Agenda of Albert-Eden Local Board

1 Welcome

2 Apologies

At the close of the agenda no apologies had been received.

3 Declaration of Interest

Members are reminded of the need to be vigilant to stand aside from decision making when a conflict arises between their role as a member and any private or other external interest they might have.

4 Confirmation of Minutes

That the Albert-Eden Local Board:

a) confirms the minutes of its extraordinary meeting, held on Wednesday, 15 October 2014, as a true and correct record.

5 Leave of Absence

At the close of the agenda no requests for leave of absence had been received.

6 Acknowledgements

At the close of the agenda no requests for acknowledgements had been received.

7 Petitions

7.1 Taylors Road Petition

Executive summary

1. Heidi Salter, CRS Music Management, will be in attendance to present to the Board a petition from local businesses in Morningside.

Recommendation/s

That the Albert-Eden Local Board:

a) thanks Heidi Salter, CRS Music Management, for her attendance and presentation.

8 Deputations

Standing Order 3.20 provides for deputations. Those applying for deputations are required to give seven working days’ notice of subject matter and applications are approved by the Chairperson of the Board. This means that details relating to deputations can be included in the published agenda. Total speaking time per deputation is ten minutes or as resolved by the meeting.

At the close of the agenda no requests to speak had been received.

At the close of the agenda no requests for deputations had been received.

9 Public Forum

A period of time (approximately 30 minutes) is set aside for members of the public to address the meeting on matters within its delegated authority. A maximum of 3 minutes per item is allowed, following which there may be questions from members.

At the close of the agenda no requests for public forum had been received.

10 Extraordinary Business

Section 46A(7) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended) states:

“An item that is not on the agenda for a meeting may be dealt with at that meeting if-

(a) The local authority by resolution so decides; and

(b) The presiding member explains at the meeting, at a time when it is open to the public,-

(i) The reason why the item is not on the agenda; and

(ii) The reason why the discussion of the item cannot be delayed until a subsequent meeting.”

Section 46A(7A) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended) states:

“Where an item is not on the agenda for a meeting,-

(a) That item may be discussed at that meeting if-

(i) That item is a minor matter relating to the general business of the local authority; and

(ii) the presiding member explains at the beginning of the meeting, at a time when it is open to the public, that the item will be discussed at the meeting; but

(b) no resolution, decision or recommendation may be made in respect of that item except to refer that item to a subsequent meeting of the local authority for further discussion.”

11 Notices of Motion

11.1 Notice of Motion - Dominion Road-New North Road Intersection Proposal

In accordance with Standing Order 3.11.1, the following Notice of Motion has been received from Member Graeme Easte for inclusion on the agenda for the Albert-Eden Local Board meeting being held on day, Wednesday, 5 November 2014:

Recommendation/s

That the Albert-Eden Local Board:

a) receives the Notice of Motion – Dominion Road – New North Road Intersection Proposal.

b) notes that:

· The existing grade-separated intersection of Dominion Road and New North Road is redundant as it was designed as an interchange for a long cancelled motorway.

· Suggestions have been made that the bleak environment of the existing structure should be replaced with a more human-scale and pedestrian-friendly design.

· The existing structure with its sweeping ramps at each corner occupies at least two hectares more land than would be required for a conventional at-grade intersection.

· Adjoining commercial properties have current land valuations in the range of $948 to $1,781 per square metre so this land is conservatively worth at least $20 million and probably substantially more.

· Dominion Road has an existing grade-separated crossing of the North Western Railway line – unlike Porters Avenue some 200 metres East of Dominion Road and George Street 200 metres to the West, which both have level crossings.

· The Porters Avenue level crossing needs to be resolved soon by closure or grade-separation as the CRL project requires the existing two lines at this point to become four, significantly increasing the risk of accidents for motorists and pedestrians.

· Grade separation of the Porters Avenue crossing would require a bridge six metres above the tracks with aproach ramps some 80 metres long to the North and South, flanked by slip lanes serving properties that would otherwise lose their road access and become land-locked.

· Although an optimistic 2004 report suggested that this might be achieved for as little as $3.28 million, more recent investigations suggest a range of the order of $15-20 million including land purchase as well as construction costs.

· In addition to the potential income from sale of surplus land there is an opportunity to divert the substantial funding otherwise required for grade separation of the Porters Avenue level-crossing to fund demolition of the Dominion Road-New North Road interchange and its replacement with a signalised at-grade intersection.

c) requests Auckland Transport to investigate the feasibility of replacing the grade-separated intersection of Dominion Road and New North Road with a signalised at-grade intersection.

d) should this proposal be progressed, the Board requests Auckland Transport to collaborate with other parts of the Council organisation, including the two affected Local Boards, Planners and Parks officers, to ensure that adjoining land no longer needed for roads is appropriately developed, including consideration of amenity and park uses.

e) draws this proposal to the attention of the Waitemata Local Board and Ludo Campbell-Reid, Auckland Council’s Urban Design Champion.

Background

The Dominion Road interchange was built in 1967-68 by Auckland City Council in anticipation of the then proposed Dominion Road motorway which would have been an eight (sic) lane motorway running parallel to Dominion Road from Newton Gully to Mount Roskill. What is now Ian McKinnon Drive was intended as a temporary link road but has now become a permanent fixture.

Although the interchange allows free flowing vehicular traffic it is not a very pleasant environment for pedestrians and cyclists and in any case does not cater for all movements – the link between Dominion Road from the South and New North Road West of the intersection is via George Street. Because of its larger than necessary footprint, the interchange forms a significant disjunction hundreds of metres in extent between communities and activities on opposite sides, whereas a conventional intersection, even a very busy one, is only 20-30 metres wide. In 2005-06 Montreal spent $27 million removing a similar but more elaborate monstrosity (at Parc et Avenue des Pins) and replacing it with a light controlled cross road intersection, specifically to create a more humane environment.

From time to time some have floated the idea of deconstructing the interchange and creating an at-grade intersection. One of the best discussions was a post by Joshua Arbury on the Transport Blog in August 2011 which sparked a lively debate between supporters, opponents and a few in the middle suggesting a compromise solution. But most agreed that the interchange should go on a serious diet, removing the curving ramps to reduce the footprint, and improving the environment for pedestrians.

Some assume that the gradient in New North Road would be too steep but this is not true as a brief study of the local contours confirms. The distance between Porters Avenue (69 metres above sea level) and Ace Place (60 metres asl) is about 280 metres so the average gradient would be 1 in 31 or 3.2%. Because of the height of the bridge over the rail line, Dominion Road would probably be retained at about 65 metres asl where it crosses over New North Road causing the gradient to vary between 1 in 40 on the East side and 1 in 20 on the West, but even the steeper grade compares favourably with the existing moderately steep climb from the trench up to Porters Avenue which is up to 1 in 14 or 7%.

The attached Base map shows adjoining or nearby properties as follows:

South West quadrant: 1.378 Ha in total – mix of PAUP Zones: mixed use and unzoned (road)

A1 – 8,289 m2 - Council owned, includes the western end of the Ian McKinnon Drive to New North Road link, supporting columns for the viaduct linking Dominion Road to New North Road, and Ace Place; extensive surplus land is mainly grassed with some amenity planting

A2 – 2,988 m2 – units 1-4/322 New North Road – private land on 4 titles (warehousing, offices, trade sales)

A3 – 685 m2 – 310 New North Road – private land (auto repairs and servicing)

A4 – 1,819 m2 – 4-8 Ace Place – private land on 2 titles – (bathroom supply and showrooms).

South East quadrant: 1.819 Ha in total – mix of PAUP Zones: open space, light industrial and unzoned (road)

B1 – 3,734 m2 - Council owned, includes part of the Ian McKinnon Drive to New North Road link and the New North Road to Dominion Road link plus a supporting battered slope (grassed) and a walkway link to an underpass tunnel next to the railway

B2 – 1,507 m2 – Council owned – New North Road to Dominion Road link & footpath, minor amenity planting

B3 – 12,949 m2 – 1, 1A & 3 Porters Avenue – private land on multiple titles – (offices, warehouses, light manufacturing and self storage units).

North East quadrant: 7.160 Ha – mix of PAUP Zones: open space, mixed use and unzoned (walkway)

C – 7,160 m2 - Council owned, includes east end of Dominion Road to New North Road viaduct plus the Ian McKinnon Drive to New North Road link and the walkway from the Aitken Terrace/Bright Street tunnel; the balance of this rolling site is grassed with some amenity planting.

North West quadrant: 0.634 Ha – mix of PAUP Zones: open space and unzoned (road)

D1 – 3,790 m2 - Council owned, mainly New North Road to Ian McKinnon Drive link with some amenity planting

D2 – 2,552 m2 - Council owned, Ian McKinnon Drive Reserve, fairly steep slope from In McKinnon Drive frontage down to Bright Street.

Some private sites are included as it would be difficult to achieve a comprehensive and co-ordinated development of the Council owned land in isolation (eg. Sites A3 and A4 are completely surrounded by Site A1, and Site B2 is a long narrow strip running along one side of Site B3). In the North East quadrant most of the land is zoned for open space use but the eastern corner is zoned mixed use and would have access restored to New North Road.

Some sample valuations from the GIS Viewer give rateable valuations in the range $948 to $1,781 per square metre but I take these as no more than indicative of the worst case – new valuations are about to be applied, and any comprehensive development of the precinct would presumably have a positive impact on land values.

This proposal is about more than transport – there is an opportunity here for quality urban design and placemaking. Given that this proposal will take some years to realise, it is entirely possible that this project might be achieved as a collaboration between Auckland Transport and the proposed Urban Development CCO, with significant involvement by members of the affected communities and the two Local Boards.

Author: Graeme Easte, Local Board Member

Attachments

a Notice of Motion - Dominion Road-New North Road Intersection Proposal............................................................................................... 319

b Dominion Road-New North Road - Aerial View.................................. 323

c Dominion Road-New North Road - Cadastral Boundaries.................. 325

Albert-Eden Local Board

05 November 2014

Auckland Transport Monthly Update Report – November 2014

File No.: CP2014/25230

Purpose

1. This report provides an update on local transport matters over the last month for the Albert-Eden Local Board.

Executive summary

2. This report contains a general monthly update on transport matters both locally and from across Auckland and a list of issues currently being addressed by Auckland Transport for the Albert-Eden Local Board.

Recommendation/s

That the Albert-Eden Local Board:

a) receives the Auckland Transport Monthly Update Report – November 2014 report.

Comments

Responding to Previous Resolutions

3. Resolution Number: AE/2014/10

b) That Albert-Eden Local Board requests Auckland Transport assess the installation of permanent parking (angle and/or parallel) on the western and eastern side of Cricket Avenue in Mount Eden.

c) That Albert-Eden Local Board requests Auckland Transport to consider traffic calming measures along Cricket Avenue.

4. This resolution was forwarded to the Manager Road Corridor Operations (Central) for consideration. The Manager Road Corridor Operations (Central) has completed a full investigation of the site.

5. Auckland Transport’s on-site measurements indicate that the existing road width allows permanent parallel spaces to be marked along the western kerb of Cricket Avenue.

6. Auckland Transport was also asked to consider the option of permanent angle parking spaces. This option was investigated, however the carriageway widths are not wide enough to provide sufficient manoeuvring area for reversing vehicles. The narrow width of the road would require vehicles to cross the centreline when manoeuvring out of the spaces, therefore permanent angle spaces are not an option supported by Auckland Transport.

7. Assessment of traffic calming in the street is still on-going and when this work is complete a further report will be provided.

Discussion

Auckland Transport Work Programme

8. Auckland Transport aims to provide an annual work programme, to all Local Boards.

9. Auckland Council’s budget deliberations are taking longer than forecast and because Auckland Transport’s work programme is decided after Auckland Council’s budget is confirmed briefing Local Board has taken longer than predicted.

