Hawke's Bay's Esk Valley following Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: RNZ/ Nick Monro
Owners of Hawke's Bay homes deemed too unsafe to live in after Cyclone Gabrielle are one step closer to a buyout offer.
In separate meetings on Thursday, both Hastings District Council and Napier City Council approved changes to their long-term plans, which would allow buyouts of Category 3 homes to take place.
The councils are now close to accepting the government's funding package, which was offered to the region as a whole - including Wairoa District Council, Central Hawke's Bay District Council and the Hawke's Bay Regional Council.
The package included a deal to go halves on buyout costs, as well as stumping up cash for flood protection and roading repairs.
It was previously accepted in principle, pending the long-term plan amendment process for the two councils - Hastings and Napier - with Category 3 homes in their boundaries.
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the decision was huge for impacted communities.
"We know that a lot of them are waiting patiently for this very important day, and this is a critical step. This is really, really important for some of our people who are really suffering out there, needing some certainty on their futures."
Napier mayor Kirsten Wise shared a similar sentiment.
"This is a vital step forward to enable those parts of our community who have been severely impacted by the cyclone to start making decisions about what is best for them and how they can start moving on with their lives."
Napier mayor Kirsten Wise. Photo: RNZ / Tom Kitchin
The next step was approving the process for the buyouts.
Hastings District Council discussed its policy later in a public-excluded session.
But marketing and communications manager Naomi Fergusson told the meeting if it was approved on Thursday, Category 3 homeowners would be emailed information about the policy on Friday, and receive phone calls next week to gather their feedback.
Then all five councils could sign on the dotted line with the government.
Hastings and Napier were also waiting for the regional council to make a final call on which homes were in which category - which should be done by the end of September.
Communities upset government has forced their hand
Both Napier and Hastings councils consulted the public on the long-term plan change.
Hastings District Council chief executive Nigel Bickle told the meeting while most were in favour, many were disappointed with the government's all-or-nothing offer.
All Hawke's Bay's councils must agree to it - and there was no room for negotiation around the splitting of costs.
"Some pretty strong themes that came through around the nature of the take-it-or-leave-it offer, you know, the Crown only willing to offer 50 percent and expect the community to pick up the other 50 percent," Bickle said.
But he said the buyout part of the deal would not impact on rates, because the $50 million the council had to put in would be offset by another part of the deal - the government's contribution to transport funding, which was $50m above the standard funding the council gets.
Hastings District Council's Nigel Bickle. Photo: RNZ / Tom Kitchin
"The nature of what we've proposed to do and the agreement with the Crown sees that particular class of activity as rating neutral."
But, Bickle indicated the community would still likely face a series of big rate hikes to fund other significant recovery activities.
Meeting agenda documents showed 45 percent of those who provided feedback were in support with that point noted, 15 percent objected due to concerns around ratepayers' ability to fund their share, and another 15 percent were against because they thought the government should cover more, or all, of the costs.
The remainder gave feedback or asked questions on a range of matters related to the cyclone recovery, but not directly tied to the long-term plan amendment.
In Napier, 81 percent supported the amendment and 18 percent disagreed - but 23 percent of respondents also raised concerns about the financial burden on ratepayers.
The specifics of how councils would fund their share of the costs would be decided during the 2024-34 long-term plan process.