COUNTDOWN SUPERMARKET HAWERA

Transcription

1 ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT COUNTDOWN SUPERMARKET HAWERA Prepared for by Zomac Planning Solutions Limited Planning and Resource Management Consultants In Association with Traffic Design Group Limited LA4 Landscape Architects Richard Knott Limited Marshall Day Acoustics Limited Woodhams Meikle Zhan Architects July 2016

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3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION Background and Purpose of this AEE Site Location Description of the Environment Hawera Application Site Immediately Surrounding Environment Structure of this AEE SITE DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL Overview of the Proposed Development Design Approach Role and Commitment Connections Architectural Considerations Landscape Planting Bulk and Location Acoustic Design Signage Traffic and Transportation Elements Site Access Vehicle Parking Servicing and Loading Walking, Cycling and Public Transport Stormwater Wastewater Water Supply Utility Services Earthworks and Demolition Erosion & Sediment Control Title Boundaries Construction Management Plan STATUTORY FRAMEWORK Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) Taranaki Regional Policy Statement Regional Air Quality Plan Other Statutory Provisions Relating to Air Quality Regional Soil and Freshwater Plans for Taranaki Hawera Town Centre Strategy Operative South Taranaki District Plan District Plan Zone & Activity Status Objectives & Policies Operative District Plan Rule Compliance ODP Assessment Criteria South Taranaki Proposed District Plan Introduction Zoning & Activity Status Objectives & Policies Proposed District Plan Rule Compliance Assessment Criteria... 40

4 3.9 Weighting and Activity Status Resource Consent Sought Operative and Proposed District Plans Section 104D of the RMA Financial Contributions Contextual Summary ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS Introduction Traffic, Parking, loading and access Overview Existing Transportation Environment Traffic Generation and Effects Parking Servicing and Loading Walking and Cycling Construction Management Summary of Traffic Effects Amenity Values Overview Urban Design Bulk and Location Noise Hours of Operation Lighting Signage Safety Landscape and Visual Effects Overview Landscape and Visual Assessment Landscape Amenity Controls Construction Effects Overview Construction Activities Conclusion infrastructure Water Supply and Wastewater Stormwater Utility Services Environmental design Cumulative Effects Mitigation Measures Summary of Effects CONSULTATION AND NOTIFICATION Pre-Lodgement Meetings Consultation with the Community Consultation with Utility Providers Outcomes from Consultation Notification Introduction CONCLUSION Overview... 61

5 6.2 Statutory Compliance Assessment of Effects Section 104D RMA Appendices 1. Plans, Elevations, Sections, Landscape Planting Plan (Figures 1 to 4) 2. Technical Report No.1: Transportation Assessment Report, Traffic Design Group Limited, May Technical Report No.2: Urban Design Assessment Report, Richard Knott Ltd, July Technical Report No.3: Assessment of Landscape and Visual Effects, LA 4 Landscape Architects Limited, May Technical Report No.4: Acoustic Assessment, Marshall Day Acoustics Ltd, July Certificates of Title. 7. Letter from Affected Party. 8. Indicative Services Connections Plan. List of Figures Figure 1: Figure 2: Figure 3: Figure 4: Figure 5: Artist Impression Site Plan Elevations Sections Planting Plan

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7 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THIS AEE UT Developments Ltd is seeking to redevelop the Countdown supermarket in Hawera. The supermarket is operated by Progressive Enterprises Limited, one of New Zealand s major supermarket operators. The new supermarket will be developed on an area of land comprising some 1.3 hectares (more or less) legally described as Lot 2 DP (TN4/1242), Part Lot DP 478 & Lot 5 DP 882 & Lot 1 DP (261076), Lot 2 DP (209269), Part Lot 31 DP 478 (TNH3/673), Lot 3 DP (TNH3/676), Allotment 2-3 DP 4674 (TN115/235), Lot 1-3 DP 920 (TNB1/1260), Lot 4 DP (TNH3/677), Lot 1 DP (TNL1/27), Lot 1 DP (209268), Lot 2 DP (TNH3/712), Lot 2 DP14296 (TNG2/318), Part Lot DP 478, Lot 5 DP 882 and Lot 1 DP (261076), Lot 1 DP 6151 & Lot 2 DP (TNJ2/310) and Lot 1 DP (TNH2/652) Taranaki Land Registry. The land is located in the block bounded by Nelson Street to the north, Union Street to the east and Victoria Street to the west. UT Developments propose to construct a new supermarket building in a different location within the current block of land. The proposed supermarket will have a gross floor area of 3500m 2 and will replace the existing Countdown supermarket on the site. The main features of the proposed development include: Construction of a new 3500m 2 supermarket (inclusive of a 200m 2 office with staff facilities and 100m 2 plant room; The plant room will be located at ground level behind the supermarket building; Minimal rooftop plant located on the supermarket building; The office will be located fronting Nelson Street providing glazing and direct access from the street; New vehicle access for customers will be provided from Nelson Street and Union Street; Provision of 156 customer car parking spaces (including four mobility spaces) and excluding 10 spaces located at the southern end of the site (shown with no shading on the site plan); Service vehicle delivery along the western side of the site to a loading dock with offstreet access from Victoria Street; New landscaping and planting at the street frontages and through the customer carpark; and Paved areas to provide appropriate pedestrian movement into and through the site and to the surrounding commercial centre of Hawera. In order to accommodate the proposed development resource consent is required under both the Operative and Proposed Hawera District Plans. The specific reasons for resource consent being required are detailed in Section 3 of this report. The purpose of this assessment of effects on the environment ( AEE ) is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the actual and potential environmental effects of the proposed development and to assess the development against the statutory purpose and principles of the Resource Management Act 1991 ( RMA ) and the relevant provisions of the statutory planning instruments. This assessment has been undertaken to comply with the statutory requirements (Section 88 of and the Fourth Schedule) of the RMA. 1

