer an authentic Italian environment, allowing patrons to dine while sipping on a glass of wine, and then shop in the food store for Italian food and wine to take home afterwards. However, when Cacace applied to renew his liquor licences last year, he was told he was operating outside of the law by holding an on-licence and off-licence under the same roof.

[Perry]

But no impediments, here:
Timaru District Council set to send staff on fact finding missions to Australia
25 Jan 2018

Timaru District Council staff may be sent to Australia to explore innovation and best practice in local government. They will visit the Orange City Council in a step-up on the sister city relationship the centres have shared since 1986.

Ratepayer-funded junkets are never a difficulty. Isn't fact finding a splendid obfuscation for such a junket?

So much for the digital universe.

[Davo36]

innovation and best practice in local government

Bit of an oxymoron...

[Perry]

Depends what it refers to.

Perhaps a bit of innovation and best practice in new ways of making life difficult for developers, ratepayers and businesses?

Should be able to get a few clues on that from the under-arm bowlers, shouldn't they?

[Davo36]

Here's an email from the Ratepayers alliance I got this morning. Only read if you are not faint of heart:

Warning: this email has adult themes, graphic language, and links to content readers may find disturbing. If you are easily offended, stop reading.

A few minutes ago, we went public with our concerns that the tourism promotion arm of Auckland Council – ATEED – is using ratepayer money to sponsor “KIWIFIST”, an event of the Auckland Pride Festival.
The event is described on the ATEED sponsored website as (and the following is verbatim) “New Zealand’s biggest arse-play event” and advises attendees to “BYO toys and lubes” for “a full-on, five-hour-plus, gathering of gay and bi men into fisting and arse-play big-time”.
Call us prudes but ratepayers should be subsiding sex parties, regardless of the sexual orientation of those involved.
ATEED add insult to injury

Earlier in the week, we approached ATEED and asked precisely how much money Pride has received for the Festival and the promotion of the KIWIFIST event, and others. Initially, we were told the information was “easily available”, however once the spin doctors clicked why we were asking for the information they back peddled. They refused to give us the information, and said we would need to lodge an official information request with the Council (i.e. they’re forcing us to wait a month for a response).
We think ATEED’s behaviour is simply appalling. Once again a Council agency has no regard whatsoever for transparency.
Last year Phil Goff justified his hotel tax by saying the money was needed to promote ATEED’s events. We wonder how the hotel tax would have been received if the public knew it was for, among other things, sex party promotion.
If you are disgusted and outraged by Phil Goff’s use of your money sponsoring the KIWIFIST event – please chip in so we can hold the Council to account.
Help us stand up to this nonsense

You’ll notice over the next few months that our activities will be ramping up. We have just commissioned an economic researcher who is working through the finer details of the Council’s finances.
Soon we will be publishing our first ratepayers’ booklet exposing the lies and myths politicians have been telling you.
More and more, we find that the reason the Council has no money for quality infrastructure investment is because the Council's operational spending (staff salaries in particular) is ballooning and totally out of control.
If you donate $40 or more today via our secure website, we will send you a copy of the booklet as soon as it’s off the press.
Phil Goff pledged he would stop the Council wasting money on non-core Council business. To say that sex parties are ‘non-core Council business’ is an understatement. If you agree, please take a moment to lend your support and we will make sure Mr Goff gets the message.
Thank you for your support.
Jo Holmes
Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance
www.ratepayers.nz

[Perry]

Builder's smaller, ready-made homes ruled out by subdivision covenants
6 Feb 2018

Wraight tried to get his 104-square metre transportable homes into the Marlborough District Council-owned Boulevard Park on Taylor subdivision when it was first being built, but said he was denied because of the style. One of the covenants at Boulevard Park on Taylor did not allow homes to have decorative historical windows and door frames. The Marlborough District Council declined to comment.

[Davo36]

Front door articulation is very important to council officers

Seriously though, how are we ever going to get large numbers of houses built in this country?

[Perry]

Front door articulation is very important to council officers

Seriously though, how are we ever going to get large numbers of houses built in this country?

And that all are made of ticky tacky and they all look just the same . . .
Little boxes in the suburbs . . .

[Shalodge]

These covenants are imposed because there is a demand for them. Developers and new home builders love them as they give some certainty that someone wont come along and 'wreck' the neighborhood amenity with an eyesore and devalue their new home.

Nothing appreciates value faster than a crappy house in a new subdivision but this comes at the expense of the neighbours values.

While Council may 'own' some of the land they aren't developers and its not fair to say that they are arbitrarily imposing covenants because they feel like it.

I have not approved any new upmarket greenfield or comprehensive subdivision that doesn't have covenants to some degree, normally a prohibition on relocating houses at least.

[flyernzl]

Seriously though, how are we ever going to get large numbers of houses built in this country?

The short answer - we are not to going to achieve that without draconian Government intervention.

Remember the power outages in Auckland 30 or so years ago?
The lines companies had applied to repair, replace and upgrade the HT systems in the Auckland area, but the process had become bogged down in lawyers, appeals, inquiries, commissions and consents and was going nowhere. just clocking up legal bills.

In order to resolve the problem the Govt of the day had to step in and override all the objections.

Similarly, the only way to get Twyford's 29 houses per day built, the Govt would need to disregard all objections from Councils, planning authorities, neighbours, Greenpeace and everyone else, declare urgency, ignore the risk to the endangered habitat of the lesser spotted snotweed and just build the damned things.

The howls of outrage and indignation will be ear-splitting.

[Perry]

. . . the lesser spotted snotweed . . .

You missed the cultural impact assessment and taniwha tax options.

[artemis]

The general population has this Kiwibuild picture of lots of nice 3 bedroom standalone houses with garages and back yards for the trampoline. In practice many will be apartment blocks, townhouses and other multi unit developments. Probably with various Chinese inputs - finance, labour, components, modular construction.

Meanwhile local finance, labour etc is also diverted to Kiwibuild and private developments slow.

[Perry]

The general population has this Kiwibuild picture of lots of nice 3 bedroom standalone houses with garages and back yards for the trampoline. In practice many will be apartment blocks, townhouses and other multi unit developments.

Yeah - maybe something like this:
The Joys of Social Housing

[Perry]

The Empire Fights Back

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester puts free weekend parking on chopping block to reduce council rates
2 March 2018

Parking could be one of the casualties of Wellington Mayor Justin Lester's effort to "keep rates affordable". This week Lester said he had to find $10 million in savings to prevent a significant rates hike. Lester said it was a balancing act. "I'm determined that we will not cut services or jobs as part of bringing down rates."

Saving money by reducing costs always seems to drop off the list. Put another way: empire preservation always takes precedence and avoids cost cutting. Screwing ratepayers, one way or another, is always the first option, no matter how it's dressed up, spun, or disguised.

[Learning]

www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/101904730/Wellington-Mayor-Justin-Lester-puts-free-weekend-parking-on-chopping-block-to-reduce-council-rates

He needs to put on more out of hour parking wardens. Monday to Friday 9-5 go one minute over and you’re running the gauntlet. Outside those hours the odds of coming back to a ticket are one in a thousand. About the same odds as finding a “free 2 hour” park on the street you want.