Dear Editor,
It was with great interest that I read KCDC’s official statement by Mr Pat Dougherty on the issue of coastal erosion and the role that they have had in attempting to take homes by stealth. Mr Dougherty says, that they were “legally bound to include it on the LIMs if somebody bought a beachside property that council knew to be at risk they would sue the Council and who would blame them”. What Mr Dougherty fails to tell the public, is that KCDC did have a report in 2008, written by Dr Roger Shand identifying potential properties that would have been at risk from coastal hazards. That was the basis of his 2012 Report that was simply an update. Why was this information not placed on the LIMs in 2008/9/10?
When my husband and I purchased our home in 2010 in Kāpiti, no hazard line was on our LIM. Is KCDC’s CEO, saying sue KCDC?
Mr. Dougherty also fails to tell the public, that those homes that had been identified in 2008 were never consulted about potential hazard lines being placed on their properties. Should affected rate payers not have had a reasonable expectation to have received a letter from KCDC in 2008/9 and pursuit a consultation process in a more transparent and accountable way – the 2 words that elude both KCDC’s elected Councillors and executive staff.
Salima Padamsey
Paraparaumu Beach
