An appeal by Raglan resident John Lawson to the Environment Court has seen the building set back from the front boundary set at six metres rather than the three metres proposed by the Waikato District Council for the Raglan Living Zone in the District Plan.
The Environment Court judge said that there was no evidence of the consultation with the Raglan Community that the Waikato District Council claimed to have had:
We have examined the evidence in determining the appropriate set back distance for Raglan including the Council’s s32 report. We have set out in this decision where we agree or disagree with the Council. We have noted shortcomings in the analysis. We note two further specific matters in relation to the reason for the Council’s decision.
(a) No evidence of the consultation on this matter was provided to the Court.
(b) There is a conflict in reasoning where on the one hand traditional lot sizes supposedly support the 3m setback and on the other, the 3m setback supports a new standard lot size of 450m2. We have observed in the existing Raglan residential area, a traditional lot which is larger in area and thus contains a more spacious arrangement of development on it including the front yard setback than would be characteristic of a lot size in the order of 450m2.
We consider that a more careful focus on the mixed environments that Raglan presents may have elucidated a more detailed rule and methodology to address the issues that were raised before us.
The appeal is allowed to the extent that the Building Setback Rule — Road Boundary shall be a minimum of 6 metres in the Raglan Living Zone. (Rule 21.49 (a) and (c) will need to be adjusted accordingly).
Mr Lawson said the decision was a good Christmas present!