10. Central Auckland Local Boards will be briefed about the overall effect of the Long Term Plan by Auckland Transport’s Chief Executive on 30 October 2014.

11. All elected members are; not only welcome to attend this presentation, but are encouraged to because it provides an opportunity to hear from the Chief Executive about:

· The funding constraints that Auckland Transport is subject to;

· How projects are prioritised within Auckland Transport’s work programme; and

· See ‘live’ examples of how projects are prioritised will be worked through so that all elected members have an opportunity to discuss the methodology.

12. This will be followed by detailed annual work programme workshop with all members of the Albert-Eden Local Board on 19 November 2014.

Corridor Management Plans

13. Auckland Transport is developing six, Corridor Management Plans (CMPs) in the Albert-Eden Local Board’s area and their current status is as follows:

· Great North Road from Karangahape Road to Ash Street – is in its final form and has been reviewed by the Albert-Eden Local Board;

· Manukau Road, Mt Albert/Carrington Roads, Greenland Road West, New North Road and Great South Road are all in the stages of drafting and when they are finished will be brought back to the Albert-Eden Local Board when it is finished for final review.

14. CMPs are strategic documents designed to provide a 30 year framework for agencies working to maintain and improve transport along broad ‘corridors’ of movement. A CMP is not a detailed plan but outlines the types of planning that may be needed so that agencies can start planning budgets and work programmes in a coordinated way as early as possible.

15. Auckland Transport recently started work on a Sandringham Road CMP and when the initial work is complete will discuss the issues they have identified with the Albert-Eden Local Board and ask for advice and suggestions.

16. The Sandringham CMP team are liaising with the staff from Council who are developing plans for the Sandringham village ‘community led’ plan and upgrade.

Dominion Road Update

17. The project will provide continuous bus lanes along Dominion Road from SH 20 to View Road that will improve bus travel times down this important route. The upgrade will also include upgraded footpaths through the three Dominion Road ‘villages’, safety improvements for pedestrians and improved optimisation of traffic signals.

18. Construction of the Dominion Road Alternative Cycle Route started in early June 2014 and continues as planned.

19. The Dominion Road Alternative Cycle Routes are nearly finished and it is planned that the signalised intersections are switched on soon. The first intersection will be the Balmoral Road / Matipo Road intersection on or about 12 November 2014. After this one is done the rest will staged at approximately weekly intervals.

20. Minor issues with marking traffic calming measures continue to be identified and remedied.

New Public Transport Campaign “Get On Board with Jerome”

21. In October Auckland Transport launched a major campaign for public transport featuring All Black and Blues rugby player Jerome Kaino.

22. The theme of the campaign is ‘Get on board with Jerome’. In the campaign Jerome Kaino will demonstrate how easy it is to use public transport and the AT HOP card. Jerome Kaino will be acting as an Ambassador for Auckland Transport, with a particular focus on public transport.

23. The campaign includes a number of ‘how to’ videos hosted by Jerome Kaino. The videos are:

· How to use the HOP card;

· How to buy and top up your HOP card;

· Using the Journey Planner to get around Auckland; and

· A general update on PT developments.

24. The videos are on a special ‘Get on Board with Jerome’ web page and the campaign will be promoted on radio Radio is the main promotional media for the campaign and AT will primarily use MaiFM and Flava FM.

25. This campaign is all about making using the AT HOP card easier and more attractive to commuters particularly in areas that currently do not have a high rate of public transport use. The campaign will run throughout November.

Public Transport Use Grows

26. Aucklanders made 12 million rail passenger trips in the past year. This represents increasing use of Auckland’s network and is the first time that Aucklanders have made more trips by rail than Wellingtonians.

27. Aucklanders are using public transport more than ever as improvements to services make it a more attractive option.The numbers using trains are impressive. Last March Auckland reached 11 million passengers per annum and now seven months later the city has reached 12 million train trips a year.

28. It should be noted that when Britomart Transport Centre opened in 2003, just 2.5 million trips were made on trains each year.

29. Auckland Transport plans that numbers will continue to grow as the ageing diesel fleet is phased out and that by the middle of next year with only electric trains in service there will be even better reliability, capacity and train travel that is even more pleasant for Aucklanders.

Albert-Eden Local Board Transport Capital Fund

30. The Albert - Eden Local Board has $664,933 per annum of discretionary funding for transport-related capital projects. It may allocate funding for the whole electoral term (i.e. $1,994,799) at any stage during its term.

31. The uncommitted $119,016 from the previous electoral term may also be rolled over on this occasion, giving the Albert - Eden Local Board a total pool of approximately $2,113,815 available in this electoral term to spend on transport projects.

32. This money can be used for projects identified by the Local Board, the principal constraints being that the project:

· Will not compromise transport safety;

· Is transport-related;

· Is in the ‘road corridor’; (Subject to above relaxation) and

· Does not compromise the efficiency of the road network.

33. So far, in this electoral term, the Albert-Eden Local Board has requested a number of projects that are listed in Attachment A with information about their status and progress.

34. This month Auckland Transport is able to report back about the following projects that have progressed significantly in the last month:

· The Balmoral ‘Residential Quiet Zones project is almost complete. Some issues have been identified that are currently being rectified:

o The signs are late being installed. White on blue ‘slow zone’ signs (as per picture below) are being installed on the left side zone entry point (near the coloured bands).

o In Volcanic Street the red threshold ‘bands are in the wrong place. This is a mistake– the coloured bands should have been located at the Balmoral/Volcanic intersection as per the design instead they are at the Volcanic/Wairiki intersection. The engineers are currently working out a solution because blacking out or burning off the coloured bands will result in unsightly surface scarring.

o Two other locations have been set out incorrectly albeit with less of an effect. At both King Edward Street and Dunbar Street the ‘thresholds’ have been located at the Dominion Road intersection rather than at the demarcation line between the town centre environment and residential environment. This is not a significant change and does not require rectification.

o Producing uniform speed bumps is impossible and there are some that are too steep. As they are identified they will be rectified.

· A project to extend the existing footpath on the west side of Cadman Road to the boundary of Hendon Park has been identified and a draft resolution requesting that $14,000 be released to construct this footpath has been included above.

· The Albert-Eden Local Board has committed $30,000 of Local Board Transport Capital Fund to slowing traffic at the pedestrian crossing outside 100 Balmoral Road. This section of road is going to be upgraded in late 2014 so this project will be completed in early 2015.

· Auckland Transport and the Albert-Eden Local Board workshopped the LED Lighting Project on 23 September 2014 and Auckland Transport has provided a Rough Order of Cost of $458,700.

· Auckland Transport has provided a Rough Order of Cost of $35,000 for installing a pedestrian refuge at approx. 259 Manukau Road and the Albert-Eden Local Board has requested that Auckland Transport start detailed design of this project and provide a Final Cost. The complex nature of the works means that it is better to undertake detailed design and confirm the Final Cost before releasing funds for construction.

35. The Albert-Eden Local Board has provided an ‘in principle’ prioritisation of projects that Auckland Transport can use to plan its work programme.

36. The Albert-Eden Local Board is encouraged to start thinking about projects that could be considered in the next electoral term. This is a strategic step that would provide the next Board with potential ideas for future projects.

Issues Register

	Description	AT Response
Parking in Epsom in vicinity of Queen Mary Avenue	Concerns have been raised about a lack of retail parking for the cinema and shops on Manukau Road, Queen Mary Avenue and in surrounding areas.	This issue is an on-going matter over which there has been considerable discussion between Auckland Transport and the Albert-Eden Local Board’s Transport representatives. On 21 May 2014 members of the Parking Team met with one of the Albert-Eden Local Board’s Transport representative to discuss the problem ‘on the ground’. On 5 June 2014 Auckland Transport staff again met with the Albert-Eden Transport Portfolio Lead and discussed this matter ‘on the ground’. A simple solution to the problem is not readily apparent but the Auckland Transport Parking Team are working closely with the Board’s Transport Representative to develop a solution.
Owens Road Safety Issues	Residents have raised concerns about the curved section of Owens Road that extends from Epsom Avenue to approximately Numbers 113/78. Residents are concerned about speeding drivers ‘spinning out’ on the corners.	This issue has been addressed and is currently being monitored by Auckland Transport. It will be removed from the issues register next month unless there is a significant change.
Mountain Road Traffic Issues	Residents have raised concerns about the amount and behaviour of traffic on Mountain Road during school morning and afternoon peaks. Of particular concern was the difficulty for traffic to negotiate the intersections of Mountain Road and: · Glenfell / Almorah Roads; and · Gilgit Road.	Considerable work has been done ‘behind the scenes’ and in the next few months stakeholders will start to become more involved as the Safety Around Schools Team starts wider community engagement. The Transport Portfolio Leader met the Manager Community Transport to discuss this project on 23 September 2014. The Manager Community Transport briefed the Transport Portfolio Leader on progress, outlined current situation and committed to ensuring that information flows better between the different agencies working on this issue. The key points are that; · Detailed background surveys are completed; · Engineering work has started; and · Liaison arrangements are being tightened up.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a View	Summary of Albert Eden Local Board Transport Capital Fund Projects	17
b View	Auckland Transport Memo - Local Board Transport Capital Fund Workshop	25

Signatories

Author

Ben Stallworthy, Elected Member Relationship Manager, Auckland Transport

Authorisers

Jonathan Anyon, Elected Member Relationship Team Manager, Auckland Transport

Adam Milina - Relationship Manager - Albert-Eden & Orakei Local Boards

Albert-Eden Local Board

05 November 2014

Auckland Transport Quarterly Update to Local Boards

File No.: CP2014/25186

Executive summary

1. The purpose of this report is to inform local boards about progress on activities undertaken by Auckland Transport in the three months July – September 2014 and the planned activities anticipated to be undertaken in the three months October – December 2014.

2. Attachments include:

· A – Auckland Transport activities

· B – Travelwise Schools activities

· C – Decisions of the Traffic Control Committee

· D – Report against local board advocacy issues

· E – Report on the status of the local board’s projects under the Local Board Transport Capital Fund (LBTCF).

Recommendation/s

That the Albert-Eden Local Board:

a) Receives the Auckland Transport Quarterly Report.

Comments

Significant activities during the period under review

Key Agency Initiatives

East West Connections

3. Auckland Transport (AT) and the NZ Transport Agency have completed an indicative business case that identified a short list of options to address the transport issues in the Onehunga-Penrose area. Improvements were also identified along the proposed bus route between Mangere, Otahuhu and Sylvia Park.

4. The assessment process to narrow down potential options included the outcomes of the July/August engagement as well as assessing factors such as transport performance; consentability; constructability; natural environment; public health and cultural heritage. The short list contains a range of low to high investment options for further investigation.

5. Public consultation on these short listed options commenced in October. This included public open days and workshops.

PT Development

Otahuhu Interchange

6. A civil enabling works package has gone to market to enable construction activities in December to capitalise on the scheduled Christmas Block of Line in the rail corridor.

7. The main works package is scheduled to go to market mid-December, with tenders closing end of January and award end of February 2015. Target completion for the interchange is end of September 2015. A public open day was held in Otahuhu Town Hall, attended by 225 people including Local Board members; feedback was very positive. Hui with local mana whenua are on-going with six having been completed to date.

City Rail Link

8. Registrations of interest (ROI) by the construction industry for the Enabling Works design work for the downtown section of the City Rail Link, from Britomart through Queen, Customs and Albert Streets to Wyndham Street were received and evaluated during August.

