A petition with 400 signatures has been presented to Tasman District Council opposing plans for light industrial and mixed business zones in the small rural community of Hope, just south of Nelson.
Hope resident and urban planner Timo Neubauer said he travelled door-to-door seeking signatures from concerned residents and saw “overwhelming” support for his petition, with only two people in favour of the council’s proposal.
“Everybody else agrees that we need to treat Hope as a potentially lovely farming village and not turn it into the arse-end of Richmond.”
With 188 physical signatures, and another 214 online, Neubauer said the engagement was significant for a small community like Hope when compared to other council consultations.
The petition follows a community meeting last month where about a hundred Hope residents turned up to hear about the plans for their community.
The council’s Plan Change 81 (PC81) would see about 29ha along State Highway 6/Main Rd Hope rezoned from rural to light industrial and mixed business.
The zoning changes would provide for business growth and provide jobs, council officers have said.
But Neubauer disagreed, saying there were alternatives which would provide employment while not being “hostile” to the area’s rural character, such as the lodge he manages.
“It’s not only factories… We can actually have much more benign employment in the whole of the Hope area.”
He presented his petition to the council on Wednesday and will be presenting to elected members next week in the hopes of getting the zoning removed from the plan change before it goes out for consultation at the end of the month.
The petition was originally denied being displayed at the council-run Richmond Library.
The decision surprised Neubauer, who said he thought the council would have wanted to encourage participation in a council process, especially when the zoning proposals weren’t even yet released as a draft.
“I’m supporting the council in making the best decision possible, and actually feeding them some really important information about feelings that people have in the Hope neighbourhood.”
A council spokesperson said the library had originally taken a “conservative” approach.
“In allowing external petitions to be placed in the library, there is the potential for new and sometimes unfamiliar topics to be on display,” they said.
“As a result, we have to consider how any clarification, supplementary requests for information or outright opposition regarding these topics would be managed by library staff.”
A few days after being denied, and the day before Neubauer presented it to the council, the council ultimately decided the petition could be displayed.
The spokesperson said it would be up to the council to decide what to do with the petition.
“It could decide to act on the petition, but it may also decide to wait and consider it alongside the feedback it will be seeking from the wider Tasman community on the draft PC81 material.”
Throughout April, once the PC81 and its companion on natural hazards, Plan Change 85, the council will be hosting drop-in sessions across the district so the public can engage directly with planning staff to learn more about the proposals.
“We welcome the petitioners to take part in this transparent process,” the spokesperson said.
Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
