Twelve buildings in the Ōtaki district are among 22 on the Kāpiti Coast that have been listed in an updated national earthquake building register.

Three of the 12 are owned by Kāpiti Coast District Council: the Ōtaki Museum building, the beach pavilion and the Memorial Hall. In 2018 the council agreed to remediate all its higher use buildings within eight years – the museum building and the beach pavilion were to be looked at later.

The other nine buildings in Ōtaki are owned privately, or owned through a trust or other entity (see list below right). None of them is considered to require urgent action. The owners have 15 years (until 2033/34) to provide further seismic assessment evidence or to undertake remediation work.

KCDC completed its assessment of buildings in November 2018 and at the time identified 28 buildings of concern on the Kāpiti Coast. The owners had 12 months to provide evidence to the contrary, before a formal notice was issued under the Building Act. As of April 2021, that number had come down to 22, with 12 in Ōtaki.

A national system for managing earthquake-prone buildings in New Zealand came into effect in 2017. Councils were tasked then with determining which buildings in their districts were earthquake prone using a set methodology.

A building, or part of a building, is technically considered earthquake prone “if it will have its ultimate capacity exceeded in a moderate earthquake, and if it were to collapse, would be likely to cause harm to people or property”. Earthquake-prone buildings aren’t automatically classified as dangerous buildings under the Building Act, but must have a notice on the outside to alert visitors to the risk.

Earthquake-prone Ōtaki buildings:

• Beach Pavilion, Marine Parade
• Memorial Hall, Main St
• Ōtaki Museum, Main St
• All Saints’ Church, Te Rauparaha St
• Senior Citizens Hall, Rangatira St
• 1 Main St (Asian Takeaways)
• 14 and 16 Titoki St
• 84 Aotaki St
• 9 Rimu St
• Te Horo Hall, School Rd
• 3-11 Te Horo Beach Rd
• 701 SH1, Te Horo (Makahuri)