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OT---letter to council, grrrrrrrrrrr

well, i sent it, heres what i wrote for anyone interested. if not, just hit delete, no worrys, i'm just steaming/fuming/mad as hell. sunday arvo next door we're having a meeting of neighbours to sign a petition and see if we need to reword it in anyway to cover all our feelings and problems with the council and the poles. jeanne

----------------------------------------------------- i'm writing to find out what is happening with the lights put up in the BHB Reserve directly behind my back fence...all with not a word of knowledge from the Council.

what happened to community consultation? there are similar lights going up in Cox's Bay Reserve and they've had at least two public meetings. why did they get consulted and we did no consultation or notification in any way whatsoever? the lights just showed up one afternoon.

putting thru the BHB Resource Consent on a 'non-notified basis', then claiming 'in the normal runnning of a project such as this, near neighbours would have received written notification of the project with a contact for further enquires. however, this matter was over-looked by the project managers in this case' is a contradiction. which one is it?

the hearing for this resource consent was run with the public excluded as there were no objections. how can there be objections when we were not notified beforehand? ...or was it they forgot to notify us. there is that contradiction yet again.

the nonsense about the lights having 'no adverse effect on the visual amenity of the neighbouring residential propertys' was obviously ignored or not seriously looked at by council and done to push these lights thru without any objections from the neighbours, which they knew there would most surely be.

the rules allow for a maximum height of 10 metres, these are

16.5 metres tall, twice the height of the power poles out front and the equivalent of me putting up a 3.3 metre fence where i was only allowed a 2 metres high fence, without consulting neighbours. i shudder to think what they'd say about that. would you stand for this from your neighbours? consultation with neighbours is common courtesy.

how did not one person on Council nor any of those who approve the resource consent notice that the 65% excess in height above that allowed would not be an issue with the neighbours?

i've been looking at the big ugly pole directly behind my back fence for nearly two months now and it is still as ugly as the day it went up. it is huge from my perspective looking out my kitchen window over what was once a beautiful view and is now no longer beautiful. i do not understand how the Council did this to the neighbours with no concern at all for our viewpoint.

i understand there was an apology forthcoming, we've yet to hear anything from anyone about this. this issue does not as yet show on the agenda or minutes for either the Auckland City Council or the Avondale Community Board meetings. i was offered the planting of a tree in front of the pole to block the view.??? how long does it take for a tree to grow to 16.5 metres (nearly 50ft) tall? i thought that was a total joke.

an apology will certainly not make me feel any better everytime i look out my kitchen window, which i do a lot. what used to be ever so calming...watching the birds cross from harbour to harbour with the tides, watching the weather change, the clouds gently move across the sky, watching the seasons change...is now for me just stressful in the extreme.

is anyone doing anything? is anyone taking responsibility for this lack of democratic process? how will they now rectify the problem these poles present?

i nearly forgot....i now read the letter from Bay-Roskill Sports Club asking for more lights for 'night games',

3 metre high X 10 metre long seats on the west end of the field and 10 metre higher fencing at the far end of the field. the Resource Consent only allows for training, not night games. the seats would be directly behind my neighbours property and about the same level as our fences which are only 2 metres high, allowing anyone to stand on the seats and clearly see into both our backyards/homes. what next after higher fencing? covered field for year round indoor games? another eden park. it wont happen on my watch.

not impressed, actually, totally disgusted, in Blockhouse Bay, Jeanne (last name removed for RCTQ posting only) Rathlin Street home owner of 13+ years BHB resident since May, 1981

Reply to
nzlstar*
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They might give it more consideration if you'd use the correct punctuation and capitalization. Very unprofessional, looks like a kid wrote it. Gen

Reply to
Gen

Reply to
nzlstar*

It may seem odd, but it will! If the letter isn't crystal clear, correctly punctuated from the first sentence, and grammatically correct, with clear complaints stated logically, it will end up in the bin unread. The council members may well have thousands of letters to wade through and consider, and anything that rambles or is less than crystal clear will be dismissed out of hand. It helps to reduce the burden of paperwork. Abnd in my experience, emails to local councils from members of the public are ignored totally as a matter of course.

