Brazilian Love Motel Free To Open Despite Refusal Of Brothel Licence.

Council asked to review and cancel resource consent.

[Statement from David Thornton]

Although the Brazilian Love Motel in Glenfield was denied a Brothel Licence last Friday it can still operate as a ‘hire by the hour’ motel under a resource consent granted by council staff in February.

North Shore City Council staff would need to assure themselves, by way of regular monitoring visits, that no commercial sex activities take place once the Motel opens in Parity Place.

Nearby residents and business-owners believe that it will be almost impossible to prevent commercial sex activites taking place.

However, information placed before the Brothel Application Hearing on 23rd April 2010 claimed to show that there was considerably less parking available for the activity proposed on the site – Travellers Accommodation.

Evidence was presented by lawyers for Parity Place business-owners that there are only 4 carparks available as opposed to the 14 spaces required under the District Plan.

This information is materially different to the information on parking provided by the applicant in the resource consent application which was lodged in December.

I believe this disparity is more than minor and would have materially influenced the decision by the consent authority (the Council) to grant the application.

I believe that the council is now able take action under section 128(1)(c) of the Resource Management Act and review the conditions of the resource consent.

Following such a review, if the council finds that there were significant inaccuracies in the resource consent application by overstating the numbers of car parks available,and that such actvity would have more than a minor effect on the environment of Parity Place, the council should move to immediately cancel the resource consent under Section 132(3) of the RMA

I am today asking the Council to act immediately and review, and subsequently cancel, the resouce consent if the parking shortfall is a great as claimed at the Brothel Licence hearing.

Ends.

© Scoop Media