Whakatāne District Council elected members have voted to proceed with two plan changes which would prevent further development in the high risk area of the Awatarariki Stream fanhead area in Matatā and, potentially, require existing dwellings to be removed.

A report received at last week's extraordinary Council meeting set out three options for the area, which was hit by a massive, life-threatening debris flow in 2005, following an intense rainfall event. In putting the report recommendations to a vote, Mayor Tony Bonne described the plan change decision as the "hardest the Council has faced" during his tenure.

"We've had the best possible advice from engineering, environmental and legal experts and, unfortunately, there’s only one course of action open to us," he said. "Because there are no feasible engineering or early warning options available to reduce the loss-of-life risk, the only option which meets our statutory obligations is to seek a change to the Whakatāne District Plan and the Regional Natural Resources Plan. If accepted, the regional plan change would remove people from the path of a future debris flow disaster."

Speaking to the report, Councillor Russell Orr said the Council had an obligation to people living in the fanhead area to do "everything we can to resolve the situation".

"This will elevate the decisions required to a Resource Management Act process, where there will be ample opportunity for everyone to have their say, and for expert advice to be considered," he said. "That will deliver a solution which will allow people who own properties in this area to move on with their lives."

The Council agreed to notify a change to the Whakatāne District Plan and, by an 8:2 majority, to lodge a request for a change to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Regional Natural Resources Plan. If the latter request is accepted, the proposed plan changes are likely to be jointly notified for submissions in March or April next year, with the plan change proposals and any submissions to them heard by independent, expert commissioners in the second quarter of the year. The decisions made can then be appealed to the Environment Court.

If the plan changes do proceed, the implementation of any rule prohibiting occupation of high-risk properties would be timed to coincide with a managed retreat property acquisition process, which is expected to be implemented by the end of 2020.