Judgment allows Port Hills zoning review to progress

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says he is very pleased by the Court of Appeal’s finding, released today, that the residential red zoning of the most damaged parts of greater Christchurch was lawful, and that the process was well conducted.

“We also accept the Court’s view that in relation to vacant and uninsured improved properties on the flat land in Christchurch we now need to review whether our earlier decisions were consistent with the purpose of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act – Section 3 – and in accordance with the Act – Section 10.

“We will develop a process for that review over the coming days and will then submit it to the Court, as invited in Paragraph 170 of their Honours’ judgment, before any further consideration proceeds.

“In the meantime, the lawful nature of the red zoning means we can end months of waiting for Port Hills residents.

“We expect to have zoning review decisions conveyed to Port Hills property owners and publicly available by the end of this week.

“Today’s ruling will mean uninsured properties or vacant sections in the Port Hills will be subject to the same review process we’ve committed to undertaking for uninsured or vacant flat land sections following today’s judgment, and therefore owners won’t receive offers from the Crown until that process is complete,” Mr Brownlee says.

All property owners affected by the Port Hills zoning review outcomes, including those who asked to be reviewed but do not have any change to their zoning, will be contacted by staff from the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority this week.

Those outcomes will then be released to the general public and changes will be available at www.cera.govt.nz/myproperty.