Hukutaia FAQs

More than 100 submitters sent feedback on Hukutaia topic within the 2021 LTP, and many used some standard wording provided by the Hukutaia/Woodlands Ratepayers group. It was good to see that they personalised that and added their own thoughts and comments.

Council decided in December 2023 that progressing development in Hukutaia will not create radically different effect on ratepayers and rates will only be increased when the land is developed for residential purposes and is not based on the zoning alone.

Council had discussions with Bay of Plenty Regional Council and there is no longer a need for concern that existing septic tanks need to be decommissioned once the wastewater reticulation is installed. See the below FAQ.

Good news is that under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s On-Site Effluent Plan, the existing septic tank systems does not need to be decommissioned and will remain permitted even after the wastewater reticulation is in place.

The Regional Council intends that this remains permitted once they revise this plan. However, very old and poorly configured systems that pollute the environment may be affected by the changes. Under the new plan, once reticulation is available, all new urban development would be required to connect to the system. That means if you do not build new houses, you can continue using your existing septic tank.

Our initial planning indicates that properties will be connected at the same time as the new main is laid to minimise costs. Therefore, landowners will be asked whether they want to connect before the works are tendered. We are not yet sure of exact costs but as an indication, our declined IAF application allowed for up to $10,000 per property, but this will depend on the type of system installed in proximity to each property.

Once connected to a sewer main, properties will pay the targeted rates for ‘connection to a public sewerage drain’.

There may be other costs including decommissioning of existing septic tanks (should the landowner decide to do so) and (if a low-pressure system is used) a small increase in electricity use. However, there will also be an associated reduction in costs and complexities of a septic tank, particularly if the tank is nearing the end of its design life.

The plan focusses on allowing landowners to make their own decisions about subdivision or when or whether to hook up to sewer mains along with some funding that may help with that. It works to ensure there is a range of options from affordable housing or smaller units, to larger and more expensive options.

In earlier correspondence with Hukutaia residents, Council had outlined the draft Hukutaia Structure Plan. View a copy of the Letter to landowners in Hukutaia from the Mayor. Council advised that a drop-in session would be held so that residents could chat about any questions or concerns. The concerns around septic tanks and rates have been addressed (refer to FAQ above).

Once the Structure Plan has been reviewed, further drop-in sessions will be scheduled in 2025 with more detail coming soon.

They can, and to a point they will. However, this is about encouraging development at scale and making sure that developers know the places where council wants to see sustainable growth. This also ensures a structured approach to the provision of assets to service the area which means there isn’t a piecemeal approach which can lead to poorer community outcomes.

We have spoken to several landowners (sufficient for stage 1) who have indicated an interest in developing their land for housing. At this stage we will keep details confidential as these will be personal and commercial decisions for each landowner.

We will continue to engage with property owners in the area if or when any development proceeds.

We will work closely with the Ministry of Education to ensure there is adequate provision in both early learning and schooling networks as the project progresses.

The old hospital site has been land-banked and earmarked to be returned to Whakatōhea through their Treaty Settlement process. That process will continue with its own timelines. Whakatōhea also have plans and expectations for the site including a wide range of housing, retail and other spaces and uses.

Almost the whole of New Zealand is currently suffering from a long-standing housing crisis. The whole country is working on solutions. For Ōpōtiki, this is exacerbated by a few extra factors:

1. Harbour development and associated industry (and existing poor housing options in town). We understood this issue as we worked on getting funding for the harbour and it has been in our radar for many years (we have consulted on Hukutaia through several LTPs). However, without funding committed for the Harbour, we couldn’t take steps to reduce other associated issues. We are doing so now.

2. Covid – for Ōpōtiki, this has meant an influx of people coming home. They are increasingly finding work and therefore staying.

3. Growth across several industries at the same time – aquaculture, horticulture, agriculture are all growing, and this has meant that we are in this situation sooner than anticipated.

4. We didn’t get the government funding to extend the services in Hukutaia to open up the area for future growth. This remains an issue as we seek alternative solutions to fund the infrastructure.

Council consulted with the community in the 2021-2031 LTP process on the option of extending council services to Hukutaia. There was significant feedback around increases to general rates and also the costs for property owners who would need to connect to a sewer once it was available. The options laid out in the consultation document explain the increased costs on the general rate and the targeted rate.

These concerns have been resolved and addressed. Council decided that if rural properties are rezoned to residential, landowners will not be subject to the consequential ratesincrease if it is not developed for residential purposes. As per the FAQs above, properties that are not developed for residential purposes do not need to connect to the wastewater services or decommission septic tanks.

In response to that feedback, during the first year of Council’s LTP, Council undertook to investigate further options for Hukutaia and carefully consider how any growth could be structured. Council commissioned a business case to consider the best way to deal with Ōpōtiki’s current need and future growth. The business case considers other locations (in-fill housing, Waiotahi Drifts, Tablelands etc) but Hukutaia scored best on all factors.

On that basis, a high-level plan was created to outline how Hukutaia could be developed over the next 50 years. This is conceptual only and is not binding in any way in its current form.

We used this information as the basis for our application to the IAF in 2021. The application explicitly dealt with many concerns raised by the local community during the LTP process.

The IAF application included funding to help pay connection costs for properties near the Stage 1 sewer mains who may want to connect.

The plan uses a range of tools to encourage mixed housing options in Hukutaia – from affordable housing, smaller units, to larger and more expensive options.

The process is staged over 50 years so that supply and demand for housing go hand-in-hand

The plan is built on commitments and conversations with several organisations and individuals who are keen to develop in the first stages

Community facilities and needs have been built into the Plan – health facilities, transport (including walking and cycling options) and other infrastructure.

Despite being not successful with our application to the IAF Council is still intends to build infrastructure which will be subject to external funding and therefore continues to investigate other options for funding and work with developers who have expressed an interest to find smaller, shorter-term solutions.

The Long Term Plan (LTP) lists Council's activities for the next 10 years and covers everything we do and how we pay for it. This sets the budget for the next decade, but gets reviewed every 3 years.

Council’s 2021-2031 Long Term Plan approved extension of three water services (stormwater, wastewater and water supply) to Hukutaia. The reason for this is that Ōpōtiki has a housing crisis. We urgently need to build more houses and we urgently need to expand and grow to provide safe and affordable housing for current residents and those that come here or return here for the new jobs and opportunities coming online”.

For those who want to get in depth information, particularly on the costs, risks and impacts, there is a full report in the ‘supporting information’ section on the website.

The community feedback on the previous LTP was pretty clear – when the district starts growing, then expand services to the area and start growing there as well. That growth is now happening – we have a growing population for the first time in many decades and we need to house current and future growth. The key piece of this puzzle is the extension of three water services to the area providing the infrastructure to enable intensification.

Installing the wastewater network would mean change for current residents.

In the LTP, the Hukutaia growth project is assumed to be grant funded. The Government’s Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF) was launched in June 2021. It is a fund of approximately $1 billion to support new or upgraded bulk infrastructure. Ōpōtiki District Council committed to prepare a detailed business case for applying for this funding in year one of the LTP 2021-2031.

Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in securing this fund. Council is investigating alternative options to fund the Hukutaia infrastructure.

During consultation for the 2025 - 2035 Long Term Plan, the consultation document provided two options – either continue with the capital works programme as we have planned or pull back on our capital works programme.

Some of the key effects of the last option will be timing of when works happen. For example, growth projects such as the Hukutaia Growth Infrastructure will be deferred to later years of the LTP where ordinarily Council would have been planning for them now. For more information go to the Long Term Plan.