Christchurch City Council: Ten controversies of 2023

Tuesday, 26 December 2023

This has been a year of fiery arguments, resignations and heated battles over housing, cycle lanes and rates. The Press takes a look at 10 of the most controversial issues facing Christchurch’s civic leaders during 2023.

Housing intensification, the nauseating stench plaguing the people of Bromley, the dismal approval ratings for the council and the sudden departure of its chief executive have all made for a tumultuous year.

Here is a wrap of Christchurch City’s Council’s annus horribilis.

Chief executive throws in the towel

Dawn Baxendale abruptly resigned as chief executive in November, following low staff morale, poor resident satisfaction and high staff turnover.

She cited personal reasons for leaving 11 months before her five-year contract was due to end.

The council has continually refused to say why she did not have to work out her six-month notice period or whether she was paid out for the length of her notice period.

Just days after Baxendale’s announcement, the council’s chief financial officer Leah Scales quit after being on sick leave.

This left the council’s executive leadership team severely depleted, with just two permanent members, down from five.

Scales’ departure came just hours after The Press published the results of a damning investigation by professional services company KPMG into financial mismanagement in its Three Waters department and across its executive leadership, human resources and finance teams.

Most of these issues are operational matters not dealt with by councillors and the mayor, but they did have to agree to accept Baxendale’s resignation.

The chief executive is the only staff member employed directly by elected members.

One of the council’s most significant decisions next year, will be to decide Baxendale’s permanent replacement.

Former general manager and long-time council employee Mary Richardson has taken over as chief executive in the interim and appears to be working hard to steady the ship.

Shock over proposals for 10-storey apartments

This is an issue that has consumed the council all year, and will likely continue into 2024.

In February the council published its alternative to the Government’s housing density plans, the latter of which would have allowed up to three homes of three storeys each on most sections across the city.

The council’s alternative still allowed for that, but almost half the city’s residential properties were exempt for varying reasons. Some were too far from public transport and others were at risk of flooding or rockfall.

The new rules also took into account Christchurch’s sunlight levels.

A group of about 20 residents’ groups opposed the changes from the outset and as early as May called for a halt to the plan change process, given the possibility of a new Government.

Those calls were rejected. Submissions were called for and a hearings panel was set up. The panel first started hearing submissions in October.

By then, council officials were proposing apartment tower blocks 10-storeys high in suburbs such as Hornby and Riccarton. Outrage followed, with community leaders warning of future “slums and concrete jungles”. They said the plans overshot hugely, creating enough housing for 150 years of growth.

A new Government was elected and it planned to make the rules optional for councils, so on December 6 the council asked Environment Minister Penny Simmonds to pause the $4.2 million hearings process.

As of December 17, the council was still awaiting a response.

‘We are going to hit the wall in 2028, get ready’

In his election campaign, Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger pledged not to sell the city’s assets: “You can take it from me that under my watch as mayor, I will not be selling any of these assets.”

He also promised to keep rate increases below inflation for three years. Those promises have not lasted long.

As cost pressures mounted, Mauger implored elected members to support the completion of a business case that could see control of $5.8 billion worth of city assets be passed to council investment company Christchurch City Holdings Ltd (CCHL). The hope was active management of the assets could increase dividends for the city by an estimated $450m over 10 years.

But at its last meeting of the year, councillors voted eight to seven against the proposal, prompting Mauger to warn: “We are going to be in the gun in 2028. CCHL told us we are going to hit the wall in 2028, get ready.”

Business leaders said the decision lacked leadership, courage and foresight, while councillor Victoria Henstock said it was the most significant decision of this term.

‘Big, strong lady day’ fails to scupper Park Tce cycleway

The temporary Park Tce cycleway was arguably the most explosive issue of the year.

It started in May when Mauger accused council transport staff of “running amok” for approving a cycleway under the guise of temporary traffic management.

The cycleway, which took out a lane of traffic, was part of a wider project to improve safety for people walking, cycling and scooting along Rolleston Ave during Canterbury Museum’s multimillion-dollar redevelopment.

It caused a massive uproar, and the bike lane gained the title of the city’s most controversial, attracting more than 4000 submissions in feed back on the plan.

Councillor James Gough called for the cycleway to be ripped up immediately, but the council voted 10 to six to keep it in place for five years.

That final August vote followed one of the most dramatic council meetings of the year, when five city councillors walked out of a council meetingduring a deputation by lawyer Storm McVay.

McVay, who was vehemently against the Park Tce cycleway, repeatedly criticised staff, accusing them of manipulating information, and called deputy mayor Pauline Cotter a “marginal councillor”.

Later that week, Mauger admitted he could have handled the situation better by being firmer with McVay. He said: “You’ve got to remember, she is a very strong lady.

“It was a big strong lady day.”

