The owner of a fake tiny home, which had upset some residents, is appealing a council ruling that the shipping container on his land is a building and must be removed.
Hamilton City Council issued Dave Yzendoorn, who owns the quirky-shaped section on Petersburg Drive in Flagstaff, with an abatement notice for the fake tiny home at the start of September and gave him two weeks to move it or face further enforcement action.
Instead of moving the Cosco container by last Friday’s deadline, Yzendoorn responded by filing an appeal against the abatement notice with the Environment Court.
He also applied for a stay on the abatement notice with the Environment Court, which would mean the shipping container remains on the site until the court has made a ruling.
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Yzendoorn and the council have been locking horns over the structure since it arrived in June and several Flagstaff residents complained thereafter.
Read more:
- Complaints fly over 'fake' container house in wealthy Hamilton suburb
- ‘Fake’ container house in wealthy suburb must go as owner loses battle
- Hamilton’s ‘fake’ tiny house: Illegal eyesore or work of art?
The council then took two and a half months to investigate and issued a ruling – just days after OneRoof questioned why the decision was taking so long – that it was a building and therefore non-compliant.
Yzendoorn claimed the container, which was decorated to look like a tiny house with a door and window frames, was public art and allowed in the natural open space zone according to district plan rules, while the council argued it was a building and needed to go.
A council spokesperson confirmed that the appeal had been lodged on September 22, but was unable to comment further because it was now before the Environment Court.
Yzendoorn has been involved in a five-year battle with the council over what he can put on the section after it was rezoned from residential to natural open space, which required resource consent to build on it.
He first put in an application for a resource consent to build a duplex in August 2020, which four neighbours objected to.
The container on Petersburg Drive has been staged to look like a tiny home. Photo / Nikki Preston
His application was set to be heard by an independent commission first in February this year and then August, but both were delayed. It was finally due to be heard this week, but has been pushed back again.
Council planning and guidance manager Grant Kettle said the hearing was delayed at the request of the application and will now be heard on November 16.
Earlier this month Kettle said the reason for the length of time between the original application, submissions and hearing dates was due to a lack of information and relevant assessments provided by the applicant to support the initial application and redesign.
Yzendoorn declined to comment when contacted this week, but earlier told OneRoof he felt like they were stuck in a washing machine going round and round.
“To be honest we are very much over the resource consent for this property. People I have talked to say it must be one of the most scrutinised resource consents ever,” he said.
“Basically, we feel they are trying to box us into not being able to use our land in any way, shape or form. The real thing we want to do is build an attractive duplex home on land we own.”
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