Land categories are about to be a thing of the past as the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council updates its hazard portal. Photo: Hawke's Bay Today via LDR
Controversial land categorisation labels placed over thousands of Hawke's Bay properties after Cyclone Gabrielle are set to be phased out.
It means that Category 3 land, otherwise known as the red zone, will no longer be classified in this way by Hawke's Bay Regional Council after its flood hazard maps are upgraded.
It will then be up to territorial authorities - most of the Category 3 land sits inside the remit of Hastings District Council - as to what is allowed to happen to the flood prone land in future.
Council Chair Sophie Siers said on Wednesday the decisions reflected progress the region had made since Cyclone Gabrielle, while continuing with long-term recovery and resilience work.
"This was the next stage in restoring Hawke's Bay," Siers said.
"It's a signal our region was moving forward with better information, stronger protections, and a shared commitment to reduce risk for our communities."
Following the cyclone, almost 3000 properties across Hawke's Bay were put into categories 1 (the green zone), 2 (the zone of uncertainty) and 3 (the red zone).
Category 3 homes were in areas deemed unsafe to live in due to flood risks. Owners of properties on this land, largely around the hard-hit communities of Esk Valley and Pākōwhai, were offered buyouts.
Category 2 included sub-categories and was for properties that would eventually be moved into either Category 1 or 3.
Category 2C was for properties close to being placed back into Category 1, but meant improved or repaired flood protection was needed, such as stopbanks. Category 2A meant there was more work required to determine which category those properties would land in.
Category 2P was for properties where there were no plausible, significant, community-based interventions available, but property owners might be able to stay if they raised their homes or put in retaining walls.
Category 1, which was applied to properties assessed as not facing intolerable risk to life, will now be gone in December.
While notes would remain on property files and Land Information Memorandums (LIM), the category system would eventually be obsolete, Hawke's Bay Regional Council said.
A council spokesperson said Category 3 maps, which currently reflect the best post-Gabrielle modelling, will be phased out once updated flood hazard modelling is fully integrated into district plans and the Council's hazard portal.
That would mean the land categorisation framework would no longer apply to properties previously identified as Category 3.
Work also continues on the more than 100 properties in Category 2C.
At its meeting on Wednesday, the council confirmed it would continue rolling out five community-level flood-mitigation projects in Category 2C areas, including Omāhu, Whirinaki, Pākōwhai, Pōrangahau, and Wairoa.
Once completed, these areas would move to Category 1, and that category would in turn be discontinued.
The council said it had prioritised modelling in areas where flood mitigation was not possible and where the risk to life was greatest, such as the Esk River and Te Ngarue Stream.
Siers said the land categorisation system had always been a tool for recovery, not a permanent feature.
"As new flood modelling becomes available and new infrastructure is built, we will keep improving our flood information, planning functions and strengthening resilience for our communities."
Councillor and former regional council chair Hinewai Ormsby, who lost her home in the cyclone, acknowledged the team for its hard and swift work.
"We are coming to the end of this process, almost, and I think it has been incredible how we have been able to work as a region and bring certainty to our communities," Ormsby said.
Earlier this year, landowners in Pākōwhai claimed their properties, parts of which encroached on the edge of the red zone, were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars less; yet, after losing everything, their rates remained the same as before the cyclone.
Roughly $100m of ratepayer and taxpayer money was used to fund the Category 3 voluntary buyout of properties, relocation grants and the demolition of flood-affected homes.
The council said it will be informing affected landowners.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