8 This AEE also provides a comprehensive description of the proposed development and assesses this proposal against the relevant assessment criteria of the Proposed District Plan (which is the most recent policy direction for the site). 1.2 SITE LOCATION The site is located fronting Victoria Street, Nelson Street and Union Street, Hawera, as shown on the site plan attached in Appendix 1. The site is orientated to the north-eastern edge of the central Hawera commercial area. Copies of the Certificates of Title for the site are contained in Appendix DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT Hawera Hawera is the largest town in South Taranaki and the main commercial, residential, cultural, recreational and social hub for the district. It services a large rural area which surrounds the town and is well connected on the State Highway network to New Plymouth in the north and Wanganui in the south. The commercial area provides for a range of activities inclusive of large format development and mixed uses enabling choice in terms of land use and development. The town centre commercial area is largely bounded by Nelson Street, Victoria Street, Albion Street and High Street. Hawera is the administrative centre of the District and is further evolving a range of commercial, residential and community functions. The main characteristics of Hawera are: Commercial buildings which are single or double storeyed with continuous building frontage to the street; Historic buildings and features ; Walkable central area with identifiable landmarks; A mix of commercial, residential and community facilities; The administrative service centre for the district; and Close proximity to green spaces and parks Application Site The viewpoint photographs contained in the Landscape and Visual Assessment Report (Technical Report No. 3) in Appendix 4 show the characteristics and topography of the application site. The site is almost flat in contour and is currently occupied by the Countdown supermarket building and its associated carpark, together with the public carpark in the ownership of the Council. There is no demarcation between the carparking areas which appear as one and these are used as such by the public. Victoria Street is a Primary Collector Road and one of the main routes linking Glover Road (an arterial) with South Road (State Highway). Its primary purpose is to collect traffic and distribute it to other parts of the road network. Nelson and Union Streets are both Secondary Collector Roads with the purpose of collecting traffic and distributing traffic but also serving an important site access purpose. Vegetation within the site is limited. Street trees along the Nelson Street frontage and around the corner along Victoria Street comprise pohutukawa trees with underplanting of native varieties of a smaller stature (groundcovers, astelia, grasses and flaxes). 2

9 There are a number of pedestrian access routes from the surrounding streets which link into the carpark and provide ready walkability for people to other parts of the town centre Immediately Surrounding Environment Adjoining land to the south is occupied by commercial and retail development which fronts High Street and includes real estate offices, bakery, café, stationery and office supplies and a church. Across the road in Union Street and adjacent the commercial premises include restaurants and takeaways, art gallery, post shop, IT works, Hawera Community Link and the Citizens Advice Bureau. The building at the corner of Union Street and Nelson Street is vacant at the ground floor. Commercial service and light industrial activities are most evident along Nelson Street with auto servicing and electrical engineering outlets, real estate and furniture retailers. Across the road in Victoria Street are an accountancy practice, medical centre and pharmacy, and further to the east is residential development characterised by single level family homes. Rabobank adjoins the site on the eastern side of Victoria Street and further south on the eastern side of the road is a liquor store, café, and the Hawera Senior Citizens hall. The wider environment is characterised by a number of mixed commercial, community, educational and residential uses. 1.4 STRUCTURE OF THIS AEE This AEE is divided into six sections plus appendices as follows: Section 1: provides an introduction to the proposal with a general description of the site and development intentions. The purpose and structure of this AEE is also outlined. Section 2: outlines the Applicant s philosophy for the development of the site and contains a detailed description of the proposal. The specialist reports in respect of urban design, visual and landscape, acoustic design, and traffic and transportation are summarised where appropriate. Section 3: summarises the statutory framework within which this application is required to be considered. The wider statutory considerations of the RMA together with the strategic policy direction and the more specific zoning information is detailed from which a description is given of the resource consent sought for this development. This section also identifies the objectives and policies of both the regional plans and district plans of relevance to the context of this proposal and which assist in the consideration of this application. The proposal is also considered against the relevant District Plan development standards and assessment criteria. Section 4: provides an assessment of actual and potential effects of the proposed development and considers mitigation measures where potential adverse effects are anticipated. Section 5: summarises consultation undertaken in the process of the development of this proposal and considers matters relating to notification under the RMA. 3

