Close to a quarter of the people in the Whakatāne District whose properties have been assessed as subject to some degree of landslide hazard have responded with their preference for consultation on possible risk management methods.

Earlier this month, the Whakatāne District Council sent out approximately 1,450 information packs to the owners of properties in Whakatāne, Ōhope and Matatā, which quantitative risk assessment studies have indicated are within high, moderate or low landslide hazard areas associated with the escarpments in each community. The Matatā study also included the potential risks from debris flow events.

“Of the 334 responses received by the Council to date, just under half have asked for individual on-site or neighbourhood meetings to explore what the studies mean for their properties and how the risks posed by landslides can be managed,” says the Council’s Manager Development and Compliance, Jeff Farrell.

“About 55 percent of the properties identified by the studies have been assessed to have a low or very low hazard level. Based on our latest advice, we believe it is unlikely that those properties would face any additional restrictions on future use or development and although there would still be a requirement to record a hazard reference on Land Information Memoranda, it would clearly state that the level of risk was considered to be minimal.”

Council staff will be contacting property owners who have asked for on-site or neighbourhood meetings over the next two weeks with a view to completing that process by the end of August. “Based on the feedback from those meetings, and other responses from property owners, we will bring together a range of possible options for Council consideration in October,” Mr Farrell says. “The proposed variation would then be available for formal submissions until mid-December, with a summary of the actions requested then going out for further submissions in March and April 2014.”

Since the information packs were sent out, the Council has found that a small number of cross-lease properties were inadvertently left out of the initial mail-out.  Letters to those land-owners, including an apology for the late arrival of the landslide hazard information, are being sent out this week.

The landslide risk assessments indicate that some people living in high or moderate hazard areas – particularly in the West End Road area of Ōhope, in close proximity to the northern section of the Whakatāne Escarpment and in parts of Matatā which are subject to debris flows or landslides – may be subject to unacceptable risks. Where that is the situation, the Council has a statutory responsibility to take action to reduce the level of risk to a tolerable, and ultimately an acceptable level.

In order to reduce the hazard level for people in those areas, a number of possible risk reduction approaches will be considered, including:

• Permitting the installation of structures to protect existing dwellings
• Inspecting and, where appropriate, undertaking risk reduction works on the escarpments
• Introducing weather-based warning systems which would allow residents to self-evacuate during  times of elevated risk
• Planning policy changes such as introducing hazard zones in the District Plan
• Limiting future development in high or moderate risk areas, unless approved risk reduction measures are put in place

Under the Council’s District Plan rules, ‘existing uses’ would not be affected. However, it’s possible that the Bay of Plenty Regional Council could introduce rules that would affect existing development. That possibility is the subject of a separate Regional Council study. Regional Plan changes would be required to implement any measures planned.  

“The intent of the landslide risk study and consultation process is to ensure that people who are exposed to landslide hazards are well-informed about that situation and are better-equipped to protect themselves and their properties,” Mr Farrell concludes.