What seemed to me to be the most important focus was "authenticity " .
The vision statement of the Unitary Plan is one of increasing sustainable living, and a focus on retaining character
The houseboats are exemplary of this, I think, yet they will disappear if the plan is passed into law as written.
I find there to be a disconnect at times between stated aims in Council documents ( which are laudable) such as "what we value- environment , heritage, character" , and what the proposed law changes will actually achieve ( the opposite)
The houseboat community are an environmentally aware group.
We seek to live sustainably, thereby creating a low impact in the environment , consuming far fewer resources than the average person.
As for "Heritage and character", we are part of Waiheke's history and character , and yet the planned changes would sweep us away .
But, ...everything that we are doing is perfectly LEGAL if you are consuming a lot more than we are.
For example, If you own a moored boat, but it is an underutilized resource, basically just sitting around moored all year, taking up the same amount of space in a bay as we are, that is fine, as long as you also have more residential land based resources that you are also using, then it seems you are a happy normal , law abiding person!
If you wish to travel or stay on your boat all summer holidays with your family living aboard for fun, with your house sitting empty, your SUV in the car park at west haven, your house with its electricity bills empty, then part-time living on a boat is perfectly OK as long as you are over-consuming in a perfectly normal way!
We are asking the council planners and decision makers to listen with open minds... Is there a commitment to preserving the history and culture ( or what are really the stories of our city?) , is there really a commitment to looking at new ways of looking at sustainability ? Or is this just another glossy mission statement that ends up in another row of cheaply built infill housing?
Will anyone in Auckland really sleep easier knowing that a certain yellow , strangely shaped houseboat is no longer floating in Putiki Bay?
The proposed new rules in the Draft Unitary Plan that seek to make "mooring of houseboat" non complying , are in my belief discriminatory.
A houseboat is defined as basically any boat that is being lived upon. All recreational boats are lived upon when families or individuals use them for holidaying and recreation, yet they are not denied a mooring
Every law change, I believe,must have a justification , especially when it's results will be as devastating to a community as this one will be to ours.
The justification that I have heard that makes the most sense is that the boats ,when moored , are on (above) a spot on the seabed which is publicly owned land that should be available to all of the public. I understand this, but there are 1000's of under used, underutilized boats on moorings taking up public seabed spots all over Auckland , and this is perfectly legal/ acceptable. So therefore it must be the humans on board issue.
No, that is also perfectly legitimate for anyone holidaying with their family, sailing around the world or Auckland's bays.
Where we differ is in the living. I understand some of the fears...
What if houseboats were to proliferate?
What if they were to spread to other areas?
To answer these ( what I feel are understandable concerns):
There has been no proliferation of houseboats ( rather a reduction in numbers) in 20 years, but we propose that to allay fears, as has been done in other developed countries, the number of houseboats on Waiheke could be capped, or apply only to existing houseboats, with a set number of residential moorings only available, and just like in other countries, only a certain area would be put aside as a residential mooring area for houseboats ;( we would propose basically in the same place that they are now) and in those areas , the mooring of a houseboat would be a Permitted Activity, where one could apply for a residential mooring permit.
Another often heard jibe, is that houseboats don't pay rates:
I also agree that this is a valid concern, and we would welcome a system by which we could contribute via rates and propose the solution that;
The granting of the permit would attract the usual boat mooring fees, with an added fee to cover administration and annual rates .
Another concern about houseboats is that of environmental hygiene worries.
This I believe is another concern that should be addressed under our proposed "residential mooring permit"
To receive the permit, a houseboat would need to meet certain hygiene , safety, and self containment, environmental standards.
As written in the current draft unitary plan, the proposed law change seeks to discriminate, but with no real clear reasons to discriminate from what I can see, except for that our way of life is outside the mainstream .
We would like to show that we are willing to work with the council to look at ways in which everyone benefits.
What are your thoughts..do you agree?
Pictures: 1. Postcard of houseboats are for sale on the island
2. Tsunami started her life as a barge transporting goods to the island
3. Putiki Bay in the past
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