The Vincent Community Board will today consider names for two roads in a subdivision off Ngapara St, Alexandra.
A Central Otago District Council staff report to the board said the developer was proposing Weller Dr, to honour a respected member of the community, Geoff Weller, who died last year.
The smaller of the roads in the 50-plus section subdivision east of Ngapara St would be known as Rapiti Close.
"The name requested is Rapiti Close which is the Māori name for rabbit and taken from the Aukaha Māori road naming list," the staff report said.
"The developer thought this was very appropriate considering the number of rabbit holes in the vicinity."
Under the district council’s road naming policy, developers were required to suggest a preferred name to the community board for its consideration and approval, the report said.
The names must be a surname or a single word, they must be easily pronounced, spelled and understood and they must not be offensive.
Further, new names could not be the same, or similar in either spelling or sound, to existing road names.
A road name using Māori terms must be endorsed by the local iwi authority, it said.
If the board decided against Rapiti Close, the developer had suggested Piopio Close and Tata Close.
The report said the late Mr Weller had run Weller Surveying Ltd in Alexandra from 1994 to 2016 and had been a well-respected member of the community.
"He was born in Omakau and educated at Dunstan High School."
Should the community board decide not to go with the name Weller Dr, the developer had suggested Boothill Dr, which was chosen because the subdivision was "just below Boot Hill".
Costs for road signs would be met by the developer, the report said.
— Allied Media