10 Section 6: records those matters of importance and relevance in the consideration of this proposal. The conclusion supports determination to grant the resource consent based on the full and robust assessment of environmental effects of the proposed activity. Appendices: contains the plans of the proposal (Appendix 1), the Certificates of Title (Appendix 6), the signed affected party approval (Appendix 7), and the plan of indicative utilities connections (Appendix 8) The technical reports providing support to the applications are included as appendices to this AEE as follows: Appendix 2: Appendix 3: Appendix 4: Appendix 5: Technical Report No.1: Transportation Assessment Report Technical Report No.2: Urban Design Assessment Report Technical Report No.3: Landscape and Visual Effects Assessment Technical Report No.4: Acoustic Assessment Report 4

11 2. SITE DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL 2.1 OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT The proposal for the development of the site is detailed on the plans, elevations and sections contained in Appendix 1. These plans also show the nature and form of the building signage, the car park entrance signage and pylon signage to be provided on the site and the layout of the public parking areas, the service and loading area and the new vehicle and pedestrian access arrangements proposed for the site. The key features of the development proposal are as follows: A new Countdown supermarket with a gross floor area of 3,500m 2 inclusive of a 200m 2 office and 100m 2 plant room; A 200m 2 supermarket office area (office, staff facilities) located at ground level immediately fronting Nelson Street; A 100m 2 plant room located at ground level on the western side of the building; Limited rooftop plant; Landscaping across the site and at the street corners; A total of 156 parking spaces for customers inclusive of four mobility spaces at the entrance to the supermarket (and excluding 10 spaces at the southern edge of the site); A dedicated service vehicle delivery area and canopied loading dock on the western side of the supermarket building with direct access and egress to Victoria Street; Service vehicle delivery area to be gated and to enable all vehicles to enter and exit in a forward direction; Security fencing 2.4m in height around the ground plant room to Victoria Street boundary and in front of the servicing area returning to the building; Approximately 81.14m 2 of building signage (excluding the open hour sign on the parapet facing Nelson Street / towards the carpark); Two pylon signs: one located at the entry to the carpark on Nelson Street and one located at the corner of Nelson and Victoria Streets; Entry sign at the Union Street carpark entry/exit; New footpaths within the site linking to the main pedestrian walkways; Exterior site lighting and lighting of building signage; Landscaping of the site as detailed on the landscape planting plan including new specimen trees along the Nelson Street frontage and union Street; Limited earthworks across the site; and The rationalisation of some services connections and replacement. 2.2 DESIGN APPROACH Role and Commitment The Applicant acknowledges the importance of the redevelopment of this site and has taken account of the strategic location of the site within the north-western part of the Hawera central area. The design of the proposed development recognises and has taken account of the following key parameters: The need to adopt a design style that is reasonably sympathetic to the surrounding environment and which recognises the amenity and character of the location; The desire to provide for some activation of the street environment within the constraints of the development; 5

12 The need to apply a high standard of hard and soft landscape and building treatments; The need to maintain linkages for public access to and through the site; The need to acknowledge the community s intention for revitalising the town centre; and The preference to take account of CPTED considerations Connections The design addresses efficient circulation of pedestrians, customer vehicles and service vehicles. The design will promote pedestrian access to the supermarket from Nelson and Union Streets by providing direct pedestrian footpaths to the front entry of the supermarket. The existing pedestrian linkages through the site are maintained and will be upgraded as part of the overall public and private interface. Customer vehicle access is from both Nelson and Union Streets. As part of the Hawera Town Centre redevelopment the Council has determined that Nelson Street will be transformed to a one-way street with traffic travelling in a west to east direction. The Nelson Street entrance to the site will allow customers to travel from Victoria Street to the entry and all exit movements will be to the right. The Union Street entry / exit is an all-turns driveway. The pedestrian footpath from Nelson Street to the front door of the supermarket is largely covered. This covered pathway will take pedestrians through the trundler bay storage area and into the main entry of the supermarket. Service vehicles will access the site using the new access to be constructed from Victoria Street on the western boundary of the site to the loading dock. The unloading area is canopied to enable all weather distribution of goods into the store. The provision of separate accesses for customer and service vehicles will ensure that pedestrian/vehicular conflicts are limited Architectural Considerations The proposed development comprises six key design elements as follows: 1. Retention of an anchor supermarket activity and building within the Hawera Central Area enabling an upgrade to the supermarket product range and in-store experience; 2. Location of some plant at ground level to enable a reduced rooftop plant presence; 3. Some active frontages directly to the street by positioning the supermarket office and staff facilities at the Nelson Street road frontage; 4. Public / customer car parking fronting the supermarket building with pedestrian linkages clearly maintained and new pedestrian ways provided; 5. Off-street servicing and loading area to support supermarket operations; and 6. Landscaped areas. The local physical and historical context has been acknowledged in the design through the use of scale, density, materials and colour. This has resulted in a design that is rich in texture while at the same time maintaining a consistency and integrity as one building. The development has been carefully sited to reduce the impression of bulk and to introduce details that are common in smaller commercial buildings ensuring a sympathetic treatment within the commercial environment. 6