9. Following an evaluation process, Request for Proposal documentation for two enabling works contract packages were released to the ROI respondents in late August. A series of interface meetings are scheduled with respondents prior to receipt of proposals in November whereby a tender evaluation will be undertaken to procure the preferred tenderer. A project update was provided to manu whenua groups (seven iwi represented) mainly focussing on stormwater mitigation issues.

EMU Procurement

10. There are now 27 units in NZ with 17 units in service. Manukau peak services began mid September. Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) testing on the Western line to Swanson began on 29 September. Manufacture and delivery is on programme.

PT Operations

Bus Improvements

11. An on-going programme of bus timetable adjustments, in partnership with AT service providers, continued this year to ensure published timetables more closely reflect actual bus running times. This is driving a significant improvement in bus service reliability, particularly for North Star, Go West, Waka Pacific and Metrolink Outer with implementation scheduled across the entire bus network by September 2014.

12. On-time performance across the entire bus network rose to 91.45% for September and has remained over 90% during the quarter.

13. NZ Bus operated 91.7% of its bus services on time, which is a 10% increase on the previous 12 months. Go West showed the largest improvement with an 11% increase in punctuality since December. On-time performance improved by 5% after delivering a new customer value proposition of services from 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week on 3 August in the west (Green Bay/Titirangi).

14. On time performance for the Northern Express Service also continued to operate at a very high level during August delivering 98.7% and with most of September operating at 99.4%.

Rail Improvements

15. Rail patronage for the 12 months to September 2014 was more than 11.8 million; an increase of 27% on the previous year and a new record for heavy rail in the Auckland region. Rail patronage for the first quarter 2014 was 15% above the same period in 2013.

16. Rail service punctuality was stable at 87.7% for the 12 months to September 2014; an improvement from 86.3% the previous year. This was achieved through a period of operational change to new systems following the introduction of EMUs that have presented some challenges. For the month of August 2014, punctuality was 90.5% - the first month for at least ten years that performance exceeded 90% outside holiday periods.

17. Rail station security was upgraded from May 2014 and a strategic review of rail safety, security and fare enforcement is underway.

Road Design and Development

Dominion Road

18. Construction on the cycle routes is proceeding with the project being close to 50% complete. Tenders for the main Dominion Road works have closed and evaluation is underway. The project has been expanded at the request of Watercare to include water main replacement in the three village centres.

Albany Highway

19. The contract for construction has been awarded to Fulton Hogan. Work will commence on site in November. The construction is expected to be completed early in 2017.

20. An open day will be held in October to give the local community the opportunity to meet the construction team and ask any questions they may have about the project before works begin. A communications and stakeholder management plan will be in place for the duration of the construction period.

Murphys Road

21. Construction of Flat Bush School Road and Murphys Road intersection upgrade is progressing and on track for completion by mid-December 2014. Design of the Murphy’s Road upgrade between Flat Bush School Road and Ormiston Road is on-going and programmed to finish by the end of December 2014.

AMETI

22. Construction of the new Te Horeta Road at Panmure is near complete. Pavement works and line marking were completed during the period and the final integration testing of tunnel systems is in progress. The road is scheduled to open on 2 November when critical activities on Mt Wellington Highway and at the adjacent NCI site are complete.

23. The new William Harvey Bridge footbridge is now fully operational. The upgrade of Van Damme’s Lagoon, NCI and Watercare works are ongoing.

24. Planning and design meetings were held to update Pakuranga town centre stakeholders on the design work for Pakuranga bus station and Reeves Road flyover. Feedback will assist to further develop the design.

Cycle Initiatives

25. The construction of Stage 1 (Churchill Street to Quay Street via Mahuhu Crescent and Tapora Street) was completed ahead of schedule and formally opened by the Prime Minister and the Mayor. A short safety video for cyclists has been produced http://youtu.be/fNlu7xaS2KA. Within a week it had been viewed more than 2,700 times on YouTube.

26. A survey to benchmark the number of cyclists is about to start and will be used to monitor usage. The design of Stage 2 that will make the link through to Britomart Place is progressing with the start of construction planned for early 2015.

27. A number of other cycle schemes are under construction including Portage Road (New Lynn), Swanson Rail Path and St George Street (Papatoetoe). Meanwhile the Spring Cycling Programme has commenced with a series of cycle training and safety events being held throughout the region.

Services

Public Transport ‘Give it a Go’ Scheme

28. Between Late May and the end of September AT has delivered the scheme through 18 businesses and personalised journey planning projects. Through the scheme, individuals have two weeks of commute travel.

29. Results indicate that 6 weeks after the start of the trial 52% are continuing to use public transport and after 8 weeks there is only a slight drop to 41%.

30. An evaluation survey is also undertaken as this allows participants to provide feedback on the service. There has been positive feedback, as shown in the quotes below:

· “Great idea – certainly surprised me how great public transport has become” ASB workplace survey

· “I had never taken public transport before the trial and now find that travelling by train is a lot less stressful than by road… …and thank you for offering the trial pass, you now have a passenger for life.” Health Alliance workplace survey

· “Using public transport was a lot better than I had expected. More trials like this should be done to convince others.” Sovereign workplace survey

Commute Businesses

31. Auckland Council senior management have approved the Auckland Council Travel Plan. A more detailed Action Plan is being co-developed for presentation to the Chief Planning Officer in early November for approval to proceed.

32. Commute awards recognised businesses achieving success in travel planning. The award winners have been promoted in business publications including Auckland Today. The award winners were:

· Progress on Travel Plan – AECOM

· Delivery of Commute Packages – Mahitahi Trust

· Embedding sustainable transport into company practice – MRCagney.

Route Optimisation

33. The 2013 – 2014 Route Optimisation Programme has been primarily focused around the Auckland city centre, aiming to prioritise and optimise network performance for all modes as appropriate. The Programme made use of the detailed Network Operating Plan to translate strategic intent into operational priorities, for the various modes by time of day. Being the city centre, greater emphasis was placed on public transport and pedestrian performance, the latter being particularly noticeable during the day outside of peak periods. As a whole, route optimisation covered approximately 33 km, over 110 intersections.

Variable Message Signs (VMS)

34. Eight variable message signs (VMS) programmed for the 2013-14 year are now in place.

35. The signs are due for final hand-over to the Auckland Traffic Operations Centre (ATOC) during the month of October, and will be available for use for incident management, planned events, multi-modal real time travel time information (including multi-modal travel time where relevant), and any messaging requirements.

Bus route improvements

36. The Operational Planning and Performance Teams have been assisting the Public Transport Operations team to identify and implement quick-win projects to improve the efficiency and reliability of the bus operations. Current projects include:

Route	Project Scope	Progress
Esmonde Road	Widening to extend bus lane	Resolution prepared, awaiting tree removal consent
Khyber Pass Road	Introduction of additional 90m of bus lane	Resolution prepared, awaiting Local Board approval
Khyber Pass Road	Crowhurst intersection bus priority upgrade	Resolution prepared, awaiting Local Board approval
Wellesley Street East	Bus lane pocket	Resolution prepared, awaiting Road Safety Audit sign off
Park Road	Investigation of southbound bus lane	Concept design complete, internal consultation to commerce shortly
Parnell Road	Investigation of bus lane	Concept development with consultants, due imminently

Urban KiwiRAP (International Road Assessment Programme) Update

37. A specialist engineering team completed vehicle-mounted video-mapping of 2,000 kilometres of the Auckland local road network in September as part of the Safer Journeys Urban KiwiRAP demonstration project. This project is a world first and the video footage will be analysed to establish road safety star ratings for the Auckland urban local road network that will be used to prioritise improvements on high-risk parts of the network.

Road Corridor Delivery

38. Overall operating expenditure is running ahead of budget due to the effects of the major storm event which struck Great Barrier Island in June, higher electricity costs and an increased spend on unsealed road maintenance.

39. Renewal expenditure is behind forecast but good progress has been made in making preparations for the upcoming construction season. The actual spend is consistent with the reduced level of funding now available for renewals.

Key Renewals

40. Construction of the Beach Road Cycleway was delivered by the Road Corridor Group and completed on time for the opening by the Prime Minister in August.

41. The design of the new box culvert is underway on Great Barrier Road with the intention of commencing physical works later this year. The existing steel plate was washed away in the storm event on 10 June 2014 and there is a temporary stream crossing in place until the works can be completed.

42. Chipsealing commenced in Franklin in August using Emulsion instead of cut-back bitumen. Emulsion can be sprayed in cooler weather, provides improved chip wetting and adhesion and is safer and more environmentally friendly than hot bitumen.

43. Repairs to the Maraetai Beach seawall were also completed in August. The seawall had been undermined by several major storms over the June/July period.

44. Streetlight improvements have been carried out on East Tamaki Road and on the cycle routes in the Dominion Road Corridor. The street lights in these cycle routes, located immediately to the East and West of Dominion Road, have been upgraded with LED Luminaires to improve safety.

Road Corridor Access

Corridor Access Request (CAR) Applications

45. There were 4,039 CAR applications approved during the first quarter, representing a 4.4% increase over the number of 3868 for the same period last year.

46. Monthly incremental increases of around 8% have been experienced since July with the major share of the increases being for minor works i.e. works in the footpath and berm area only.

Ultra-Fast Broadband Rollout

47. Overall forecast build starts have fallen below forecasts and the likelihood of a back ended build programme for the year has increased. Up to 30 cabinet areas appear to be at risk.

48. Currently for Year 4, 88 cabinet areas are in build, 43 are completed and 22 have moved into warranty.

Watercare Hunua 4 Bulk Watermain

49. As at the end of September 2014, 12.6 km of pipe has been laid at an average weekly rate of 48 metres and Watercare advise it is on target.

Watercare Pakuranga Rising Water Main

50. Work commenced in January on the construction of a new 0.9 metre diameter sanitary sewer rising main in the carriageway of Pakuranga Road and Lagoon Drive in the vicinity of the Panmure Bridge.

51. Progress at either end of the project site (Lagoon Drive and Pakuranga Road east of the Panmure Bridge) has been good and the positive temporary traffic management measures employed have enabled traffic to continue with only minimal delays.

Overweight Permits

52. There were 198 overweight permit applications processed in September. Of the 198 permit applications, 155 (78.3%) were processed within the target times and all applications were processed by the nominated travel start date.

53. The target timeframes for processing overweight permit applications are 3 days for KPI 2, single trip, multi travel and continuous renewal permits and 5 working days for KPI 3 continuous and area permits.

Parking and Enforcement

Parking machine replacement

54. The existing 922 Pay and Display machines installed in the greater Auckland area have reached their end of life and are due for replacement. Parking Services have conducted an on-going investigation into the developing technology associated with on-street parking. A paper has recently been prepared requesting the funding necessary for a technology upgrade and is planned to be presented to the AT Board at its November meeting.

55. The proposed new system incorporates the ‘pay by space’ mode with in-road sensors for each parking spot. Parking availability will be published on the internet. Once a parking space is occupied payment will be made at a nearby payment machine that will accept HOP cards, credit cards, text-a-park and cash. Smartphone payments will also be available with text reminders being sent when the time limit is due to expire. Additional topping up for extending parking will be available by either smartphone or at any other parking payment machine.

56. Enforcement of expired parking spaces will be managed from Parking Officers PDAs that will be able to communicate to a central system holding data on the parking status of the city’s precincts. Improved management information and remote tariff adjustments will be managed from the centralised system.

Auckland parking discussion document

57. There was significant interest in the parking discussion document, with AT receiving over 6,000 submissions. The submissions are still being analysed and themes collated. The next step will be to draw up a region-wide parking policy which will consider information from those submissions.

