Lift the notation:Chepana Street homeowners Priscilla and Paul Flemming speak out about planning certificate notations.
CHEPANA Street homeowners believe they are being unfairly penalised in the coastal erosion wash-up.
The Lake Cathie coastal zone management plan process will include a review of the planning certificate notations which are based on hazard study reports projecting risks out to the year 2100.
A notation on planning certificates applies to 62 properties on the seaward side of Lake Cathie's Chepana Street.
Chepana Street residents Paul and Priscilla Flemming have called for the council to lift the notation now or at least bring forward the review.
A consultant's report from Worley Parsons, commissioned by residents, concluded 149 certificate notations in Chepana Street should be removed.
The council referred the Worley Parsons report to the Office of Environment and Heritage for review.
The Flemmings, who agree with climate change, believe the notation should be lifted given the expert opinion from Worley Parsons.
They say houses are just not selling or they are being sold well below the market value as a result of the notation.
Mrs Flemming said there were stories of real hardship of people whose home equity had disappeared.
Valuer-general figures for four properties on the ocean side of Chepana Street showed their unimproved capital value had dropped by 30 per cent from 2008 to 2009.
The 149 certificate notations have applied since 2008.
"The impact in that year was 30 per cent and at the same time we contacted four other property owners in Lake Cathie, but away from Chepana Street, and their values went up by 13 per cent," Mr Flemming said.
Council's development and environment director Matt Rogers said the council had an obligation to notify prospective purchasers via a planning certificate about coastal risk information which the council held.
He said the council had definitely heard homeowners' concerns and the review had been listed in the resolution but the council could not lift the notation immediately under any circumstances.
"We have a statutory and common law legal obligation that we have no option but to fulfil and it's appropriate we do so," Mr Rogers said last week.