Is there room for retail outlets in an industrial zone?
That is the million-dollar question for a Dunedin City Council resource consents hearings committee which will decide whether to approve consent to develop a former car sales yard into a pizza and liquor outlet in South Dunedin.
No submissions have been received following public notification of the proposal by Minaret Property Investments Ltd to place Hell Pizza, Thirsty Liquor and G.J. Gardner outlets on the corner of Andersons Bay Rd and Strathallan St.
The site is zoned industrial 1, and commercial activities such as those proposed are not specifically provided for in the industrial 1 zone rules of the district plan.
Because of that, the application was a non-complying activity.
Yesterday, counsel for the applicant gave final submissions to the city council's hearings panel, consisting of chairman Cr Colin Weatherall and Cr Andrew Noone.
Minaret Property Investments Ltd counsel Bridget Irving, of Gallaway Cook Allan Lawyers, addressed issues raised by council planner Jeremy Grey in his report to the hearings committee.
She said he had conflated the assessment of cumulative effects of the proposal and whether it would be the "tipping point" in terms of plan integrity and precedent.
The industrial 1 zone provided significant scope for retail operations as permitted activities, she said.
"Retail is provided for as part of an industrial activity - that is, ancillary to an industrial activity.
"Or other stand-alone retail-based activities, such as garden centres, service stations, car yards and the like, are permitted, despite being purely retail-based.
"Given this, I would argue that the industrial 1 zone is in reality more of a mixed-use zone."
Given the nature of Andersons Bay Rd and the number of non-industrial consents granted in the area, she considered there was little plan integrity left.
"In essence, the horse has already bolted."
When determining whether to grant consent, she believed the hearings committee should consider the existing environment, the nature of activities already established in the area, and whether the application was consistent with that environment.
It was hoped the hearings committee would reach a decision within 15 working days.