58. A report on key themes and possible policy responses is expected to be reported back to the AT Board in October. The detail of individual schemes will follow.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a View	Schedule of activities undertaken for the first quarter (2014/15) ending 30 September 2014 and forward works programme for the second quarter (2014/15) ending 31 December 2014	35
b View	Travelwise Schools activities broken down by local board	53
c View	Traffic Control Committee Decisions	55
d View	Local Board Advocacy Report	57
e View	Local Board Transport Capital Fund Report	59

Signatories

Authors

Various Auckland Transport authors

Authorisers

Jonathan Anyon, Elected Member Relationship Team Manager

Adam Milina - Relationship Manager - Albert-Eden & Orakei Local Boards

Albert-Eden Local Board

05 November 2014

Endorsement of the Draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan for public engagement

File No.: CP2014/22256

Purpose

1. This report seeks formal endorsement of the Draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan for community engagement.

Executive summary

2. In June 2013, the Waitematā and Albert-Eden local boards endorsed the development of a local area-based plan for Newton.

3. In April 2014, the Waitematā and Albert-Eden local boards endorsed the draft Newton Plan for community engagement. Community engagement took place over a four-week period, at which time, feedback received was reviewed, collated and summarised into a report. A summary of the feedback report was released publicly in July 2014.

4. On August 1 2014, Auckland Transport announced that it will redevelop the existing Mt Eden station instead of constructing a new station in Newton as part of the City Rail Link project. As a result of this decision, the draft Newton Plan had to be re-scoped and reviewed. It was noted that the previous study area of the draft Newton Plan did not specifically consider the area south of Mt Eden station.

5. In discussion with the Waitematā and Albert-Eden local boards, the draft Newton Plan and study area was agreed to be re-scoped, revised and consulted. The Albert-Eden Local Board appointed Board Chair Haynes and Board Member Easte to participate in the development of the draft Newton Plan and continued their involvement in the development of the draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan.

6. From August to October 2014, Council amended, renamed and produced the draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan for second round of community engagement. The revised draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan takes into account the redevelopment of the Mt Eden railway station and land south to the station, which falls within the jurdisction of the Albert-Eden Local Board. A copy of the draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan is attached to this report.

7. Both the Waitematā and Albert-Eden local boards are responsible for the sign-off of the content of the draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan and for this reason, the endorsement of both local boards is sought on the draft plan prior to its release for public engagement. The draft plan will be presented to the Waitematā Local Board at their 11 November 2014 meeting for endorsement.

8. Public engagement is planned for a four-week period, starting from Wednesday 19 November to Wednesday 17 December 2014. A number of drop-in engagement sessions are planned and an update will be sent to all stakeholders, community organisations, former submitters to the draft Newton Plan including businesses and resident groups within the two local board areas. The draft plan will also be advertised in the November OurAuckland, and on the respective local board Facebook pages and the Auckland Council website.

Recommendation/s

That the Albert-Eden Local Board:

a) approves the draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan for community engagement.

b) authorises Board Chair Haynes and Board Member Easte to approve minor amendments to the draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan prior to the commencement of community engagement.

c) notes that the draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan will be considered by the Waitemata Local Board at their 11 November 2014 local board meeting for approval to go out for community engagement. Board Members Dempsey and Thomas will be given authority to approve minor amendments (if any) to the draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan prior to the commencement of community engagement.

Comments

Background

9. In June 2013, the Waitematā and Albert-Eden local boards endorsed the planning process for the development of a local area-based plan for Newton. The Newton Plan set out key moves and actions for how the Newton area could change over the next 30 years with a proposed new train station coming in as part of the new City Rail Link project.

10. From June 2013 to April 2014, Council officers held a number of internal workshops with subject matter experts, undertook research and analysis of plans and projects relevant to the Newton area, and ran two public ideas evenings and a number of targeted stakeholder workshops to inform the development of the draft Newton Plan for community engagement.

11. In April 2014, the Waitematā and Albert-Eden local boards endorsed the release of the draft Newton Plan for community engagement.

12. From 10 April to 14 May 2014, a four-week public engagement process took place on the draft Newton Plan to give the public and key stakeholders an opportunity to provide written feedback on the draft plan.

13. In addition to this engagement, Council officers met with the Uptown Business Association, Mana Whēnua, infrastructure providers, community organisations, property developers, Watercare, Auckland Transport and local businesses and community providers to engage their feedback on the draft plan.

14. A total of 51 written responses were received in relation to the draft Newton Plan.

15. From May to July 2014, Council officers collated, reviewed and summarised the feedback into a report. A summary of the feedback report was released in July 2014 for public viewing.

16. On August 1 2014, Auckland Transport announced it will redevelop the existing Mt Eden station instead of constructing a new station in Newton as part of the City Rail Link project.

17. From August to November 2014, Council officers held a number of workshops with the Waitematā and Albert-Eden local boards, internal subject matter experts and Auckland Transport to discuss the changes to the draft plan as a result of the decision made to redevelop Mt Eden Station. It was noted that the previous study area of the draft Newton Plan did not consider the area south of Mt Eden station, which falls within the jurisdiction of the Albert-Eden Local Board. Via these discussions, the local boards agreed to the change of the study area and name of the plan to Newton and Eden Terrace.

Key components of the draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan

18. The draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan has taken the majority of the content of the former draft Newton Plan with amendments to reflect the change in location of the City Rail Link station.

19. The draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan provides a framework to guide how the Newton and Eden Terrace area could grow and change over the next 30 years (see Attachment A) and sets out:

- the purpose and development of the plan

- the local and strategic context including key issues and opportunities identified

- context and relevance of the proposed City Rail Link and redeveloped Mt Eden railway station, including the area south of the Mt Eden station

- a future direction and desired outcome for the Newton and Eden Terrace area which will contribute to Auckland’s vision to be the world’s most liveable city

- five key moves that respond to the challenges and opportunities of the area

- a list of supporting actions to achieve the desired key moves and outcomes

- next steps and context in regard to how the plan will be implemented. It is envisaged that this section will be further developed and refined after the public feedback period.

20. The draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan takes into consideration the direction set by the Auckland Plan, Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan and the City Rail Link project.

21. A new key move has been included in the draft plan to support and link the delivery of the City Rail Link to the Newton and Eden Terrace area, which is to “promote the redeveloped Mt Eden station as part of the City Rail Link as the catalyst for new investment and growth in the area”.

22. The previous two key moves on movement have been combined into a single key move to better integrate outcomes and supporting actions on movement in the Newton and Eden Terrace area.

23. Council officers have also reviewed previous and current plans, projects, strategies, studies and policy work relevant to Newton and Eden Terrace and developed under Auckland Council and the former Auckland City Council

24. It is also important to note that this is a draft plan. Post-engagement, a full version of the document will be developed with strategic context and a detailed implementation plan. This will be presented to the local boards for adoption in early 2015.

Community Engagement – 19 November to 17 December 2014

25. It was outlined in the planning process of the draft plan that community consultation will be run jointly between the Waitematā Local Board and the Albert-Eden Local Board. Community engagement is planned for a four-week period beginning Wednesday, 19 November and run until Wednesday, 17 December 2014.

26. Community engagement on the draft plan will include a number of drop-in engagement sessions. Displays on the draft plan will be put up for the consultation period at various venues in Newton and Eden Terrace area i.e. Churches and Community Centres.

27. A flyer will be distributed to local businesses and community organisations in Newton and Eden Terrace with information about the draft plan and associated engagement events. An update will also be sent to stakeholders, community organisations, businesses and former submitters to the draft Newton Plan on the community engagement on draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan.

28. Once the engagement period has ended, all feedback collected will be reviewed and any recommended changes to the draft plan will be discussed with the local board prior to formal endorsement and publication.

Consideration

Local board views and implications

29. The Waitematā and Albert-Eden Local boards are both the primary decision-makers on the content of the plans and will be signing off on the final plan for adoption in early 2015. Both local boards have specific decision-making responsibilities for the area of the plan that sits within the jurisdiction of that local board. The approval of the plan overall is a shared responsibility where both local boards have an interest in the neighbouring areas and communities.

30. Council officers have met with Board Chair Haynes and Board Member Easte through the planning process on both the former Newton Plan and now revised draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan, prior to public release and engagement.

31. Similarly, Council officers met with Waitematā Local Board Members Christopher Dempsey and Rob Thomas through the planning process on both draft plans. The Waitematā Local Board will be endorsing the draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan for public engagement at their 11^th November 2014 local board meeting.

Māori impact statement

32. Through the planning process, it was agreed that a Māori Heritage Report would be commissioned to inform the development of the plan. This was done in conjunction with the Karangahape Road plan development and covers a wider area than just Karangahape Road and Newton. Council commissioned an independent consultant to develop and collate the Māori Heritage report and facilitate iwi input into the two plans. The report focuses on Māori stories / relationships, aspirations and opportunities and how they can inform contemporary design and place-making initiatives in the Karangahape Road and Newton areas.

33. From June through to August 2014, the project team engaged with Iwi representatives with interests in the Karangahape Road and Newton area to understand their aspirations for the area and provide feedback on the draft plans. The Iwi representatives were also invited to give feedback and contribute to the Māori Heritage Report. Council received input and feedback from six iwi: Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Te Akitai Waiohua, Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua, Te Kawerau a Maki and Ngāti Maru. All feedback has been captured into the final Māori Heritage Report and will be used in the development of the final plan.

34. Ngāti Maru is preparing their own Māori Heritage report for the Karangahape Road and Newton area. This is currently in progress. The content of this report will be included in the final plan.

35. A copy of the draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan will be sent to all iwi with an interest in the Waitematā and Albert-Eden local board areas for feedback and comments, including those who had provided feedback on the former draft Newton Plan.

Implementation

36. The work of area spatial planning at a local place-based is the responsibility of the teams within the Regional and Local Planning Department in collaboration with other parts of the Council and Council Controlled Organisations. This work is only partly budgeted for in the Regional and Local Planning Department budget. Thus far, targeted use of external resources for purposes of community engagement, options development, and research and plan development has been sourced from allocated budgets within the Regional and Local Planning Department.

37. Out of the plan will fall a range of actions contained in an implementation plan that will need to be considered for funding as part of future Long Term Plan and Local Board Planning processes. A full version of the implementation plan will be developed post engagement for the plan and be presented to the Local Board for adoption in early 2015 with the final plan.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a View	Draft Newton and Eden Terrace Plan	69

Signatories

Author

Hannah Thompson - Planner

Authorisers

Penny Pirrit - Regional & Local Planning Manager

Adam Milina - Relationship Manager - Albert-Eden & Orakei Local Boards

Albert-Eden Local Board

05 November 2014

Draft Community Facilities Network Plan

File No.: CP2014/24103

Purpose

1. To seek the Board’s feedback on the draft Community Facilities Network Plan (Attachment A) following workshops held with all local boards in August and September 2014.

Executive summary

2. In August 2014 the Regional Strategy and Policy Committee endorsed the Draft Community Facilities Network Plan (REG/2014/98) for engagement with local boards, advisory panels and key external stakeholders.

3. The purpose of the Community Facilities Network Plan (draft plan) is to guide council’s provision of community facilities for the next 10 years and beyond. The key drivers are to:

· Optimise the use and efficiency of existing facilities

· Address gaps and needs for community facilities now and into the future

· Meet demand arising from population growth and changing user expectations.

4. The scope of the draft plan includes community centres, venues for hire (community or rural halls), arts and culture facilities, aquatic and leisure facilities. The network includes facilities owned by council and facilities owned by third-parties which are supported by council and available for community use. While facilities like libraries, sport clubs, community leases, schools, churches and marae are not included in the recommendations of the network plan, these facilities will be considered in the implementation phase.

5. There are three key components of the draft plan:

· Strategic framework – specifies the outcomes council is seeking from its investment in community facilities aligned with the Auckland Plan, Local Board Plans and other strategic priorities; and articulates the council’s key objectives for future provision.

