At the planning hearing for the Okahu Bay Marina we all assumed that the marina would be used for yachts. How silly of us. A two storey office building on a pontoon is about to be floated into place.

The scheme has a great deal of merit. A commercial building can be erected without the hassle of purchasing a site. It is also possible to avoid urban design panels and other planning constraints, as is evidenced by the non-award-winning design of the building. 

Auckland City Council has in the past not been keen on house boats, but in a sustainable world this office boat could be the new green. 

Presuming that this is an indication of what will happen at Tank Farm it is a wise move indeed to send four of our City Council decision makers off to Glasgow to find out how cities in other parts of the world have prevented this kind of waterfront development from happening.
 
Tony Watkins
Karaka Bay
 
Waterfront planning cut adrift
Unpublished Letter to the Editor 8 August 2006
 

Floating an office block into the Marina was approved by the ARC without notification.

A modest increase in size was however notified.
Submissions on the latest proposal closed 2 August.
To the best of my knowledge no hearing date has yet been set.
ARC Application No, 32414 & 32413 for this round.