Development criticism unfair and innaccurate says GM

Tara Iti Golf Club general manager Matt Guzik responds to detractors of the multi-million dollar coastal development, and details how the local community is benefiting now and in the future.

By now, folks in the greater Mangawhai area have probably heard about Tara Iti Golf Club and the development now taking place at Te Arai. An article published by the Mangawhai Focus (February 17) discussed the matter of beach access along Pacific Road and, as general manager of the club, I felt the need to respond.

A petition was recently submitted to the Auckland Council’s Regulations Review Committee calling for a withdrawal of non-notified decisions and a reversal of actions the council has already undertaken, allegedly without due process and diligence.

We welcome discussions with the Council and community because process was followed, to the letter, in all matters related to the development. Public access to Te Arai Beach has never been threatened, nor will it in the future. All of the covenants we have undertaken to date have specifically preserved that access and will continue to do so indefinitely. Access will, in fact, be improved in the coming months and years.

But I do wish to respond to some erroneous assertions made in the February 17 article and elsewhere, because they simply do not represent an accurate, full or nuanced picture of the impact Tara Iti and related developments have had on this community to date – and will have going forward.

It was alleged in the article, by a spokesman for a local watch group, that “The developers have shown very little respect for the community.” Well, I disagree. We have gone above and beyond in this regard. Let me detail a bit of what I mean.

This is obviously a pretty ambitious project, but from a development-density standpoint, we have respected the community and the larger environment to the utmost. Yes, there are 46 home sites planned. But the property covers several hundred hectares, an extraordinary amount of which has been preserved, in perpetuity, as open space. In fact, as part of the consent, Te Uri o Hau and Te Arai North gave back to the council 216 hectares of land (worth millions of dollars) for a council reserve.

Public access is not under threat – it has been enhanced. The Pacific Rd easement has been widened significantly, there is now increased car parking and the new

configuration allows for safe pedestrian and equestrian use as well as vehicle access to the Pacific Road carpark. These are major traffic management improvements for the first time along the easement. An overflow carpark is a significant part of the improvements. It provides a large area for additional carparks and future Council facilities, which can include public toilets and changing facilities, as well as proper turning and parking areas for horse floats.

A spokesman for the Save Te Arai group claims the project is “for the benefit wealthy foreigners”. This is false and, sadly, xenophobic. It denigrates Te Uri o Hau when they have always been, and remain, a key partner and co-owner of the significant improvements occurring at Te Arai.

This spokesman has also criticised us for being poor neighbours. Well, this is inaccurate and hugely unfair. Let me share with you a few quick facts:

• Since our opening in October 2015, we have made more than $10 million in improvements to the club portion of this property. The local vendors with whom we are proud to do business include: Shane Cullen Contracting; Rural Design; GT Builders; Lindsay Construction; Zimmerman Jack; Orang Otang; Dave Paterson Builders; Plumbwise; Emerson Electrical; Wayne Webb Painters; Carters; Placemakers; Mangawhai Engineering; DBJ Furniture; Styleline Installationz; Mangawhai Upholstery & Blinds.

• Tara Iti Golf Club itself employees 80 men and women with a large annual payroll. We also employ some 100-plus caddies who earn a significant amount together in revenue annually. The caddie program has benefitted the participation of so many well-mannered, talented young men and women from Mangawhai and surrounding areas. And make no mistake: caddy skills are valuable transferrable skills. Just ask Steve Williams. During the off season, four Kiwi caddies, including Rueben Brown, traveled to Kingsbarns in Scotland, and this season several more will be traveling to several clubs in the US, including Colorado Golf Club and National.

• The community organisations to which Tara Iti has donated funds include: Te Arai & Mangawhai Shorebird Trust; Mangawhai Surf Club; Mangawhai Museum; Mangawhai Golf Club; Mangawhai Beach School; Mangawhai Domain; Mangawhai Activity Zone (MAZ); Mangawhai Golf Club; Mangawhai Volunteer Fire Brigade; Otamatea Hawks Rugby Club; Westpac Rescue Helicopter. We created the above-mentioned Shorebird Trust to conserve and protect fairy terns and other threatened shorebirds which nest nearby. In addition to sourcing and providing funds to protect shorebirds (some $200,000 since June of 2015), the Trust is charged with actively promoting growth in the number of all threatened shorebirds — not just the tara iti, or fairy tern, for which our club is named.

To close, please allow me a few personal remarks about our founder and the members here. We don’t discuss who the members are – we respect their privacy – but a significant percentage are Kiwis. Many hail from Mangawhai and nearby communities — and they aren’t billionaires.

Ric Kayne founded this club and yes, he is American and he and his team worked hard during their lives. They earn significant amounts, but also give back substantial sums to Te Arai annually. Ric truly loves this place. It was he who solicited the input of employees and community members around how beach access could/should be enhanced. It was he who, at no charge, offered use of his sea plane and helicopter to search for the local fisherman lost at sea earlier last month. It was he who has continually urged our members and guests to frequent local galleries, wineries, restaurants and farmers’ markets (something they do all the time).

We have our detractors, apparently, but we think we’re pretty good neighbours on the whole. That’s been our goal from the start, along with playing by the rules every step of the way. That will never change.

“It was alleged in the article, by a spokesman for a local watch group, that “The developers have shown very little respect for the community.” Well, I disagree. We have gone above and beyond in this regard.”

-- Matt Guzik