PAPAMOA DOG PARK STALLED INDEFINITELY BY SUBMISSION FROM ONE (1) CAT
Tauranga City Council confirms the objection was filed on lined paper with a paw print where the signature should be.
A Papamoa dog park has been shelved after Tauranga City Council received a formal objection from what appears to be a cat.
Stuff has seen the submission. One page, blue biro, signed "Mittens, ratepayer, Papamoa East." It raises concerns about noise, smell, and "the general character of the neighbourhood." It requests the matter be "paws-ed indefinitely." Council has logged it as Submission 47b.
"The submission meets the technical requirements set out in the Local Government Act."
A council spokesperson told The Daily Yarn the objection could not be dismissed just because the submitter was, per a source who spoke to Stuff on condition of anonymity, "a bloody cat." Hearings are now delayed fourteen weeks.
What we know
Mittens lives on Motiti Road. The submission was hand-delivered. Staff say the paw print is "consistent with a cat of medium build." The park was budgeted at $340,000. My late husband Gerald would have driven down and sorted it. He didn't muck about.
What we don't know
Who wrote it. Whether Mittens has standing under the RMA. Whether the delay includes a consultant, which it will, because it always does. Probably the same knob who signed off the Marshlands Road crossing my son's girlfriend keeps banging on about.
A second source, also anonymous, said council was "taking it seriously because if we don't, every budgie in the Bay lodges one." The park remains on hold. Stuff has approached Mittens for comment.
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Reader Letters
Trev_Hornby
Bloody council. Rooted priorities!
couchgremlin
I don't trust cats. They’re sneaky, and it’s no joke! I reckon Mittens is just the start of a neighborhood feline conspiracy to keep dogs out so they can rule the streets unchallenged. Call me crazy, but mark my words!
wayne1987
Mate, can someone just give the money for the park to the SPCA instead? Seems like a better use than faffing around with cat complaints.
Garry (Halswell)
My neighbour's alsatian can't wait much longer for this park. It's been too many years of promises. Back in the day, we just made a decision and stuck with it. None of this mucking about with cat's opinions... honestly.
MumOf3
@Garry you’re being ridiculous. A cat can’t just halt the project. Surely it’s more complicated than that.
tired_in_riccarton
Felines have rights too!
ropeable_dave
Enough of this shit, just build the bloody park already!
Sandra McKenzie
This is just a piss-take, isn't it? Mittens should run the bloody council at this point.
BarryBishopdale
@Sandra no one cares if a cat objects. It’s the council’s bizarre logic that’s the shitshow.
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