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A legal tumult is brewing over a “premium” public land in Porirua valued at more than $ 1 million, with the Porirua City Council facing off against a consortium led by Greater Wellington Regional Councilor Chris Kirk-Burnnand.
He leads a group of five residents who want to buy nearly 6,000 square meters of public land at Motukaraka Point, which overlooks Pauatahanui Inlet and overlooks his properties.
The problem is this: the consortium values the property at $ 180,000 while the city council has a valuation of $ 600,000.
And Philip Whearty, director of DoubleWinkel Real Estate Ltd, believes it could be worth “beyond $ 1 million” in today’s market.
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Kirk-Burnnand said he had been looking at the property since “1988-89, when we got the advice on the ground from the municipal planner at the time.”
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Median weekly rent for the Wellington-area city has skyrocketed to a record $ 625, according to the latest data from Trade Me.
He wanted a 2588m2 portion of any sale, which would be a considerable addition to his current 15,500m2 property, which last year had a recorded valuation of $ 4.26 million.
A property at No. 1 Motukaraka Point would also occupy 2,588 square meters, with the remainder divided among the three remaining properties.
Neighbors’ interest in the land intensified in 2015 when the city council placed the former Pauatahanui military camp for disposal as part of a larger surplus land plan.
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Greater Wellington Regional Councilor Chris Kirk-Burnnand says Porirua City Council has been operating outside the law.
“The CEO wrote to us saying that they would sell the land to the adjoining owners on the basis that we incorporated it into our titles, and that prevents anyone from developing a new section there,” Kirk-Burnnand said.
As part of that process, the city council eliminated the recreational status “and they asked us not to oppose that, because it would make it more difficult.”
Otherwise, the group would have been happy for it to remain as reserve land, he said.
But it accused the council of breaching the deal when it presented an appraisal based on its value if it was sold and developed as a single property, rather than simply being added to the five existing properties.
The group’s valuation, provided by Colliers International, would leave the regional advisor paying just $ 72,900 for his share, with the three smallest properties paying between $ 25,000 (for an additional 225 square meters) and $ 37,800 (335 square meters).
The owner of the lifestyle block at # 1 would pay just $ 15,480 for the remaining 2,588sq, based on the house “being some distance from the land under review.”
But the advice’s valuation, provided by TelferYoung, would see Kirk-Burnnand pay nearly four times its desired price, $ 243,500.
Ross Giblin / Stuff
Five owners are interested in a portion of this public land at Motukaraka Point, Pauatahanui. But they do not agree with the assessment of the city council.
Steven Perdia, General Manager of Growth and Partnerships for Porirua City Council, said the authority was trying to resolve the deadlock after the Kirk-Burnnand group hired lawyers and halted their plans to dispose of the land.
He had been considering a report from a council official that suggested three options for the land, including selling to the consortium or putting the property up for sale.
“We are obligated to sell it at market value,” he said. “We have an obligation to all taxpayers.”
Porirua is one of the most ethnically diverse and economically disparate areas in the region, with high levels of child poverty and a council asking for “real money” to help deal with housing, health and education for its poorest residents.
“We want to shine a light on these pockets of deprivation to inspire meaningful action by the central government,” Mayor Anita Baker said in August when releasing a report on the well-being of children in Porirua.
Perdia said the council was reviewing documents submitted by lawyers for the consortium, including “three pages of bullets.”
“We are awaiting our legal advice. Once you return, you will have some recommendations. “
Perdia expected that within the next fifteen days.
Kirk-Burnnand said he understood that land was particularly scarce in a city with a chronic housing shortage and that the council had to maximize what it could do with the sale of public property.
But he said the council was operating outside the law, unethically and also in violation of its own zoning laws. He had an obligation to deal with his group, so the lawyers had been called.