· Provision framework – guides council’s approach for future community facility provision.

· Action Plan – over 50 recommended actions to investigate areas with potential gaps in provision and to investigate existing facilities with issues affecting their performance.

6. Each action will require detailed community or sector based investigation to understand needs and determine the appropriate response. Process guidelines have been developed to ensure a consistent approach to these investigations. Local boards and the local community will be fully involved in investigation processes.

7. As council may not have the capacity to invest in all community facility projects, the draft plan also provides prioritisation criteria to help determine the priorities for investment once the investigation process determines the appropriate facility response. The ability and timeframe to implement the actions is dependent on the budget available for community facility investment in the Long-term Plan 2015-2025 (LTP).

8. Feedback on the draft plan was sought from key stakeholders including regional sports organisations, facility partners, facility managers and advisory panels. Submissions were also invited through shapeauckland.co.nz which closed on 15 September 2014. A summary of feedback is attached in Attachment B.

9. It is proposed that libraries should be included in the Community Facilities Network Plan as another key community facility that council provides, and to ensure alignment of planning and future facility provision. Libraries have undertaken similar research to understand the gaps and needs for libraries and are well placed to be included. There will need to be further communication with local boards on the libraries content. Revised timeframes to integrate libraries into the plan and to align with the LTP process are outlined in this report.

Recommendation/s

That the Albert-Eden Local Board:

a) Provide feedback of the Draft Community Facilities Network Plan which will guide council’s provision of community facilities, including any specific feedback on the strategic framework, provision framework, action plan, implementation approach and prioritisation criteria.

b) Notes proposed revised timeframes to include libraries in the Community Facilities Network Plan and that further engagement with local boards will be undertaken to discuss the libraries content and the final revised network plan.

Comments

Draft Community Facilities Network Plan

10. Community facilities contribute to building strong, healthy and vibrant communities by providing space for people to connect with each other, socialise, learn skills and participate in a range of social, cultural, art and recreational activities. Community facilities contribute to improved lifestyles and a sense of belonging, identity and pride among residents.

11. The draft plan outlines how council will provide and invest in community facilities to respond to community needs and population growth and changes.

12. The draft plan sets out a strategic framework for community facilities to articulate why council invests in the provision of community facilities, the desired outcomes from this investment and the key objectives for future provision. This is aligned with the strategic direction and transformational shifts in the Auckland Plan, local board plans and relevant strategic action plans.

13. The proposed common purpose for community facilities is “Vibrant and welcoming places at the heart of where and how communities connect and participate”.

14. The draft plan sets out four proposed key objectives to guide and underpin the future provision of community facilities:

· Undertake robust and consistent planning to ensure future decisions on the provision of community facilities are based on clear evidence of needs and assessment of all options.

· Maintain, improve and make the best use of existing community facilities where they continue to meet community needs and investigate the future of facilities that no longer meet community needs.

· Provide flexible and multi-purpose facilities that are co-located and/or integrated with other community infrastructure.

· Look for opportunities to leverage and support partnerships.

Future Provision Framework

15. The draft plan proposes provision frameworks for each type of community facility to guide council’s approach to the provision of new facilities in the future.

Community Centres

16. The proposed provision approach for community centres is to continue to maintain and deliver community centres at the local level across the region, recognising the important role they play in meeting local community needs for spaces to deliver a wide range of community, recreation, learning, events, arts and culture activities.

Venues for hire

17. Given the wide range of providers of venues to hire, the draft plan proposes the council does not invest in any more new stand-alone venues for hire. It is proposed that bookable space is included in multi-purpose community centres (new or existing/redeveloped), guided by community needs assessments. Other options should be explored including partnerships or encouraging other organisations (such as schools, sports clubs and churches) to make bookable spaces available for community use. In some cases where venues for hire are no longer serving community needs, there may be potential to consider repurposing venues for other activities or possible divestment.

Aquatic and Leisure Facilities

18. The proposed provision framework for aquatic and leisure facilities is through a hierarchy of local, destination and regional facilities to support participation in a range of sport and recreation activities from casual play through to competitive sport. The draft plan outlines different functions and level of provision for local, destination and regional facilities.

Arts and Culture Facilities

19. At the local level, the proposed future provision will focus on enabling participation in arts and culture activity through programming in existing facilities and new multi-purpose facilities, rather than building new standalone local arts facilities. The focus will be placed on integrating arts space and programming within the existing network or in new multi-purpose facilities, repurposing existing spaces or partnering with others to provide suitable space.

20. It is recognised there is a need for some specialised arts and culture facilities that serve larger catchments. The draft plan proposes supporting a network of destination and regional arts and cultural facilities to meet sector and audience demand, which would be determined by robust investigation on a case-by-case basis. It is proposed the council would only intervene when the private sector does not and opportunities for partnerships with the wider sector including central government should be explored.

Action Plan and Implementation

21. The draft plan includes over 50 recommended actions to undertake investigations into the future provision of community facilities, focused on both existing facilities and potential areas for new facilities.

22. All recommended actions will require detailed community or sector based investigation to determine the appropriate response. It is intended that any future investment in community facilities will be determined following detailed investigation which provides clear evidence of need, options analysis and development of a robust business case. Detailed process guidelines to ensure a consistent approach to these investigations have been developed (Appendix 2 of draft plan: Community Facilities Development Guidelines). Local boards and the community would be fully involved in investigation processes.

23. As council may not have the capacity to invest in all community facility projects, the draft network plan provides prioritisation criteria to assist the governing body to determine its priorities for investment in community facilities.

24. The draft plan identifies existing community facilities which have issues impacting on their performance and ability to meet community needs. In these cases, investigation is required to understand in more detail how the facility is operating and meeting community needs, explore various options for the facility and to determine the appropriate response. There could be a variety of options including changes to facility governance, management or programming, facility redevelopment, repurposing for another activity or possible divestment.

25. For potential areas for new facilities, a similar investigation process is required to understand community needs, explore and test the feasibility of different options and assess the business case for a new facility. The outcome of this investigation may identify a non-asset solution is required such as programming, partnerships or supporting a non-council facility.

26. The actions in the draft network plan have been ranked according to the urgency of completing the investigation recognising different factors including condition issues, responding to catalysts, opportunities for rationalisation or partnerships, timing and scale of population growth and location in a spatial priority area.

27. During workshops with local boards, some inaccuracies were identified in the draft plan. Corrections have been included in the draft plan attached in Attachment A.

Stakeholder Engagement

28. The draft plan has been informed by previous feedback from communities, principally via annual customer satisfaction surveys, user surveys, catchments studies and consultation on the Auckland Plan and relevant strategic action plans.

29. Given this context, engagement on the draft plan has primarily been limited to targeted stakeholders, including council’s advisory panels, facility partners and managers and external stakeholder groups such as regional sports organisations. Additionally, the draft plan has been available for wider public comment on shapeauckland.co.nz. A summary of feedback is attached in Attachment B.

30. Most of the actions identified in the draft plan will require further investigation to determine the appropriate response. This will include detailed and localised community and/or sector based investigation/engagement and feedback from communities on different options. The public will also have the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed level of future investment in community facilities via the LTP consultation process.

Incorporating Libraries into the Network Plan

31. Through the LTP process, the Parks, Community and Lifestyle theme has been working to address priorities and funding for activities including community facilities, recreation facilities and libraries. It has become clear there is a need for a more coordinated and aligned approach for the future planning and development of community facilities with an emphasis on multi-purpose facilities.

32. It is proposed that libraries be included in the network plan as a key community facility that council provides and to ensure alignment of planning and future facility provision. Libraries have undertaken similar research to understand the gaps and needs for future libraries and are well placed to be included. There will need to be further communication with local boards on the libraries content which means the timeframes to complete the network plan will need to be extended into 2015.

33. One advantage of extending the timeframes is alignment with the LTP process. The level of future capital investment in community facilities won’t be known until after the public consultation process on the LTP is completed in May 2015. Finalising the network plan once the LTP process is completed (or near completion) will ensure the plan can incorporate the LTP outcomes and governing body priorities for future investment in community facilities.

34. The key benefit of modifying the scope to include libraries is the alignment of planning and provision to achieve better community outcomes and greater efficiency.

35. The revised timeframe for integrating libraries into the draft plan is outlined below:

Dec	Briefing with local boards on the library research
Dec-Jan	Development of revised Community Facilities Network Plan
Feb 2015	Workshops with local boards to review the revised plan
Mar	Report to the governing body on the revised draft plan
Apr-May	Report to local boards seeking feedback on revised draft plan
July	Report to governing body seeking approval of final Community Facilities Network Plan

Consideration

Local board views and implications

36. During August and September, workshops with local boards were undertaken to present on the draft Community Facilities Network Plan, to respond to any questions and assist local boards in formulating their feedback.

37. Feedback from local boards is sought on the draft plan, particularly on the following:

· Strategic framework (section 3) including the common purpose, outcomes and objectives

· Provision frameworks (Section 4)

· Action plan (section 5)

· Implementation approach (section 6) including process guidelines and prioritisation criteria.

38. The feedback from local boards will be incorporated into a revised network plan (which includes libraries) and will be presented/reported to local boards in 2015.

Māori impact statement

39. The provision of community facilities contributes to improving wellbeing among Maori communities by providing spaces to connect, socialise, learn skills and participate. For all community facility types Maori are represented as users. At aquatic facilities Maori make up 14% of users (compared to 9% of the population), 11% of leisure facility users and 9% of community centre users. Maori are under-represented as users compared to the Auckland population at arts and culture facilities.

40. Given the context of the network plan and the information already received through the user surveys and iwi consultation on the strategic action plans, it was not proposed to undertake any specific engagement with Maori or other facility users.

41. The broader picture of community facility provision recognises that marae and kohanga reo are important social infrastructure for Maori and the community. Officers from Te Waka Angamua are currently scoping a project to address the future provision and development of marae facilities. Opportunities for aligned provision and/or partnerships with marae facilities should be considered as potential options to meet community needs.

Implementation

42. The draft plan is an aspirational plan for the next 10 to 20 years which outlines what needs to be investigated and undertaken to deliver a network of community facilities to meet community needs. The ability and timeframe to implement the actions is dependent on the level of budget available through the council’s LTP 2015-2025.

43. Through the LTP process, the governing body will consider the amount of funding available for investment in community facilities. To deliver the network plan this will need to include both operational funding to undertake the required investigations and depending on the outcome of each investigation, capital and operational funding to implement the recommended response.

44. Once the network plan is adopted, implementation will focus on progressing the high priority actions using the implementation approach and community facilities development guidelines.

45. The draft plan lists a number of community facility projects that are already underway or were anticipated to commence construction in 2014/15. The current review of the 2014/15 capital works programme may result in the deferral of some of these projects. Once decisions have been made on deferrals, then the draft network plan will be amended to reflect this.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a View	Draft Community Facilities Network Plan	91
b View	Draft Community Facilities Network Plan stakeholder feedback	157

Signatories

Authors

Anita Coy-Macken - Principal Policy Analyst – Central

David Shamy - Policy Analyst

Authorisers

Penny Pirrit - Regional & Local Planning Manager

Adam Milina - Relationship Manager - Albert-Eden & Orakei Local Boards

Albert-Eden Local Board

05 November 2014

Significance and Engagement Policy

File No.: CP2014/25043

Purpose

1. This report provides background information on the draft Significance and Engagement Policy and seeks feedback from the local board.

Executive summary

2. Changes to the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA2002) require Auckland Council to adopt a Significance and Engagement policy by 1 December 2014. Auckland Council already has a Significance Policy but the council must expand it to include engagement.

