A Future Dunedin billboard near the Oval requires modification because it features too many characters — too much lettering, that is.
Future Dunedin team ticket leader and mayoralty candidate Andrew Simms said he was happy to comply with a 40-character limit and the matter had been resolved. A replacement sign would soon appear, using fewer letters, he said.
Incidentally, the new sign at the corner of Cumberland St and Andersons Bay Rd would also feature two fewer images, after Rachel Brazil and Jo Galer decided to run as independent candidates.
The need to replace the sign followed a complaint being lodged and the Dunedin City Council issuing an abatement notice for what was described as contravention of the district plan about sign size and lack of a resource consent.
Mr Simms applied to the Environment Court for a stay of the abatement notice, arguing the sign was displayed on an existing consented billboard structure.
The court declined the stay but, at the end of last week, the council seemed to accept Mr Simms’ point a separate resource consent was not needed.
Mr Simms said the parties agreed adhering to the 40-character limit would suffice.
He also said "we could not reasonably have known about this rule" before, as the consent was held by the owner of the sign structure. He noted other signs in the vicinity had more than 40 characters.
Mr Simms said nobody seemed to take issue with 2022 election signs at the site for Team Dunedin and its leader, Jules Radich, who went on to win the
mayoralty.
"We’re happy to comply with the rules ... but it seems to be an incredibly selective application of the rules," Mr Simms said.
"We have also relied on the precedent set by Team Dunedin and other political advertisers to reach an assumption that election advertisements are allowed on these billboards without a separate resource consent — a position that the council now appears to agree with."
The Otago Daily Times understands the council does not hold any record of complaints regarding election signs at this location from the 2022 campaign.
