|
Parks,
Recreation and Sport Committee
07 October
2014
|
|
Local Parks
Acquisition Programme
File No.: CP2014/15281
Purpose
1. To update the Parks, Recreation
and Sport Committee on issues regarding budget availability for the approved
local parks acquisition programme.
Executive
summary
2. Council has an approved programme of land acquisitions to enhance
Auckland’s local park network. However, council’s
approved open space acquisitions have now exceeded the existing
local parks land acquisition budget by $8.6 million in the 2016/2017 financial year. The council is in the process of developing the 2015-2025 Long-term
Plan (LTP) and new funding levels for land acquisition will be developed as
part of this process.
3. As a result of
the current budgets and uncertainty around the Long-term Plan funding levels,
council is currently unable to approve any additional
open space acquisitions where the costs would fall in 2016/2017,
unless it releases currently allocated budget by deferring or withdrawing from
previously approved acquisitions, or approves additional budget.
4. A large number of high priority local park acquisition opportunities
are expected to arise over the next few years, as new greenfield developments
are delivered via Special Housing Areas (SHA’s) and other subdivisions. Staff
believe the land acquisition opportunities in these areas would offer high
value additions to the local park network and would provide critical
infrastructure to support our growing population. Staff
are intending to report seeking approval to acquire land in a number of SHAs
over the next few months.
5. On 5-7 November the Budget Committee will agree proposed budget
levels to be consulted on for the Long-term Plan 2015-2025. Final decisions
will be made in June 2015.
6. To address the current gap between budget availability and the need
to purchase essential park land in high priority areas, staff propose that the
council temporarily adopts a position where authority is given to enter into
agreements to commit spending up to the level of the proposed LTP land
acquisition budgets.
|
Recommendations
That the Parks, Recreation and
Sport Committee:
a) note
that based on the current approved local parks acquisition programme there is
a projected budgetary overspend of $8,556,000 in the
2016/2017 financial year
b) note that staff will report a
number of approved but uncommitted acquisitions for reconsideration, in order
to ensure that only the highest priority acquisitions are included in the
programme
c) recommend
to the Budget Committee that temporary
approval is granted to commit spend up to the level of the proposed Long-term
Plan land acquisition budget to enable the delivery of the approved
local parks acquisition programme and to allow agreements with developers to
be signed which forecast a settlement in future financial
years.
|
Comments
7. Council’s approved local park
acquisition programme includes some 64 approved acquisitions, with a total
forecasted spend of $113 million over the remainder of the current LTP period
(2014/2015 – 2021/2022). The budget available for the
local park acquisition programme over the 2012 LTP period is $381 million, with
the current approved acquisition programme already allocating 30% of the total
budget.
8. Budget provision for local park
acquisitions within the 2012 LTP is not evenly distributed across the financial
years, with a relatively low level of budget provision in the 2014/2015 – 2016/2017
financial years and more substantial budget provision across the later years.
Table 1 and Figure 1 below illustrate the current budget provision alongside
approved and committed acquisitions. This information reflects
the best estimate of commitments as at 8 September 2014.
9. Table 1 – Local
park acquisition budget (2012 LTP) and approved programme
|
|
14/15 $000's
|
15/16 $000's
|
16/17 $000's
|
17/18 $000's
|
18/19 $000's
|
19/20 $000's
|
20/21 $000's
|
21/22 $000's
|
9yr Total
$000’s
|
|
TOTAL BUDGET
|
21,473
|
35,098
|
7,884
|
63,002
|
72,606
|
62,587
|
60,892
|
57,653
|
381,195
|
|
TOTAL FORECAST
|
24,037
|
25,342
|
16,443
|
15,680
|
9,464
|
8,169
|
10,549
|
3,425
|
113,109
|
|
Committed Spend Portion
|
21,661
|
14,072
|
5,677
|
5,589
|
6,114
|
4,169
|
10,549
|
3,425
|
71,256
|
|
Not Committed Spend Portion
|
2,376
|
11,270
|
10,766
|
10,091
|
3,350
|
4,000
|
-
|
-
|
41,853
|
|
BALANCE (Budget-Forecast)
|
-2,564
|
9,756
|
-8,559
|
47,322
|
63,142
|
54,418
|
50,343
|
54,228
|
268,086
|
10. The table
above illustrates that the forecasted spend against council’s local parks
acquisition budget has now exceeded the budget provision in the 2016/2017 financial year, with a forecasted overspend of $8,559,000.
11. Budget provision
for local park acquisition from the 2015/2016 financial year is subject to the
Long-term Plan 2015-2025 process which will not conclude until June 2015.
12. As a result, the Parks Recreation
and Sport Committee is unable to approve any additional open space acquisitions
where the costs would fall in 2016/2017, unless it
releases allocated budget by deferring or withdrawing from approved
acquisitions, or approves additional budget.
13. It is important to note that the
approved and committed spend indicated in Table 1 only
includes the acquisitions that have been previously approved. This figure does
not indicate the level of spend actually anticipated, as we expect additional
acquisitions will be approved as opportunities arise over time.
14. To
address the projected budget deficit under the existing
Long-term Plan, this report recommends reconsidering a number of
approved but uncommitted acquisitions and granting approval to
commit to acquisitions up to the level included in the proposed LTP.
