The confidential meeting came after business people had for months expressed frustration about the Dunedin City Council’s policy relating to soil lead-contamination risks, which they viewed as overly cautious and out of step with the rest of New Zealand.
At the end of last year, Cr Andrew Simms suggested an urgent meeting of developers, interested parties and the council and asked if staff would be open to that.
Staff said they were and the meeting was held late last month.
A council spokesman said Cr Simms chaired the meeting and Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker attended.
The three main topics covered were options to mitigate or minimise the impacts of lead in soil; developers’ experiences with the resource consenting process and proposed changes for improvement; and challenges and opportunities in supporting more housing development, he said.
In August last year, a group representing developers wrote to Housing Minister Chris Bishop complaining about the council’s approach and calling on the government to intervene.
The council was concerned about historical use of lead-based paints on residential properties, categorising them as potentially contaminated, the letter said.
‘‘We consider the DCC’s application of the [national environment standards] for inorganic lead in soils is inappropriate, overly risk-averse and adds unjustified complexity, delays and costs to new housing projects.’’
Terramark resource management planner Darryl Sycamore said at the time the council was ‘‘over-interpreting the rules’’.
‘‘It’s impacting development, and it’s pushing people who are developers to move to other regions.’’
Mr Sycamore and Cr Simms said they were unable to comment on the meeting, as it was held in confidence.
Late last year, council staff stood by their interpretation of the rules.
Having received responses from the Ministry for the Environment, as well as technical and legal advice, and data, staff said the council’s process was aligned with regulations and it should remain.
The ministry said it was ‘‘comfortable’’ a key part of the council’s approach was appropriate — there was no ‘‘blanket’’ addition to a hazardous activities list.
Council staff noted the ministry had not indicated the council was overreacting to the risk posed by historical use of lead-based paint in residential settings and there was no indication the ministry opposed the council’s approach.
The council typically imposed a condition requiring testing of soils prior to works taking place.
A staff report said data captured so far confirmed it was considered ‘‘more likely than not’’ that sites with pre-1945 painted wooden or roughcast houses could pose a risk to human health or the environment.
Staff would engage with the development community to look at possible mitigation options, the report said.