13 The supermarket roof has a gentle slope which serves to soften the visual impact of the building whilst also reinforcing its contemporary appearance. The aesthetic is further reinforced by using a range of high quality building materials including textured precast concrete panels, aluminium louvres, fibre cement cladding, glass panels and canopies with PFC edges. The cladding choices are intended to reflect the features of other commercial development in Hawera and ensure that the scale of the building is reduced by the introduction of different forms and materials which create a distinctly human scale. The facades are composed primarily of neutral colours, with the Countdown branding colours being used for selected elements of the building. This assists with the transition of scale as well as clearly identifying the supermarket brand. All building signage has been designed as an integral part of the building envelope Landscape Planting The extent of the landscape planting proposed is shown on the planting plan contained in Appendix 1 (Figure 5). The planting has an emphasis on structure, and bold and contrasting foliage. Apart from the aesthetic considerations the main criteria considered for the landscaping in the selection of plants has been suitability to local climatic conditions, hardy and drought resistant species to minimise the need for irrigation, and plants that retain their appearance throughout the year without the need for intensive maintenance intervention. The objectives of this planting approach are to create a suitable interface with the adjacent commercial sites and environment, enhance the appearance of the development when viewed from Nelson and Union Streets, and create a suitable interface to Victoria Street in terms of the servicing and back of house aspects of the development. The existing street trees in Nelson Street are to be removed. The bushy stature of these existing trees together with the intricate and strong root systems makes them unsuitable for incorporation into the development. The proposed security fencing around the ground level plant platform and truck servicing area of the supermarket, including along the Victoria Street frontage of the site, is 2.4 metres in height. This fence is transparent, similar to pool fencing in construction and appearance. Overall, the implementation of the landscape planting plan will integrate the proposed development with the surrounding commercial environment and provide vegetation within the carpark offsetting the tree removal required to enable the redevelopment Bulk and Location The proposed supermarket building will be located approximately 6 metres from the northern (side) boundary with Nelson Street, excluding that part of the building containing the office and staff facilities which will be located at the street boundary providing direct frontage and access to the street. The length of the office block is approximately 30.8 metres. The supermarket building will be located approximately 15 metres from the western (rear) boundary with Victoria Street (excluding the plant room which is approximately 7 metres from the Victoria Street / Nelson Street boundaries), and approximately 58 metres from the eastern (front) boundary facing the customer parking area. The southern side of the building faces the parking area and commercial premises adjoining the pedestrian link out to Victoria Street. 7

14 At the highest point the proposed building will be approximately 7.4 metres above the existing ground level. The plant platform located on the rooftop is limited to one unit and this is associated with the new dual path HVAC design Countdown is now using in all its new generation stores. The height of the plant platform inclusive of the screen around this plant, measured from ground level, is 8.4m. 2.3 ACOUSTIC DESIGN The Acoustic Assessment Report (Technical Report No. 4) has concluded that the development can fully comply, operationally and during construction, with the District Plan noise requirements and is therefore a permitted activity. 2.4 SIGNAGE The signage to be provided is detailed in Table 2-1 below. The design and location of the signage on the building is shown on the elevations (Figure 2) in Appendix 1. The design and location of the free standing car park entry sign at the Union Street entrance and the free standing pylon signs proposed for the Nelson Street vehicular entry and the Victoria Street frontage is shown on the site layout plan (Figure 2) also attached in Appendix 1. Table 2-1: Proposed Signage Location Type Number Dimension (mm) Area Total Area North Internally Lit LED (w) x 1050 (h) 9.22m 2 Elevation Countdown Brand Sign Logo 1660 (w) x 1500 (h) 2.49m 2 East Elevation (w) x 2100 (h) 29.71m 2 West Elevation Nelson Street Frontage Union Street Frontage Victoria Street Frontage Internally Lit LED Countdown Brand Sign Logo Welcome sign Supermarket Open & Hours Sign Pharmacy Sign Click & Collect sign Internally Lit LED Countdown Brand Sign Logo Pharmacy sign Two Sided Freestanding Pylon Sign Two Sided Freestanding Entry Sign Two Sided Freestanding Pylon Sign Total Area of Signage to be Positioned on the Building Total Area of Signage to be Provided on the Site (w) x 2500 (h) 3000 (w) x 0900 (h) 4400 (w) x 0600 (h) 2900 (w) x 0500 (h) 3500 (w) x 1200 (h) 3000 (w) x 1200 (h) 8785 (w) x 1050 (h) 6.92m 2 2.7m m m 2 4.2m 2 3.6m m (w) x 1500 (h) 2.49m (w) x 1250 (h) 6.5m (w) x 9000 (h) 29.7m 2 (each side) (w) x 2400(h) 2.88m 2 (each side) (w) x 9000(h) 29.7m 2 (each side) 51.22m m m m m m 2 (excluding open sign on parapet) 205.7m 2 The pylons signs are both monolith signs with internally lit Countdown name and logo and open hours. The three Countdown brand signs will be internally lit LED signs. The signs 8

