Subdivision residents Wendy and Tom Holder presented their case at the Southland District Council’s [SDC] final meeting of the year yesterday and said they should not pay the same as their town centre neighbours.
The pair argued several services maintained by the council in urban zones were not managed the same way in the Patience Bay area, a subdivision located 3km from the centre of Te Anau.
Instead, services were either looked after by those living there, required little to no maintenance or were not managed by the council at all.
Mrs Holder pointed out the lack of amenities.
That included only about five decorative lampposts in the subdivision, none of which provided lighting on the roads; only one footpath, which meant prams and children had to use the road; no connection to stormwater, no sewerage systems were provided; and homeowners had to mow the berms themselves.
The road into the subdivision was also filled with lichen which was "disrupting" the surface.
"We have already approached the council, about a year ago now, and still nothing has been done about this."
Patience Bay residents were using trickle feed for water, but still had to pay full water rates.
Because the council had not looked after the Milford Rd boundary, the Holders were also having to spray the weeds themselves to prevent them from entering their property.
They were frustrated the zoning had not been reconsidered since they made their first submission on the issue in 2008.
"The only reason we can see for the council to again try to include Patience Bay into urban zoning is money-grabbing in the rates collection."
They were particularly concerned about the increasing rates costs, as the majority of the residents in the area were pensioners or due to retire.
Councillors signalled they had noted the submission and would discuss it further, before the adoption of the revenue and financing policy and rating review next year.
Mayor Gary Tong said the Holders should not be "disheartened" by being the only people to submit in person, as there had been several written submissions opposing the inclusion of the area in the urban rating zone.