Reconsideration of approved
acquisitions
15. Council is legally committed
through sale and purchase agreements, private developer agreements, and
approved resource consents to proceed with most approved acquisitions. However,
there are 24 approved but currently uncommitted acquisitions where council has
the discretion to defer or withdraw from acquiring the land.
16. Attachment A provides a summary
of these approved but uncommitted acquisitions. In order to ensure that only
the highest priority acquisitions are included in the approved
programme, staff recommend the following actions:
· Withdraw
from 1 acquisition (report is included separately on this agenda)
· Report
9 approved acquisitions for reconsideration
· Continue
to seek settlement for the remaining 14 approved acquisitions.
17. There are two primary
reasons for reporting previously approved acquisitions for reconsideration.
First, a few of the approved acquisitions are subject to protracted
negotiations with owners who have high expectations of value, and where
negotiated agreement is unlikely. Second, several approved acquisitions stem
from legacy council approvals and have not been assessed against the Parks and
Open Space Acquisition Policy to determine their relative priority. Staff
propose reassessing these acquisitions against the
acquisition policy and reporting them for reconsideration to determine whether
or not to proceed.
Additional Budget Provision
18. The issue of
insufficient budget was considered by the Strategy and Finance Committee in
February 2013 and addressed in the short term by bringing budget forward from
the outer years to the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 years. This was done as part of
the 2013/2014 Annual Plan process. This did not address the budget provision in
the 2016/2017 year, which is now an issue.
19. It is important
to note that the problem is not about having budget available to settle
acquisitions this year. We believe that we have adequate budget provision to
meet this year’s commitments. Instead, it is about having budget available in
future years to allow council to enter into agreements to secure open space
within subdivisions and SHA areas that are going through the regulatory process
now and are not likely to settle until 2016/2017.
Future Priorities and
Opportunities
20. Approval to
commit above the current budget level is important to enable the
delivery of a number of strategic land acquisitions that are expected to arise
over the short-medium term. These acquisitions are in relation to Special
Housing Areas (SHAs) and other high priority greenfield developments. Staff believe these acquisitions would provide essential open space
infrastructure to support our growing population.
21. Staff have begun to quantify the scale of land
acquisitions required to deliver open space in the first tranche of SHAs. We
expect that roughly 27.5 ha of open space will be required, and will cost
approximately $55-80 million (at $2m-$3m / ha) over the next 5-10 years. Timing
and quantum of these acquisitions is difficult to predict at this stage, but
would likely begin to settle from 2016 onwards, and will most likely require
$15m per annum. Staff are intending to report seeking
approval to acquire land in a number of SHAs over the next few months.
22. Planning for the second tranche of SHAs is not
as advanced and we are less certain of potential land acquisition requirements.
At this point in time we estimate that we will need 28.5 ha of open space,
totaling approximately $57-85 million (at $2m-$3m / ha), in addition to the
amount above.
23. It is important
to note that these predictions do not include all of the SHA or greenfield
areas that are being progressed; these are just the ones that staff have been
actively involved in at this point in time. There are a number of other SHAs
and new greenfield developments that will also have significant open space land
requirements, which are not contemplated in this report.
Local
board views and implications
24. Local board views with respect to
parks and open space land acquisition budget provision have not been sought.
25. Consultation with local boards
regarding a range of open space acquisition issues was undertaken through a
programme of workshops being held during late January and February 2013. These
workshops included discussion with the relevant local boards with regard to
currently approved acquisitions and the issues and implications of deferring
specific acquisitions.
26. Local
board views with regard to the proposed reconsideration of a number of approved
acquisitions were not available at the time of writing this report, but will be
sought and included in any future reports which are brought to the committee
regarding those specific properties.
27. Local
board views with regard to any potential park land acquisitions will be sought
and included in future reports. It is noted that there is currently no
consequential OPEX for new park land, and that this issue will be resolved in
the 2015 LTP.
Maori
impact statement
28. The significance of open spaces
to Maori is recognised through the Auckland Plan and through council’s proposed
open space policy framework. This will guide the future development and
management of Auckland’s open space network, including acquisitions.
29. Acquisition of land by council
provides a potential mechanism for the long term protection and appropriate
management of specific sites of value to Maori, and the continued enhancement
of the open space network through appropriate open space acquisition will
enable the delivery of a principles and strategic directions of the Auckland
Plan.
30. Consultation has been undertaken with
iwi on the draft Open Space Strategic Action Plan and draft Acquisitions
Policy.
31. It is not considered that the
budgetary adjustments proposed in this report will have any specific impact on
Maori.
32. Regarding the
wider acquisitions programme, in August 2014 the Parks Recreation and Sport
Committee passed a resolution (PAR/2014/57)
requesting that staff “engage with mana whenua on a
minimum bi-annual basis to identify any specific aspirations or issues relating
to the open space acquisition programme.” Staff have not yet completed this
engagement with mana whenua, but will report back to this committee with
findings once feedback has been received.
Implementation
33. There are no implementation issues arising from this report.
Attachments
|
No.
|
Title
|
Page
|
|
aView
|
Approved but Uncommitted Acquisitions -
CONFIDENTIAL
|
9
|
Signatories
|
Authors
|
Allison Rokke - Policy Analyst
|
|
Authorisers
|
Penny Pirrit - Regional & Local Planning Manager
Ian Maxwell - Manager Parks, Sports & Recreation
|