15 shown on the eastern elevation beneath the canopy at the entrance to the supermarket are limited to the click and collect service which will operate from the store and a welcome sign. All signage on the building is integrated into the facades and does not extend beyond the parapets. 2.5 TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION ELEMENTS Site Access It is proposed to provide new vehicle accesses from Nelson Street and Union Street. The customer access will be provided through 7.5m wide ingress and egress lanes with the Union Street exit lane providing space for left and right turning vehicles. The car parking area will provide a two way circulation along the aisles. The new service vehicle access will have a width of approximately 8m at the boundary, which is necessary to accommodate one-way movement for the largest delivery vehicles used by Countdown. The exit driveway is of a similar width for the same reason Vehicle Parking It is proposed to provide a total of 156 car parking spaces (including four mobility spaces) within the site for the supermarket customers and staff as shown on the plan (Figure 2) in Appendix 1. The nine carparks shown on the site plan at the southern end of the site immediately adjacent to the pedestrian link out to high Street and behind the rear of the buildings facing High Street, have not been included in this calculation as the intention is that those parking spaces will be utilised by the retail activities fronting High Street. A part of this area is currently utilised for parking purposes. The 13 parking spaces closest to the Union Street carriageway will be formed partially over the boundary of the site to create a seamless linkage to the upgraded Union Street which is proposed by the Council as part of the Hawera Central Area revitalisation project. These parking spaces will be accessed directly from the Union Street carriageway. At the same time, the Council proposes altering the traffic circulation in Nelson Street to create a one way system and a parking precinct in this area. In total 44 parking spaces are to be formed along the portion of Nelson Street between Victoria and Union Streets. This change in Nelson Street is also part of the central area upgrade project. Thirty-four spaces are located along the southern side of the road and a further ten on the northern side. All parking spaces are designed to be 2.6m wide and 5m long and associated manoeuvring aisles at least 7.5m in width, with the exclusion of four spaces located at the south-western side of the supermarket building where the aisle reduces to 5.1m. These spaces are located without other parking behind them and will likely require reversing out of. The mobility spaces will be located adjacent to 1.5m wide no-parking pedestrian areas at the front of the store entrance. These dimensions will allow for a 99th percentile car to circulate in the parking area and access all car parks. 9

16 2.5.3 Servicing and Loading A loading and servicing area will be provided at grade at the western side of the site. A partially covered loading dock is to be constructed and this area will also provide space for delivery vehicles to enter and exit in a forward direction. The bulk of the goods to be delivered to the supermarket will occur by way of three to four articulated truck arrivals per day and 8 to 10 rigid trucks. Some other smaller goods vehicles (utility trucks and vans) will also visit the site to deliver items such as fresh bread and milk. It is anticipated that this will be between 10 and 12 per day. The loading and service area will be able to accommodate two large trucks, being the 19m super quad and a truck and trailer unit, at the same time. This will ensure there are no constraints to the operation of the site. All vehicles will enter and exit in a forward direction. Trucks will enter via the northern driveway and exit to the southern driveway onto Victoria Street. Visibility from the entrance / exit to the north and south is in excess of 70m. The pallet and rubbish storage area will be located along the northern end of the servicing and loading area. This area will be screened by a closed boarded fence. The service area will be security fenced and the storage area will be only available from within the servicing area. Gates will be installed between the fences to ensure that the back of house area of the supermarket is fully secure at all times. Vehicles entering the service area are scheduled deliveries and the store manager will manage the security gates so these are opened to coincide with delivery vehicles. Under normal operations no vehicles will need to wait outside the gates for opening Walking, Cycling and Public Transport Pedestrians on Nelson and Union Streets are catered for with footpaths on both sides of the carriageway. The existing footpath along the Nelson Street frontage will be replaced as part of the Council s central area works and will be widened to some 4m. A pedestrian canopy will be provided along the front wall of the supermarket for approximately 37 metres. As part of the works proposed in the public realm around the site the Council is seeking to create a slow speed environment and improve the walkability and linkages within the commercial area. The main pedestrian crossing across Union Street is located in a position aligning with the pedestrian path through the carpark of the supermarket. Paving treatments along Union Street create a link to the separate pedestrian accesses into the site and the southern pedestrian link to Main Street. There is no cycle lane provided on Nelson Street or Union Street. Bike stand provision is made at the north eastern end of the supermarket building immediately adjacent to the pedestrian link from Nelson Street. 2.6 STORMWATER There will be no additional stormwater being directed into the current Council owned reticulated system. The Council, as part of the Hawera town centre upgrade works, is installing new stormwater lines in Nelson and Victoria Streets. It is expected that the stormwater system on the site 10

