A household which concreted over a public berm adjacent to their house to create extra parking will have to return it to its original condition. 

The situation was discussed at the Wānaka Community Board (WCB) last week (Thursday September 23) where, after some debate, the board voted for the council staff’s recommendation to decline the homeowners a licence to occupy (LTO) the road reserve on Aubrey Road for off-street parking.

However, questions were raised over why the homeowners were ever invited to apply for the LTO.

The property in question is located on a stretch of Aubrey Road where there is no provision for off-street parking and cars are frequently seen parked on the grassy berms next to their properties.

Some properties have encroached onto the public berm.

Some older homes on the street have encroached on to the grass berm with landscaping and extended driveways, and in places the council has asphalted the berm to create an extra-wide cycle/footpath.

After the homeowners replaced the grass berm adjacent to their property with concrete to provide off-street parking for their AirBnB guests, the council’s monitoring and enforcement team asked them to return the area to its original condition, but when the applicants expressed dissatisfaction with this option, they were advised to consider applying for an LTO.

The grass verge is there for amenity and services, the council said.

The current application LTO fee is $640.

Such use of council berms is against council policy so their subsequent LTO application was declined. 

Councillor Niamh Shaw told QLDC resource management engineering manager David Wallace the council should have advised the applicants not to apply for an LTO which was certain to be declined, as people should not have to waste their money.

David said he “totally agreed”, and council staff had been discussing this issue.

“The grass verge is there for amenity and for services. Public berms should not be used for private parking,” he said.

David described the application as “death by a thousand cuts”, and councillor Quentin Smith expressed the concern of other board members that deciding in favour of the applicants would set a precedent.

The board unanimously agreed to decline the LTO application. 

PHOTOS: Wānaka App