3. A draft Significance and Engagement Policy was adopted by the Regional Strategy and Policy Committee on 4 September for public consultation from 22 September to 19 October 2014.

4. The legislation requires the policy to consider community preferences about engagement on decisions relating to specific issues. Auckland Council carries out hundreds of consultations each year on matters ranging from small neighbourhood issues up to large regional issues. A core function of local boards is to understand, engage with and represent their local communities. The development of the Significance and Engagement Policy is not intended to constrain or restrict the role of local boards in this regard.

5. An overview of the kinds of methods that could be used depending on the significance of the issue has been compiled to provide guidance.

6. The policy will be supported by updated guidelines, case studies and templates providing more detail on engagement principles and good practice.

Recommendation/s

That the Albert-Eden Local Board:

a) Endorses the principle-led approach taken to the drafting the policy.

b) Requests that two statements be added under the principles on page 10:

i) “Be pro-active to maximise participation from all parts of the community in an effort to ensure that the feedback received is broadly representative of the community’s views”

ii) “Commit to on-going investigation of innovative ways to increase awareness of council business (including that of local boards) and of innovative ways to engage with communities”.

c) Requests that a reference to community-led approach be explicitly made in the policy.

d) Requests that the policy be applicable across the Auckland Council family, including to the council-controlled organisations.

e) Agrees that the development of consultation and engagement guidelines for Auckland Council will support the policy and the sharing of best practice.

f) Requests that the guidelines provide practical examples of good and bad practices.

g) Requests that staff make use of local boards’ extensive community engagement experience to inform the development of the guidelines.

Comments

7. As part of the LTP 2012-2022 process, Auckland Council adopted a Significance Policy to provide a mechanism for establishing which decisions are significant with reference to thresholds and general criteria. This was a requirement under the LGA2002. The policy requires all council reports to state the degree of significance. A significant decision triggers an automatic requirement to consult.

8. The Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2014 amended the LGA 2002, so that all councils are now required to adopt a Significance and Engagement Policy by 1 December 2014.

9. The legislative change requires the council to expand the current Significance Policy to include engagement. The current Significance Policy has been used to provide the basis of the new Significance and Engagement Policy.

10. The draft Significance and Engagement Policy was adopted by the Regional Strategy and Policy Committee on 4 September for public consultation from 22 September to 19 October. The draft policy is attached to this report.

11. Since the committee meeting, some minor changes have been made to clarify what constitutes a significant decision. The order of the significance section has changed as a result of this, while the criteria related to engagement are now in section 6.1 under engagement methods.

Policy approach to engagement

12. The LGA2002 sets out principles for consultation that all councils must follow.

13. Feedback received from the community and stakeholders on Auckland Council consultation and engagement processes has highlighted other important principles to consider when engaging with the community. They have been incorporated into the policy as a way of recognising the needs of Auckland’s diverse communities and the value that is placed on their involvement in decision-making processes.

14. The legislation requires the policy to set out how the council will respond to community preferences about engagement on decisions relating to specific issues, assets and other matters. Auckland Council carries out hundreds of consultations each year on matters ranging from small neighbourhood issues up to large regional issues. A list detailing how the council engage on specific issues would be extensive and would not allow flexibility to reflect on timing, community affected and likely interest on an issue. It would also limit the council’s ability to consider and refine approaches for engagement in response to community feedback. A principle-based approach is therefore preferred.

15. The draft policy provides guidance as to the engagement methods relevant to the significance of the decision at hand. Significance is categorised as small and simple, medium, and large or complex. The level of significance is determined using the criteria in section 3 of the policy. Engagement methods will be further detailed in the guideline (currently under development) thanks to the use of case studies.

Significance

16. A decision is significant if:

· The thresholds related to an activity or group of activities are exceeded; or

· The decision relates to strategic assets.

17. A decision will also be significant where the council, having applied the criteria, decides that it is significant. Where a decision is determined to be significant, it will automatically trigger a requirement to consult.

Thresholds

18. As a general guide, the creation of a new group of activity, the cessation of a group of activity, or a 33 per cent increase or 20 per cent decrease in the nature of a group of activity, would be considered significant.

Strategic Assets

19. Strategic assets are defined as assets or group of assets required for the local authority to maintain its capacity to achieve or promote any outcome that council determines is important for the present or future wellbeing of the community. The council considers its strategic assets as whole single assets because it is the asset class as a whole that delivers the service. The list of strategic assets should cover only those assets that are significant for an entity the size of the Auckland Council. The strategic assets listed in the draft policy include council-owned land or buildings required to maintain the local authority’s capacity to provide affordable housing, as well as equity securities held by council in a port company or airport company.

20. The definition of networks included in the list of strategic assets has been updated to include North Harbour Stadium, Bruce Mason Theatre and Q Theatre which Auckland Council acquired since the adoption of the Significance Policy in 2012. In addition, substantive shares in Watercare have been combined with shares in substantive CCOs as Watercare became a substantive CCO in 2012.

21. The legislation provides that a decision to transfer the ownership or control of a strategic asset to or from the local authority may only be made if they are explicitly provided for in the council’s LTP and, from 2015, also included in the consultation document used to consult on the LTP.

22. Decisions on assets not included in the list are subject to the normal provisions of the Local Government Act 2002 regarding decision making and consultation. This ensures that interested or affected parties have their views considered appropriately in decision making. The council retains discretion to consult (including using the special consultative procedure) for these decisions if it wished.

23. Strategic assets, as defined by this policy, owned and or managed by a substantive CCO are identified in the CCO Accountability Policy.

General Criteria

24. The draft policy lists criteria to assess whether or not a decision is significant. These criteria are also useful to guide the selection of engagement methods for a particular decision. (For the avoidance of doubt, the use of the criteria to assess the level of engagement does not replace the council’s assessment of whether or not a decision is “significant”).

Timeline

25. The high level timeline for the development of the policy is as follows:

Milestone	Description / steps	Timing
Developing the draft policy	Drafting the policy Testing the policy internally, with key stakeholders and advisory panels Gaining feedback on draft policy with local board members, local board chairs, IMSB Regional Strategy & Policy for adoption prior to consultation	July – August 5 September
Consulting on the draft policy	Communications and engagement on the draft Local board workshops Local board reports / formal feedback process Advisory panel workshops Stakeholder discussions Public engagement	September-October
Revising the draft policy	Analysing and reviewing feedback Updating draft policy	October onwards
Adopting the policy	Budget Committee Regional Strategy and Policy Governing body for adoption	5 November 6 November 27 November

26. This policy is expected to be adopted by 1 December 2014 and must be incorporated into the Long-term Plan (in summary form). The policy can be amended at any time.

Consultation on the draft policy

27. Consultation on the draft policy will not follow a Special Consultative Procedure. Consultation will be targeted at interest groups and will seek out feedback from communities who are often not involved in council’s consultation processes.

28. Consultation will largely be focused online through ShapeAuckland. A sign language submissions service has also been set up through Deaf Radio.

29. A variety of stakeholder organisations have been contacted to help organise community workshops on the draft policy. They include youth groups, ethnic groups, grey power, age concern, community organisations and networks.

30. In addition, Auckland Council will use Our Auckland, the People’s Panel and social media as a way of further encouraging feedback on the draft policy. Local boards are encouraged to help boost participation through their stakeholder newsletters and social media.

Consideration

Local board views and implications

31. A core function of local boards is to understand, engage with and represent their local communities. They do this through a number of formal and informal mechanisms in relation to their local board plans and local board agreements and to inform local board input into regional plans and policies. The development of the Significance and Engagement Policy is not intended to constrain or restrict this role.

32. Local boards’ statutory role of identifying and communicating the views of the community on regional strategies, policies, plans and bylaws of the council has been taken into account during the development of the draft policy.

33. While the adoption of the Significance and Engagement Policy is a Governing Body decision, local boards have a role in providing input to its development. The purpose of this report is to seek local board input on the draft policy.

34. Engagement with local boards to date has included:

· an initial discussion at the Local Board Chairs Forum meeting on 28 April 2014

· a workshop for all local board members to discuss aspects of the draft policy on 22 August

· individual local board workshops during September and October where requested.

Māori impact statement

35. Auckland Council recognises that Māori are a critical / important audience that needs to be engaged in a meaningful way. The Treaty of Waitangi Audit 2012 and the Auckland Council Guide on Engaging with Māori were reviewed during the development of the draft policy. The draft policy has been presented for discussion to the Independent Māori Statutory Board. The results of a recent research study on Māori engagement with Auckland Council will be considered prior to finalizing the draft policy and to identify improvements with the engagement guidelines.

36. Discussions on the draft policy and guidelines will also take place at a Mana Whenua forum during the consultation period.

General

37. This report does not involve decisions that will trigger the council’s current Significance Policy.

Implementation

38. Auckland Council does not currently have an adopted engagement policy. It does however have:

· a consultation and engagement guidebook

· a guide on Engagement with Māori

· a staff training programme in community engagement through the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2)

· an internal network which is used to share case studies

· an annual awards event to celebrate good practice.

39. Further work is taking place to improve the guidance available, in particular with respect to engaging with Auckland’s culturally and demographically diverse communities.

40. Updated guidance, case studies and templates are being prepared alongside the development of the draft policy. They will be available for the purposes of engagement on the draft Long-Term Plan and other processes as soon as practicable. This will include legal advice on the consultation document and other changes to requirements as a result of the LGA 2002 amendments.

41. Local boards will be invited to input into the development of the updated guidance, case studies and templates through the local board engagement advisors.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a View	Draft Significance and Engagement Policy	169

Signatories

Author

Carol Hayward - Team Leader Consultation and Engagement

Authorisers

Wilma Falconer - Communications and Public Affairs Interim Director

Adam Milina - Relationship Manager - Albert-Eden & Orakei Local Boards

Albert-Eden Local Board

05 November 2014

Council Controlled Organisation Review, Progress Report to Local Boards

File No.: CP2014/25101

Purpose

1. To inform local boards about key aspects of the current review of council controlled organisations (CCOs) and seek local board feedback, in particular on matters of interest to local boards.

Executive summary

2. This report informs local boards on a number of matters relating to the CCO review. These include:

· the key steps undertaken in the CCO review so far

· CCO configuration options that have been considered but are not being progressed

· CCO configuration options that are still under consideration

· other aspects of the CCO review of interest to local boards including the Accountability Framework workstream; and the Communication, Collaboration and Consultation workstream

· next steps in the CCO review.

3. This report seeks feedback from local boards, in particular about an option to increase activities in support of the council’s transformational shift of radically improving the quality of urban living. The council is considering a new vehicle that could act as a single outward facing voice in the development of the Auckland region, with greater economies of scale, enhanced commerciality and the ability to partner with others. The report seeks feedback on the concept, including comment on the considerations the council should take into account, from a local perspective, when developing the concept.

4. The report notes that local boards have already provided feedback on the following matters which are being considered as part of the CCO review.

· Whether local economic development activities are delivered by Auckland Council or ATEED.

· The roles and interface between local boards and Auckland Transport in relation to place-making functions.

5. In relation to local economic development, the report seeks local board views on ATEED being responsible for local economic development, if a mechanism can be established to hold ATEED accountable to local boards for delivery. The report also notes that the CCO review will not consider the level of funding for local economic development activities, as this is an LTP issue. Current proposals are for LTP funding for local economic development to be provided in the council’s spatial priority areas only.

6. In relation to local boards, Auckland Transport, and place-making responsibilities, any specific proposals would require further consultation with local boards.

7. In relation to the Accountability Framework workstream, the report notes that improved alignment between the statement of intent process and the LTP/Annual Planning process should provide the Budget Committee with greater visibility of the extent to which proposed CCO work programmes deliver on local board priorities.

