February decision for Port Hills residents
Port HIlls residents seeking a zoning review on their earthquake affected properties will have to wait until February to find out if they are green or red.
More than 130 people from 14 Port Hills suburbs applied to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority for rezoning.
Of those, 60 in the green zone want to be zoned red and 72 in the red zone want to be zoned green.
CERA chief executive Roger Sutton said the independent Port Hills Review Advisory Board met at the end of last month to begin assessing "highly technical information" relating to the zoning of properties across the hill suburbs.
Work on the analysis of information used to determine the land zoning boundaries was expected to have been completed and residents advised of the Government's decision by Christmas. While work was well under way, it would not be done in time.
Mr Sutton said the Government would consider the panel's report and release its decisions in February.
The analysis could not be rushed.
"It has to be methodical and deliberate, just as the flat land review process was," he
said.
"There are many people who have applied to be part of the process because they do not believe the original decision was correct, so we must make absolutely certain that this review covers off every aspect of the process to confirm a final outcome."
Most review applications came from the Sumner area, where 23 red zone property owners want to change, together with 15 with land in the green zone.
Residents were being contacted last night to inform them of the delay.
Friday Soapbox, p9, p10.
