Tauranga City Council says pamphlets circulating about a proposed plan change relating to flooding from intense rainfall are making inaccurate claims and are considered 'scaremongering”.

The pamphlets have been distributed to properties in areas that may have a potential future flood risk.

Proposed Plan Change 27, which refers to flooding from intense rainfall events, introduces a new rule framework to manage the effects of flooding in intense rainfall events on people, properties and infrastructure.

Last month council sent letters to property owners about the proposed plan change which caused confusion for some residents, not long after the pamphlets were circulated.

Council city planning team leader Janine Speedy says the pamphlets are 'scaremongering” and encourages anyone who has received a copy to contact the council to get a true picture of what the proposed plan change means for their property.

Some claims made in the pamphlet are that the new rules will significantly reduce the value of people's home, prevent people from doing building work on their property, give council rights to use people's property without asking and increase people's insurance costs.

'The pamphlet makes a number of claims that are simply untrue and it's important that people understand that,” says Speedy.

Some of the key points council want people to know who have received the pamphlet are:

• The intent of the proposed plan change is to protect people's lives and property.
• Minor alterations and works, such as a 20m² addition to a house or small shed, on an existing property will not need a resource consent. An example of where a resource consent maybe required is for a new solid fence that would restrict an overland flowpath, which could cause flooding effects on neighbouring properties
• The proposed change covers subdivision, land use and development. It does not give the council the right to use any property without prior consent; and it does not allow the council to create an easement on an existing property.
• Council has been releasing hazards information relating to flooding, inundation and erosion since 2014. There's no indication that any of the previous notifications have affected overall property values. Insurance costs would need to be discussed with insurers, noting that any new notifications relate to a 1-in-100-year storm event, and allow for future climate change and sea level rise.

Council invites anyone who is worried about the situation to contact them and arrange a one-on-one meeting or phone conversation to work through the issues, says Janine.

To date, council have spoken with more than 1000 residents at public information open days and had more than 220 one-on-one appointments to discuss the detail of the proposed plan change as it relates to particular properties.

'In most cases, I think people appreciated having a better understanding of what the proposal is seeking to achieve and what it means for them.”

Janine says the continuous updating of flooding information, including the rules proposed by plan change 27, is part of council's wider programme of understanding and living with natural hazards.

It is a function the council is required to undertake and is work that should be done to ensure that the city is resilient to natural hazards, she says.

People are able to make a submission about the plan change or seek a review of the flooding risk assessment for their property.

The deadline for submissions to the plan change has also been extended to February 1 from December 18 to give people more time to make submissions.

For more information call council on 07 577 7000 or visit the website.