8. The Accountability Framework workstream also proposes that council requirements of CCOs, in relation to local board engagement, reporting, and consideration of local board priorities will be included in a new Governance Manual that all CCOs are required to comply with.

9. The report also notes that the Communication, Collaboration and Consultation workstream is still being scoped and may require local board engagement at some stage.

Recommendation/s

That the Albert-Eden Local Board:

a) Consider the information provided in this report and provide feedback, in particular on matters of interest to local boards as indicated in the report.

Comments

Phase One – Terms of Reference and Current State Assessment

10. The governing body adopted its terms of reference for the CCO review on 27 February 2014. The terms of reference sought to ensure that CCO governance structures were aligned with the council’s strategies and provided an efficient and effective model of service delivery. They also sought to:

· ensure sufficient political oversight and public accountability of CCOs

· provide clarity about roles and responsibilities

· eliminate duplication

· better integrate services and functions and provide a positive interface between the Auckland Council group organisations and Aucklanders.

11. Major structural change for Auckland Transport was identified as being out of scope because Auckland Transport is a statutory entity governed by specific legislative provisions.

12. The review is due to be completed by June 2015. Any proposals for structural change will be consulted on through the draft Long Term Plan (LTP).

13. The terms of reference and CCO review workstreams were informed by two current state assessment reports, one prepared from a council perspective and one from a CCO perspective. Local board input to the current state assessment acknowledged significant improvements in interactions between CCOs and local boards over the three year period, although most local boards were still looking for further improvement in certain areas.

Phase Two – Assessment of Services

14. The first step in phase two of the review was to test the rationale for delivering services through a CCO. Councillors discussed that there were both benefits and challenges from delivering services through arms’ length entities such as CCOs.

15. Benefits include commercial focus, efficiency, flexibility in decision-making, and ability to attract specialist skills. Challenges include that the council is ultimately accountable for ratepayer funding, and achieving integration of CCO activities with other council services or policies. It was also acknowledged that where there is high political, public, iwi, or stakeholder interest in CCO decision-making, this can be challenging for the council.

16. At its meeting of 26 June 2014, the governing body received analysis of the services currently being provided by CCOs, against a set of criteria that sought to test the suitability of those services for delivery through a CCO. Overall the analysis suggested that the services currently being delivered through CCOs were well suited to this mode of delivery. Where challenges were identified it was clear that councillors believe these can be properly managed through a CCO model.

Phase Two – CCO delivery and configuration

17. The second step in phase two of the review was to identify whether any changes to the grouping of activities was likely to deliver better outcomes than the current CCO configuration.

18. Councillors have discussed configuration options at a series of workshops in August and September. The options were informed by one or more of the following drivers for change:

· Opportunities to address issues raised in the current state assessment, particularly removing duplication in skills and clarifying responsibilities

· Opportunities to increase effectiveness and drive results

· Opportunities to improve strategic alignment to Auckland Plan goals

· Opportunities to increase efficiency/reduce costs

· Evidence from international best practice or other desktop research.

19. In relation to the last bullet point a number of pieces of desktop research were undertaken. These included reviews of national/international delivery models and a report by Synergine Group on the linkages between water, wastewater and stormwater.

20. The Governing Body has not made any decisions on configuration options; however, workshop discussions have indicated that there was insufficient rationale to progress some options.

Options not being progressed

21. Three waters – The Synergine Group report found that there would be some benefits from the integrated management of three waters, such as enhanced catchment management planning. It also found significant linkages between stormwater and other activities of the council group, including land use planning and transport.

22. For this reason, the options of delivering three waters in-house or within a three waters CCO were both considered.

23. In-house delivery of three waters could help better align water and wastewater network planning with council strategy; however, these benefits can be achieved in other ways including through greater collaboration. This option would have some significant disadvantages including very high cost of change and likely reduced commercial focus in relation to water and wastewater delivery.

24. Delivery of three waters within a three waters CCO could have benefits in terms of operational efficiencies and greater commercial focus. However, some of the benefits can be achieved in other ways and there are some major drawbacks. For example, this option could require complex agreements between Auckland Council and Watercare as many stormwater assets are ‘soft infrastructure’ such as overland flow paths. This would have implications for local boards as many of the overland flow paths are in local parks. Another reason that the option was not progressed was that stormwater planning also needs to be highly integrated with land use planning.

25. Regional facilities, tourism and major events. This option would involve transferring ATEED’s responsibility for tourism and major events to RFA. The main drivers for this option were perceived increase in efficiency and effectiveness as both RFA and ATEED have a focus on tourism and major events including conferences. However, RFA’s main objectives are to maximise utilisation of their assets, while ATEED’s focus is on delivering benefit for the Auckland Region. This option has not been progressed as there was a concern that the resulting CCO would have conflicting objectives.

26. Larger Commercial CCO. Consideration was given to other council investments or business interests that could be transferred to ACIL; however, no significant opportunities were identified.

27. Of the options not being progressed, the option involving transferring stormwater to a three waters CCO is likely to be of most interest to local boards for reasons outlined in paragraph 24.

Options still under consideration

28. Enhanced status quo. This option will apply to all CCOs which do not undergo significant structural change. Enhanced status quo will involve reviewing the purpose and high-level objectives of each CCO as set out in the orders of council under which they were established. This does not apply to Watercare or Auckland Transport, which have specific legislative provisions defining their powers and responsibilities. The timeframe for this review will be between February and June 2015.

29. Enhanced status quo will also involve considering a number of one off issues in relation to each CCO. The following are likely to be of most interest to local boards.

· Whether local economic development activities are delivered by Auckland Council or ATEED.

· The roles and interface between local boards and Auckland Transport in relation to place-making functions.

30. A lot of feedback has already been provided by local boards on these matters and will be taken into account as options are developed.

31. A key difficulty with ATEED delivering local economic development activities on behalf of local boards is that local boards have decision-making responsibility for this, yet they do not have a direct governance relationship with ATEED. This report seeks local board views on ATEED being responsible for local economic development, if a mechanism can be established to hold ATEED accountable to local boards for delivery.

32. Note that the CCO review will not address the level of funding for local economic development activities, as this is an LTP decision. Current budget proposals are for the funding for local economic development activities to be provided in the council’s spatial priority areas only.

33. In relation to local boards, Auckland Transport and place-making, the current state assessment from local boards contained a lot of feedback which will be considered. Any specific proposals would need to come back to local boards for further feedback.

34. Under enhanced status quo there are a number of matters to clarify in relation to Waterfront Auckland. These include the role of Waterfront Auckland in its “area of influence”, and whether the Cloud, Shed 10, and the Viaduct Events Centre, are managed by Waterfront Auckland or RFA. These matters may be of interest to some local boards. The timing for addressing these matters has not yet been determined, but further consultation with interested local boards may be required at a later date.

35. Urban Regeneration CCO: Serious consideration is being given to how the council can increase its level of activity to support its transformational shift of radically improving the quality of urban living. This means moving to quality compact urban form that is well connected, appropriately serviced, provides employment opportunities, and provides housing affordability and choice. These are key elements but there are many other considerations including safety, sustainability, and quality urban design.

36. While the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan (PAUP) is an enabler, it will not be sufficient on its own to provide the scale or quality of development required.

37. The council already has a range of vehicles for helping deliver on these objectives. These include:

· Waterfront Auckland, which is responsible for regeneration of Wynyard Quarter

· City Transformations which undertakes master planning and town centre upgrades

· ACPL which has a role in facilitating housing and commercial development in specific locations including Ormiston Town Centre, Yard 37 at Hobsonville, Papatoetoe town centre, Avondale town centre, and Wilsher Village in Henderson

· Tamaki Redevelopment Company, which is jointly owned with central government and council

· Housing Project Office which is charged with implementation of the Housing Action Plan and integrated consenting in Special Housing Areas (SHAs).

38. The council is considering a new vehicle that could act as a single outward facing voice in the development of the Auckland region, with greater economies of scale, enhanced commerciality and the ability to partner with others. This is likely to be a staged process with the first steps undertaken as part of the CCO review. Options are still being refined but could include expanding the role of ACPL, bringing together the skills and expertise from Waterfront Auckland and ACPL, or another option which could emerge out of work still being undertaken.

39. The concept of a new vehicle to assist in the delivery of quality urban living goals is likely to be of interest to local boards. Local boards’ role in community engagement and local place-making is central to shaping on-going change.

40. In the initial stages it is likely that any increase in redevelopment/regeneration activity would simply reflect repriotisation of LTP budgets in areas which have been identified as spatial priorities. However, it is anticipated that the vehicle would generate and/or leverage new sources of funding over time.

41. This report seeks comments from local boards on the concept of an enhanced delivery vehicle for urban regeneration including comment on the considerations that the Governing Body should take into account from a local perspective, when developing the concept further.

42. Holding Company. ACIL currently owns council shares in Ports of Auckland Limited, Auckland Film Studios, and Auckland International Airport. It also manages the diversified financial assets portfolio (DFAP) on behalf of the council. An option still being considered is to transfer responsibility for the DFAP to the council. ACIL would then become a holding company for council’s ownership in commercial investments. This option does not have identifiable implications for local boards.

CCO model –working better together

43. The focus of the review to date has been on the rationale for arms-length delivery and options for structural change. The terms of reference for the review are much wider than this and include consideration of how to make the CCO model work best for the Auckland Council group. The Auckland Council CCO model is fundamentally different to other local authorities in New Zealand as CCOs deliver core services on behalf of council. The preferred approach is a collaborative model where CCOs are delivery partners, rather than autonomous entities that the council procures services from.

44. Two workstreams likely to be of particular interest to local boards are the Accountability Framework workstream; and the Communication, Collaboration and Consultation workstream.

Accountability Framework

45. To date, the Accountability Framework workstream has focussed primarily on processes, with a goal of improving alignment between budgeting, the LTP process and the annual statement of intent (SOI) process.

46. Proposed new processes have been considered at CCO Review workshops and are due to be considered formally by the CCO Governance and Monitoring Committee on 7 October 2014.

47. The proposed new process recognises that the council’s expectations of CCOs expressed through the SOI process, need to be aligned to the LTP/Annual Plan. When the council considers CCO priorities it should do so within the context of the funding it is providing, or the funding assumptions it is making in the LTP/annual plan.

48. Under the proposed new process the Budget Committee will consider CCO key performance indicators and targets at its October/November workshops with CCOs, and will agree an annual letter of expectation (LOE) to CCO chairs, that reflects budget decisions made. The CCO Governance and Monitoring Committee will receive the draft SOIs in April each year as usual and will limit its shareholder comments to checking that deliverables reflect what has already been agreed through the budgeting process.

49. For local boards, the main implication is that the Budget Committee will also have an overview of local board priorities when it sets its funding for CCOs. For the proposed LTP, the Budget Committee workshops with local boards occur shortly before workshops with CCOs. This will enable Budget Committee members to engage with CCOs regarding local board priorities if they have concerns about any priorities that are not reflected in programmes proposed by CCOs.

50. This does not supersede the requirement for CCOs to take local board priorities into account when they develop their proposed programmes, and for CCOs to actively engage with local boards as they do this.

51. The other proposed change is to streamline the SOIs so that they are focused on what the CCO will deliver. Council expectations in relation to how the CCO is expected to act will be included in a new Governance Manual that will replace the current Shareholder Expectation Guide.

52. Under recent changes to the Local Government Act 2002, the council is required to have a binding agreement with its CCOs. It is proposed that the binding agreement will cross-reference the Governance Manual which will formalise the requirement to comply with council expectations.

53. This Governance Manual will include council expectations of CCOs in relation to local board engagement and reporting, and consideration of local board priorities. These have already been articulated in resolutions of the Accountability and Performance committee in December 2012, and the Strategy and Finance Committee in September 2013. The recent elected member survey included questions for local board members to help assess the current level of satisfaction of local board members in relation to these matters. It is intended that this will continue to be monitored annually.