Solution at last for green waste stench

In December, the council announced a new home for the city’s organics processing facility, more than two years after first deciding to look at new sites.

Ecogas, which is a partnership between Ecostock Supplies Limited and Alexandra-based Pioneer Energy, will build a plant in Aruhe Rd, Hornby after signing a 20-year deal with the council.

Both Ecogas and the council insist there will be no odours associated with the operation, unlike the existing composting plant run by Living Earth in Bromley, where offensive smells have plagued residents for about 14 years.

But Hornby residents, who were surprised to hear their suburb would host the plant, were sceptical about assurances it would not smell.

The plant, expected to be operational by late 2026, will use anaerobic digestion technology to convert the waste into fertiliser, biogas and biofuel. It will be enclosed, with no outside storage or processing of materials.

Depending on where on Aruhe Rd the plant is situated, it could be as little as 300m away from residential properties.

Until it is built, green waste will continue to be processed at Bromley, but only for the first indoor stage, before going to Kate Valley Landfill in North Canterbury for the final stage.

Separately, in October, the council formally apologised to residents over its handling of the aftermath of the Bromley wastewater treatment plant fire after a damning report on its inaction.

Battle for the streets

Councillors, business leaders and town planners locked horns once again over the layout of several central Christchurch streets.

A $1.4m “people-friendly” make over of Gloucester St was put on hold in March by former chief executive Dawn Baxendale at the mayor’s behest.

Following months of uncertainty, councillors voted in September, 9 to 8, against axing the project, which includes artwork, outdoor furniture and a stage for street performers as part of the temporary street upgrade.

The work has only just been completed and people are now being asked for feedback. Only time will tell if the changes become permanent.

The other major street layout issue to consume the council this year was the $34.2m project to upgrade the streets and underground pipes surrounding the new stadium, Te Kaha.

The work, which covers Lichfield, Madras, Tuam and Barbadoes streets, will involve widening footpaths to up to 5.8 metres, slowing speeds to 10kph or 30kph and making Lichfield St one-way, between Manchester and Madras streets.

Community views were sought and during the hearings process prominent city developers Philip Carter and Shaun Stockman threatened to delay projects and stop investing in the city if the plans went ahead.

The one-way aspect did not survive the hearings process, but the two-way option got council approval in June, with councillors Yani Johanson and Aaron Keown voting against it.

Smoking ban stubbed out

Plans to ban smoking in the city’s publicly-owned outdoor dining spots were scrapped in November following pressure from bar owners who said the draconian rules would cost them customers.

Councillors were divided over introducing smoke-free rules on public land, but most thought it would be unfair on businesses.

The vote was split 9 to 7, with some councillors arguing that banning smoking would affect businesses which leased the land, while others called it regressive.

“The 1980s called and they want their policy back,” councillor Tyrone Fields told The Press after the vote.

Smoking rates have halved in the past 10 years, according to the New Zealand Health Survey.

After the vote, The Press asked all councillors who voted and the mayor, if they smoked or vaped. Just one said they did - and they voted for the ban.

Tarras airport planning in full flight

The council formally expressed its concern in June at Christchurch International Airport’s plans to build a new airport in Tarras, Central Otago.

It had been under pressure to voice its disapproval of the project ever since it was revealed by the airport in July 2020.

The council, which owns 75% of the airport, declared a climate emergency in 2019 and climate activists have continually reminded the council of the risk the new airport would pose to the environment. Some 77 academics had spoken out against the project.

The council made its concern about the airport’s strategic direction known following a close 7 to 6 vote.

Inflation-busting 30% rates rise forecast over three years

The council decided in June to raise the city’s rates by 6.4%, as it confirmed a $1.5 billion budget for the 2023/24 year.

The rates increase is less than a 7.88% rise residents were told to expect earlier this month, but more than the 5.79% the council consulted the public on earlier this year.

On average, the increase was just below the 6.7% rate of inflation. However, many households in some of the city’s poorest areas including Woolston, Bexley, Bromley, Aranui, and New Brighton faced double-figure increases as their property values increased higher than the city average.

Rates will continue to be a big issue in the coming year as the council has already signalled a 30% rates increase over the next three years.

Christchurch Super City?

In March, the council called urgently for a rethink in the way local authorities are funded and for a new structure to be put in place.

The council’s submission was sent to the independent Future for Local Government Panel, tasked by central government to re-imagine how local services are delivered. The panel is due to report back to the Government next year.

The council submission said there was “no logical reason” for current council boundaries and its “strong preference” was for a unitary council model.

Calls for a super city have grown since the earthquakes, with a huge population shift west into Selwyn, resentment within Christchurch at Selwyn and Waimakariri ratepayers using city-funded amenities, including recreation facilities and the stadium, and the city council objecting to out-of-town subdivisions that stress the city-funded transport system.

It remains unclear what the new coalition government’s view of the submission will be, or the role of the independent panel.