ALL your complaints are perfectly valid. They just need formalizing, organizing so all the stuff about a single issue has a paragraph of its own and follows a logical progression, going through with a fine tooth-comb for 'nit-pickers errors', and presenting formally, as any business letter. THEN they will consider it, if they don't just go on ignoring their own by-laws and regulations. Keep each point short and emotion free.

And keep it to ONE side of A4 paper, font size 12-14, INCLUDING headers, footers, addresses and signatures! Anything in a typeface too small to read easily, anything that goes over to a second page (other than a formal report), WILL be ignored. Photographs of the poles in question, by day or night, showing the problem, can be appended, and would be a good idea. Make specific reference to planning regulations that have been ignored, by number and paragraph. You should be able to get a copy of these from the council body concerned. You may have to pay for them, but you should get them. Go in person and ask. Pester until you get them.

Find a name to send the letter to (a specific council member with an appropriate formal position on the planning body), and send it snail mail, and make it registered or signed for, and track it. That way, if they later complain that they never got it, you do have proof that they received it.

Take copies of your letter and any you get in reply along to any consultation meetings you go to.

I am VERY sympathetic to your cause. I have also had a hand in getting objections through council planning committees, and helping to overturn planning applications granted on a first hearing. The rambly stuff is ignored, and the stuff that isn't easy to read, simply because they do not have time to consider it. To be considered at all, you need to be concise, coherent, and as tactful as a bag of nails. Hit them hard with their own regulations and allow no wriggle room, but do it formally, with all that that implies, and you will at least be read.

Reply to
Kate XXXXXX

That is a very well worded protest to my mind Jeanne. I do hope you get a good response or at least a little hope for a resolution to all of you in the vicinity of the lights.

Reply to
Estelle Gallagher

Well said Kate, better to gain credibility for your cause if a letter at least alludes to sane, rational, intelligence rather than a vipertuous rant spewed forth.

Val

Reply to
Val

I'd have to agree with Kate on this one -- have had a few "things to be considered" myself with the local town council. Document, document, document... List quotes from previous council meetings (that have shown to be contradictory to fact.). Otherwise, they seem to think it's a "NIMBY" (Not In My BackYard) sort of thing. Also - maybe at the bottom, add CC: (aka carbon copies sent to:) name of Local newspaper editor , local TV station - - - that just might shake 'em up if they knew there might be publicity out there, AND might alert other neighborhoods to similar things happening (future and PAST).

Just my 2 cents worth. ME-Judy

Reply to
ME-Judy

Reply to
nzlstar*

Reply to
nzlstar*

thanks for that, Estelle. tis possible life runs a wee bit differently in some of the commonwealth than in other countrys. so far one letter of response. i'm hoping for more today. we'll see. fingers crossed, jeanne

"Estelle Gallagher" wrote...

Reply to
nzlstar*

brain just clicked in today and realized those nearly 50ft tall poles surpass the height of very well establichsed surrounding trees that are set on on a bank above the base of the pole. it just worsens in my mind. also todays newspaper article about our speaker of the house lodged an appeal with the environment court to overturn or do something about a resource consent that approved a new building next to parliment that surpasses their local max height allowance. in that case it was for a 27mt high building when max is 22 mts. that is only 23% higher, these poles are a full 65% higher than the max allowed. also a letter to the editor in todays herald is about auckland governance and the report about it. the letter was from one of the higher ups who conducted the report. very appropriate for both these to surface today i thot. sumpin's gotta be done, by crikey. grrrrrrrrrr, j.

Reply to
nzlstar*

Reply to
Elly

Go Girl! In a democracy (where "Representatives" in government are SUPPOSED to REPRESENT the folks who elected them) it is every person's responsibility to make their voices heard -- otherwise, it could easily become a corrupt government / dictatorship.

ME-Judy

Reply to
ME-Judy

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