17 will be reconfigured as part of the new development, with new points of entry from the site to the new Council system together with a rationalisation of the pipes within the site. Appendix 8 contains a plan showing the indicative stormwater, sewer and water mains proposed across the site and the positions these lines will intersect and connect to the public reticulation system. The figure below provides details of the existing services across the site. Definitive details of the new pipe network within the site will be provided at the detailed engineering stage required for building consent. Source: South Taranaki District Council Stormwater runoff from the paved areas of the site will be treated with Hynds Up-Flo Filters ( HUF ) or similar prior to discharge to the stormwater system. These devices are an accepted method of removing greater than 75% of total suspended solids and are well proven throughout New Zealand. 2.7 WASTEWATER The expected wastewater production for the site is similar to that for the existing supermarket and is not anticipated to increase levels. The site is fully serviced and new connections to the Council system will be made in compliance with the Council s engineering requirements and Waste Water Bylaw. The wastewater includes water from the toilets, staff room, kitchens, fresh vegetables and fruit, delicatessen and butchery. It is anticipated that wastewater volumes will be in the order of 7,000 litres per day. 11

18 2.8 WATER SUPPLY The proposed new supermarket will be serviced by an upgraded water supply with reticulation in Nelson and Victoria Streets. The current 100mm diameter water main in Nelson Street is to be upgraded by the Council and will provide adequate water for both supermarket use and fire-fighting purposes. The potable water requirements for the proposed development are anticipated to be in the order of 12m 3 per day. The building will have a fire classification of FW2 in accordance with fire-fighting water supplies code of practice for a sprinklered building and to comply with the Fire Services requirements. The minimum residual pressure for this system is 100 kpa. Sprinkler water demand for in-rack sprinklers is around 2,800 litres per minute 2.9 UTILITY SERVICES Discussions with the power provider have confirmed that power will be supplied to the new supermarket from the Power Co substation across the road on Nelson Street. Discussions are continuing to ensure the provision of appropriate power to the development, however this is a technical matter only as the existing supermarket has power and this will be available to the new store. The proposed supermarket is required to be serviced with high speed internet, EFTPOS services and telephone lines. Spark has indicated that these services can be supplied to the site in the same manner as they are currently available to the existing Countdown EARTHWORKS & DEMOLITION As the site is virtually flat the earthworks necessary for the new supermarket and the parking area are limited to scrapping the surface and preparing the foundations for the new site. The demolition of the existing supermarket will take place once the new supermarket is constructed; consent is sought for this demolition at the same time EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL Erosion and sediment control measures will be installed during the execution of the construction to minimise any potential runoff from the site into the surrounding stormwater system and on the road network TITLE BOUNDARIES The proposed development will result in buildings being constructed over existing title boundaries. This AEE has been prepared on the basis that the site comprises all these titles. The existing Certificates of Title are in Appendix 6. Some titles in the ownership of the Council have been purchased by UT Developments subsequent to the title search being undertaken. The site is shown on the overall development plan in Appendix 1. It excludes a portion of land in the southern area which is shown white on the plan and encompasses nine proposed parking spaces, although those parking spaces will be created by the developer. All buildings within the site area will be demolished to enable the new development. It is intended that the supermarket and its associated parking together with part of the land previously referred to as the Farr property (Lot 1 DP 15212) will be held in Computer Freehold Register. The land occupied by the carparks to the south of the supermarket 12

