Environment Court deliberates on Sandspit marina

Traffic and parking issues dominated day two of an Environment Court hearing into the proposed Sandspit Marina, held last month.

The hearing started on January 23 and was expected to take six sitting days to complete.

Sandspit Marina Society is appealing a 2010 decision by Rodney District Council (now Auckland Council) to decline resource consent for the land-based works associated with the project.

Opposing the marina proposal is the community group Save Our Sandspit Incorporated (SSOSI). The group received $38,000 from the Ministry of the Environment’s environmental legal assistance fund to help prepare its case, which included calling four expert witnesses on planning, traffic, landscaping and environmental aspects of the proposal.

In a prepared list of 13 issues, SSOSI questioned whether satisfactory public access could be maintained on site, while accommodating the applicant’s imperatives for parking, landscaping and the hardstand. One of the key issues was also the adverse effects on amenity raised during peak parking times and whether the proposed marina would have adverse effects on the natural character of the area.

During cross examination, traffic engineer Dean Scanlon said parking at Sandspit was already close to capacity, with car and boat trailers parking on reserves and areas that would normally be yellow lined. He said he believed that all parking requirements associated with the marina and yacht club could be accommodated on site, and he felt the marina would not add to the congestion that already existed at Sandspit during peak times.

If the society’s appeal is upheld, it plans to build a 131-berth marina on the northern side of the existing Sandspit breakwater.

The proposal was originally rejected by Rodney Council on the recommendation of independent commissioners who advised that negative effects on the environment were likely because of increased traffic, disturbance from construction and more boats refuelling.

Consent for the coastal works was granted by the former Auckland Regional Council and is not subject to appeal.