HIGH RATES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26199, 9 July 1946, Page 8

HIGH RATES

URBAN FARM LANDS PETITION FOR TRANSFER A Commission of .Inquiry sat at Mosgiel yesterday for the purpose of hearing evidence in a case in which three petitioners, whose farm properties are at present rated on the Borough of Mosgiel unimproved value system sought to have their land brought under the control of the Taieri County Council. The commission comprised Messrs A. E. Dobbie, S.M. (chairman), W. E. Shaw (commissioner of Crown lands) and J. Wilson (chief Government valuer). Mr N. W. Allan appeared in support of the petitioners, and Mr E. J. Anderson, associated with whom was Mr R. L. Fairmaid, for the Mosgiel Borough Council, an objecting party to the petition. After the submissions of counsel for the petitioners and evidence in support of their case had been heard, the sitting was adjourned until this morning. The petitioners were James Brown, William James Reid and Elizabeth A. Wilkins.

The proceedings were brought under the appropriate clause in the Municipal Corporations Act, said Mr Allan, and it was obvious that the boundaries of land under the control of local bodies could not always remain static. The Act provided for the alteration of boundaries from time to time and for the lodging of petitions. He submitted that in the case under consideration the farm lands owned by the three petitioners could be more suitably under the control of the County Council than under the Borough Council as they were at present.

Increasing Rates

The Borough of Mosgiel occupied a small corner of the Taieri Plains, said counsel. The property belonging to the petitioners was originally farm land, and would in all probability remain farm land. The borough valuation was originally rated on the capital value, but in 1911 a poll held to consider the unimproved system was carried. The effect of the unimproved system was to throw a heavy burden on the farmer ratepayers, who were in the minority in the borough and were paying heavy rates to the advantage of the other ratepayers. The Urban Farm Lands Act provided for reduced valuations of certain lands within the borough. In practice, however, this Act failed to give the farmer relief, and the rates still remained far above those which the ratepayers under county control were paying; Mr Allan illustrated by figures the increases which had gradually, taken place in the rating of Mosgiel urban farmers. In 1941-42, he said, the unimproved value of Reid's property of 119 acres was £2425, which was reduced to £l2lO on- the special fating of urban value. His rates amounted to £lO4. In the following year the rates increased to £ll6 15s, and last year they had advanced to £126. A new farm lands roll had been introduced last year, and a reduction had been made from £l2lO to £B3O It was considered by thesg urban farmer ratepayers, however, that the rates would again mount rapidly. Counsel explained that a further difficulty presented itself, in that the Borough Council was contemplating an extensive new works programme, and the money to be raised for loans would become a charge on all lands in the borough. Few Benefits Received

Counsel proceeded to deal with the grounds on which the petitions were

based. First, he' said, the persons -con-*v cerned did not derive any material advantage from being in the borough, the rates were out of proportion to any benefits they might derive from their inclusion in the borough, and the lands in ouestion would not be required velopment purposes. The- Taieri County,.;. Council rates were struck on the . capital value. The county rates were 13d in the £, which for a farm the size of Reid’s, would make a rate of £24 15s— under a fifth of that paid to the Borough Council. ( The average householder in Mosgiel paid £lO in rates, he added, and enjoyed the full amenities. Mr Allan submitted that the fundamental question for the Commission to decide was whether the petitioners’ lands were v necessary for the development of the borough. Being farm lands, these areas should be' excluded from the borough k unless they were definitely required for building purposes. The increase In the .t: population of Mosgiel Ifad been slow over • past years, and few building permits were - issued in the course of a year. There was ';* vacant land in the borough, much more suitable for development than that owned ■ - by the petitioners. Evidence in support of counsel’s sub-, missions was given by William James Reid and James Brown, and by Henry Louis Paterson, ‘ a registered surveyor arid civil engineer, who said that, in his opinion, the land should be' rated on county stand- . ards. There was no demand for lowlying land such as that owned by Reid, and the proximity of the airport meant little to property-seekers. Borough’s Objections The main clauses in the objection lodged to the petition by the Mayor (Mr W. P. Hartstonge) on behalf of the Mosgiel Borough Council are as follows;—(1) That -- the land described in the petition had been included in the- borough since its incorporation, and that it comprised land' suitable for subdivision and building, irrespective of its present use. (2)' It could not be classified as lying in an .un- ... popular locality because it was contiguous - to the land occupied by the Mosgiel Woollen Factory, and there were numerous residences close by. (3) That the borough was expanding, and would continue to do so from a building and residential point of view because of the natural facilities and of the proximity of .the 1. \ Otago airport. (4) By reason of the expansion, building sites in the eaflier ; subdivision were becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, and the keen demand for sites in Mosgiel could only be met by further subdivision of land. (5) Industrial concerns were interested in sites in the borough for the erection of works. (6) The allegation that the area of land in question could not be subdivided was not well founded, as the surface of the • • land was level. (7) There were borough . amenities from which the petitioners were receiving benefit. (8) The complaints on the question of rating could be more properly dealt with by application to the appeal court of the Urban Farm Lands Act instead of by exclusion of the land from the borough. The urban farm land roll had recently been revised by the Borough Council, and the rateable value of the land had been considerably reduced. (9) Other borough ratepayers in a similar position to the petitioners had not made representations. If the petition were granted, a difficult position would be created in the borough, which, in spite of the war, had expanded substantially during the past six years, and would undoubtedly expand in the future. Already a considerable number of city work- - ers resided in Mosgiel, and the borough area had assumed a suburban character. (10) If the petition was granted an additional burden of rates would be thrown on the other ratepayers.