19 building which extends in a narrow strip to Victoria Street, together with the land at the south-east of the carparking area which aligns with the pedestrian accessway to High Street, is to be retained in Council ownership CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PLAN A comprehensive Construction Management Plan ( CMP ) will be prepared for the earthworks and the building construction phase of the development. The CMP will be submitted at the time of the building consent application and it is expected that the CMP will address the following elements: Construction timetable; Dust control and management; Vibration of construction equipment; Means of compliance with the noise levels in NZS 6803:1999 Acoustics Construction Noise; Traffic control and management; Maintenance of access to immediately adjoining properties; Formation and maintenance of construction accesses; Pedestrian safety along public footpaths; Temporary road closures and / or other restrictions required on the surrounding street network; Site perimeter security; Erosion and sediment control measures to be implemented and maintained in accordance with Council engineering requirements Communication with neighbours about planned construction activities; and Handling and addressing of any complaints. The construction management plan will be prepared prior any construction works proceeding on the site. This can be secured through an appropriate condition of consent. During construction of the new supermarket building the existing supermarket will continue trading. To enable this to occur customer parking is to be provided on other land surrounding the site. The use of this land will provide ninety-nine parking spaces on other land in the ownership of, or under the control of, the Applicant which will be solely available for Countdown customers. On-street parking in Nelson Street and Union Street will also be available throughout the construction phase which will be able to be used by supermarket customers and the public. The details of this parking provision are described in section 4 of this AEE. 13

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21 3. STATUTORY FRAMEWORK 3.1 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT 1991 (RMA) Part II of the RMA sets out the purpose and principles of the Act. Section 5 sets out the purpose of the RMA, being to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources which is defined to mean: managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic and cultural wellbeing and for their health and safety while (a) Sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources (excluding minerals) to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; and (b) Safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil and ecosystems; and (c) Avoiding, remedying or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment. Whether the purpose of the RMA is being achieved involves an overall broad judgement. This assessment is informed by reference to the matters set out in sections 6, 7 and 8 of the Act and: allows for comparison of conflicting considerations and the scale or degree of them and their relative significance or proportion in the final outcome (Eden Park Trust Board and Eden Park Neighbours Association vs Auckland City Council, A130/97). Section 6 sets out matters of national importance relative to the natural character of the coastal environment, protection of outstanding natural feature, protection of areas of significant indigenous vegetation and habitats of indigenous fauna, maintenance and enhancement of public access along coastal marine areas, lakes and rivers, and the relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions. It is considered that there are no matters of national importance that are relevant to this application. Section 7 requires particular regard to be had to other matters. Of relevance to this application are: (b) (c) (f) (g) the efficient use and development of natural and physical resources; the maintenance and enhancement of amenity values; maintenance and enhancement of the quality of the environment; any finite characteristics of natural and physical resources. Section 8 requires the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi to be taken into account. Section 104 of the RMA sets out the matters consent authorities are to have regard to when considering an application for resource consent. Section 104(1) states: When considering an application for a resource consent and any submissions received, the consent authority must, subject to Part 2, have regard to (a) any actual and potential effects on the environment of allowing the activity; and (b) any relevant provisions of (i) a national environmental statement (ii) other regulations (iii) a national policy statement 15

22 (vi) (v) (vi) a New Zealand coastal policy statement; a regional policy statement or proposed regional policy statement a plan or proposed plan; and (c) any other matter the consent authority considers relevant and reasonably necessary to determine the application. The assessment undertaken in section 4 of this AEE summaries the actual or potential effects of the proposal having regard to matters in Part II of the RMA that are considered to have specific relevance to this proposal. It is also worth noting that section 104(3) states: (3) A consent authority must not (a) when considering an application, have regard to - trade competition or the effects of trade competition; or.. This is relevant in terms of consideration of the effects of the activity on other existing supermarkets and/or retail activities. It is only effects that go beyond trade competition, for example loss in amenity values, which can be considered in the context of the RMA. The 2009 amendments to the RMA have further limited the use of the RMA to oppose resource consent applications on the basis of trade competition. Sections 308A to 308I of the RMA now restricts trade competitors from making submissions and lodging appeals on resource consent applications to only those effects that do not relate to trade competition or the effects of trade competition. This includes the use of surrogates by trade competitors to lodge appeals on resource consent applications that relate to trade competition or the effects of trade competition. Section 104(2) codifies the permitted baseline concept for the purpose of assessing effects: (2) When forming an opinion for the purposes of subsection (1)(a), a consent authority may disregard any adverse effect of the activity on the environment if a national environmental standard or the plan permits an activity with that effect. This is relevant when considering the degree of compliance with the District Plan development controls achieved by this proposal, as outlined in Sections 3.7 and 3.8 of this AEE. From a bulk and location perspective, the form, size and scale of the proposed supermarket building complies with the relevant provisions of the Operative and Proposed District Plans for the Commercial zone. 3.2 TARANAKI REGIONAL POLICY STATEMENT The Taranaki Regional Policy Statement ( TRPS ) sets the overall strategic direction for growth and development within the region by identifying relevant issues for which strategic objectives and policies are detailed. Its aim is to achieve integrated, consistent and coordinated management of the Region s resources. The RPS identifies significant resource management issues for the region across its natural and physical realms and develops a series of objectives and policies to address these at a 16

23 high level. The built environment section of the plan identifies two issues for the region as promoting regionally significant infrastructure. The plan acknowledges the linkages between the rural and urban environments and the potential effects of urban development beyond the fringes of settlement, and the importance of the agricultural and energy sectors to the economic health of the region. The objectives and policies for the built environment are designed to maintain urban areas that are sustainable, function well, provide accessibility and create safe, healthy and stimulating environments. Section 15 The Built Environment Objective 1 in relation to sustainable urban development states: To promote sustainable urban development in the Taranaki Region. The policy to give effect to this objective states: To promote sustainable development in urban areas by: a. Encouraging high urban design, including the maintenance and enhancement of amenity values; b. Promoting choices in housing, work place and recreation opportunities; c. Promoting energy efficiency in urban forms, site layout and building design d. Providing for regionally significant infrastructure; e. Integrating the maintenance, upgrading or provision of infrastructure with land use; f. Integrating transport networks, connections and modes to enable the sustainable and efficient movement of people, goods and services; g. Promoting the maintenance, enhancement or protection of land, air and water resources within urban areas or affected by urban activities; h. Protecting indigenous biodiversity and historic heritage; and i. Avoiding or mitigating natural and other hazards. In addition, Objective 1 relating to regionally significant infrastructure states: To provide for the continued safe and efficient operation of the region s network utilities and other infrastructure of regional significance (including where this is of national importance), while avoiding, remedying or mitigating adverse effects on the environment. The policies to give effect to this objective are: 1. Provision will be made for the efficient and effective establishment, operation, maintenance and upgrading of network utilities and other physical infrastructure of regional significance (including where this is of national importance) and provision for any adverse effects of their establishment to be avoided, remedied or mitigated as far as practicable. 2. The adverse effects of subdivision, use and development on the safety, efficiency, operation, maintenance and upgrading of the region s network utilities and on other physical infrastructure of regional significance (including where this is of national importance) will be avoided or mitigated. 3. Buffer corridors shall be identified so that development incompatible with the National Grid is not located within such corridors and thereby ensuring reverse sensitivity effects are avoided. 4. New land use generated by growth and development and the associated local, regional and national infrastructure to service that growth should be integrated and planned alongside one another to avoid either constraints being imposed on necessary growth and development by the lack of supporting infrastructure or to avoid unsustainable demands being placed on infrastructure to meet new growth. 17

24 The RPS objective and policy framework for natural resources, in particular, soil and water, integrates the management of these across the whole region, inclusive of the urban environment recognizing the potential for effects occurring across space and time. The framework effectively builds on existing practices which have been tested and are working within the region and the methods identified in the plan for achieving the purpose of the Act, including advocacy and other statutory documents of the Regional Council and other agencies, are recognised. Overall, given the proposed development is to be undertaken on a site that has been zoned for commercial purposes, which is located within an established settlement that provides a servicing function to the wider community, it is considered that the proposal will be consistent with the direction for the region set out in the RPS. 3.3 REGIONAL AIR QUALITY PLAN This plan became operative on 25 July 2011 and manages the discharge of contaminants to air addressing section 15 of the Resource Management Act (RMA). In particular, for the purposes of this application, section 15(2) of the RMA provides that discharges to air from any source (other than industrial or trade premises) are regulated only if covered by a rule in the regional air quality plan. Discharges from farms, residential and commercial activities and moveable sources are therefore allowed unless the rules provide otherwise. The regional plan does not control traffic emissions and therefore vehicle emission associated with delivery and customer vehicles to the supermarket development, being a high traffic generating activity, are not controlled. The plan s approach to the management of air emissions is to permit discharges with no or only minor adverse effects on the environment, subject to compliance with certain conditions. The plan controls the discharge of contaminants to air from site development and earthworks. Rule 13 addresses premises where food is prepared or cooked and defines this activity as permitted provided it can satisfy the following conditions: a) Discharge must not result in offensive or objectionable odour or dust at or beyond the boundary of the property and on such parts of the electricity transmission network that lie within the boundary of the premises. b) Discharge must not result in noxious or toxic levels of airborne contaminants at or beyond the boundary of the property. c) Discharge must not result in dangerous levels of airborne contaminants at or beyond the boundary of the property, including but not limited to any risk of fire or explosion. The supermarket activity will include food preparation and some cooking which is associated with the delicatessen and hot food areas. Filters are used on all extraction fans and it is considered unlikely that objectionable odours will arise. No dust, toxic or dangerous air emissions are associated with supermarket operations. Rules 42 and 43 address discharges from site development and landscaping, and earthworks respectively. Rule 42 allows (as a permitted activity) discharges of contaminants to air from the development, maintenance, repair or demolition of industrial or trade premises, or residential or commercial site, and which are not otherwise provide for by the rules in the plan. The activity includes site development, landscaping, weed and pest control and the installation, construction, maintenance or demolition on the premises of roads, paved areas, 18