Communication, collaboration and consultation workstream

54. The purpose of this workstream is to:

· Ensure that CCOs, elected members and council staff engage effectively over strategic issues and keep each other well informed of sensitive issues. This includes CCO interaction with the IMSB and local boards.

· Ensure appropriate public engagement on matters of public interest.

55. This work is still being scoped. The working group will include a staff member from Local Board Services.

56. This work could result in new content for inclusion in the new Governance Manual referred to in paragraphs 51-53. This would need to be identified in draft form by March 2015. If there are any proposals that relate to local boards, CCO Review staff will seek guidance from Local Board Services about further engagement with local boards on these matters.

Next steps in CCO review

57. According to the current timetable, the Governing Body will receive a report on 27 November 2014 with recommendations on CCO configuration options. If the council agrees to support any option that would require significant structural change to any CCO or the establishment of a new CCO, this will be consulted on through the LTP. The proposal to establish a new vehicle to deliver on quality urban living objectives would require LTP consultation.

58. Work on the “working better together” workstreams will continue from now until June 2015.

Consideration

Local board views and implications

59. This report asks for local board views on a number of issues that are being considered as part of the CCO review. This report has provided an overview of review and noted the matters which are likely to be of most interest to local boards.

Māori impact statement

60. The CCO review also includes a range of issues that are likely to be of interest to Māori and to the IMSB. Staff will also seek feedback from the IMSB in relation to these matters.

Implementation

61. There are no implementation issues associated with this report.

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.

Signatories

Author	Catherine Syme, Principal Advisor, CCO Governance and External Partnerships
Authoriser	Adam Milina - Relationship Manager - Albert-Eden & Orakei Local Boards

Albert-Eden Local Board

05 November 2014

Local Board Feedback on the Draft Arts and Culture Strategic Action Plan

File No.: CP2014/22671

Purpose

1. To endorse the Arts and Culture Strategic Action Plan’s proposed goals and action areas.

Executive summary

2. The Arts and Culture Strategic Action Plan (ACSAP) is a core strategy to deliver on the Auckland Plan vision to be the world’s most liveable city. It sets out a strategic direction for the next 10 years that will guide the planning and delivery of arts and culture activities in Auckland to meet the aspiration in the Auckland Plan to “integrate arts and culture in our everyday lives”.

3. Public consultation on the draft ACSAP was held 23 June to 24 July 2014.

4. A total of 440 submissions were received from key (external) stakeholders and the general public – 50 from arts and culture organisations, 109 from children and young people and the remainder from the general public.

5. Feedback from local boards was generally positive. The draft ACSAP aligned well with the arts and culture aspirations in many of the local board plans.

6. There was strong endorsement from key stakeholders and the general public of the draft ACSAP’s goals and action areas.

7. However, feedback from local boards and key stakeholders indicated that considerable further work is required on the implementation section of the plan.

8. As a result of this feedback, the ACSAP has been split into two parts:

· The ‘strategic section’ of the plan, which outlines the goals and action areas; and

· An ‘implementation section’, which will provide detail on the specific actions to be delivered and by whom, timeframes and measures.

9. The strategic section (goals and action areas) will be reported to the Arts, Culture and Events Committee for adoption in October 2014.

10. The implementation section requires further work and engagement with local boards and key stakeholders. This will be reported to the Arts, Culture and Events Committee for adoption in March 2015.

Recommendation/s

That the Albert-Eden Local Board:

a) Endorse the Arts and Culture Strategic Action Plan’s proposed goals and actions and recommend that the Arts, Culture and Events Committee adopt them.

b) Note that further work on the implementation section will be undertaken with local boards from November 2014 to February 2015.

Comments

Local board feedback

11. To date, engagement with local boards has included portfolio holder briefings, workshops and meetings with local board members. Written and verbal feedback has been received (see attachment A).

12. Local boards are generally positive about the draft ACSAP, its alignment with draft local board plans and its ability to support local board’s diverse arts and culture aspirations.

13. Key themes emerged from local board feedback:

· Community feedback on the draft plan needs to be reflected in the final ACSAP

· Greater recognition of the importance of arts and culture in placemaking and urban design

· Greater clarity on council’s role and what council will specifically deliver and support

· Improve the affordability of hiring creative spaces

· Improve Aucklanders’ access to and participation in arts and culture

· More public art outside the city centre

· Regional institutions to deliver arts and culture in rural areas

· Greater use of digital tools, such as an arts and culture calendar, on-line tools to connect artists with funders, on-line access to and apps about the history of significant sites etc.

· Recognise the importance of ‘local’ i.e. arts and culture by local communities, for local communities, in local communities.

14. The areas of strong alignment between local board, key stakeholder and general public feedback include: the importance of arts and culture in placemaking; celebrating multiculturalism; and addressing affordability and accessibility issues for audiences and participants.

Public feedback

15. Public consultation on the draft ACSAP took place from 23 June to 24 July. It was publicised through various channels. Local boards also promoted the consultation to their communities.

16. A total of 440 submissions were received. Of these: 50 were from arts and culture organisations; 109 were received from children and young people; and the remainder were from the general public. (See attachment B for the feedback summary and submission numbers by local board area)

17. A specific consultation with children and young people was undertaken during the school holidays, accounting for the high number of responses from these groups. Staff worked with Uxbridge Creative Centre, The Auckland Performing Arts Centre, Auckland Central Library, Auckland Art Gallery and schools to run visioning and imagining exercises and collect feedback via a specifically designed worksheet.

18. Key themes from the public consultation were:

· The importance of public art and arts and culture in placemaking

· Sustainable funding of arts and culture

· Affordability and accessibility to arts and culture for audiences and participants

· Honouring Māori culture and recognising the contribution of multiculturalism to Auckland’s identity

· A strong desire from many individuals and organisations to partner with council to implement the ACSAP.

19. Submitters strongly endorsed the six goals and 16 action areas in the draft ACSAP.

Adopting the ACSAP through a two-stage process

20. Whilst there was general support for the goals and action areas, there was also strong feedback on how the detailed actions of the ACSAP will be implemented. Additionally, external stakeholders expressed a desire to be involved in delivery.

21. The mayor’s proposal for the Long-term Plan 2015-25 requires refinement to the detailed actions and look closely at implementation.

22. As a result of these issues, the ACSAP has been split into two parts:

· The ‘strategic’ part of the plan, outlining the goals and actions areas. Staff seek local board endorsement of the proposed goals and action areas (below), and local board recommendation that the Arts, Culture and Events Committee adopt the goals and action areas at the October committee meeting. Prior to further consultation on implementation, it is important that the ACSAP goals and action areas are adopted to guide this discussion.

· The ‘implementation’ part of the plan, with details on specific actions, lead organisations, timeframes and measures. This requires further work and engagement and will be reported to the Arts, Culture and Events Committee in March 2015. Feedback from the consultation will be used to refine and inform this work.

ACSAP strategic section: proposed goals and action areas

23. Early information and feedback from local boards and key stakeholders was used to develop the goals and action areas in the draft ACSAP. They have been confirmed through the consultation process, which also identified priority goals and action areas (see highlighted points in the table below).

24. The proposed, final ACSAP goals and action areas are:

Goals	Action areas
All Aucklanders can access and participate in arts and culture	Place Aucklanders at the centre of arts and culture planning and delivery
	Better communicate what’s on offer
	Remove barriers to access and participants
Auckland values and invests in arts and culture	Grow and deliver strategic investment in arts and culture
Auckland values and invests in arts and culture	Evaluate and promote the economic, social, cultural and environmental value of investment in Auckland’s art and culture
A network of vibrant arts and culture organisations and facilities meets Auckland’s diverse needs	Foster arts and culture organisations and facilities that build and promote Auckland’s unique identity
	Support arts and culture organisations to engage with Auckland’s diverse population in innovative and inclusive ways
	Arts and culture organisations work together as a complementary regional system
	Provide a regional spread of vibrant diverse and affordable creative spaces
Arts and culture are intrinsic to Auckland’s place making	Tell our stories by encouraging unique and distinctive public art that reflects and responds to our place
	Make it easier to plan, create and deliver innovative art and design in public places
	Engage more artists and Aucklanders in art in public places
Auckland celebrates a unique cultural identity	Celebrate Māori and their culture as a point of difference
Auckland celebrates a unique cultural identity	Champion Auckland’s unique arts and culture
Auckland has a robust and flourishing creative economy	Foster a robust network of creative industries
Auckland has a robust and flourishing creative economy	Champion innovation to attract talent

Next steps

25. Further engagement with local boards, key stakeholders, mana whenua and mataawaka on implementation will take place between October 2014 and February 2015. The implementation section will be reported to the Arts, Culture and Events Committee in March 2015 for adoption, and the ACSAP in its entirety will be finalised.

Consideration

Māori impact statement

26. The Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) is represented on the ACSAP steering group to provide guidance on content and process. The IMSB’s Māori Plan for Tāmaki Makaurau was a guiding document underpinning the development of the draft ACSAP.

27. Māori aspirations and outcomes were clearly identified and addressed in the draft ACSAP with Māori actions woven through all the action areas; this will not change. The ACSAP acknowledges and celebrates Māori culture as Auckland’s point of difference, and mana whenua as Treaty partners in a multicultural Auckland.

28. One of the key arts and culture actions in the Māori Plan for Tāmaki Makaurau was that council support a signature Māori event – this is included in the ACSAP. The mayor’s proposal on the LTP 2015-25 states his expectation that Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development (ATEED) will deliver a significant Māori event (and ATEED refocus its current resources to achieve this).

29. Further engagement with mana whenua and mataawaka is planned as part of developing the implementation section of the ACSAP.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a View	Draft Arts and Culture Strategic Action Plan (ACSAP) - Full Plan	199
b View	Local Board Feedback Summary	269
c View	ASCAP - Submissions Report	273

Signatories

Author	Michael Mendoza - Democracy Advisor
Authoriser	Adam Milina - Relationship Manager - Albert-Eden & Orakei Local Boards

Albert-Eden Local Board

05 November 2014

Integrated bylaws review and implementation programme (IBRI) update – September 2014

File No.: CP2014/23812

Purpose

1. This report provides an update on the Integrated Bylaw Review and Implementation programme, noting its progress towards delivering a set of bylaws that are appropriate for Auckland by October 2015.

Executive summary

2. The Integrated Bylaw Review and Implementation (IBRI) programme is reviewing the set of legacy bylaws and supporting the adoption and implementation of new bylaws that are appropriate for Auckland, by October 2015.

3. An investment proposal for funding for the 2014/2015 year was endorsed by the Budget Committee in May 2014. This ensures that the programme has adequate funding for its activities this year, including delivering several bylaws that are planned to come into force alongside the July 2015 start of the next long-term plan period.

4. Progress has been made on the review and implementation stages for several topics. The final Navigation Safety Bylaw and Cemeteries and Crematoria Bylaw have now been adopted by the governing body and will come into force in the next few months. The Auckland Transport Board has also adopted changes to their Election Signs Bylaw that are now in force.

5. Seven bylaw proposals were, or are, open for formal public consultation from August to October. These are the Trading and Events in Public Places Bylaw, the Alcohol Control Bylaw, the Animal Management Bylaw (covering animals other than dogs), an amendment to the Health and Hygiene Bylaw, the Signage Bylaw, the Stormwater Bylaw and the Outdoor Fire Safety Bylaw. Consultation around these topics will ensure that a coherent view is presented to the public across these topics and in the context of other work.

6. The Alcohol Control Bylaw proposal includes recommended delegations to local boards to allow a timely review of the current alcohol bans in each local board area.

7. The 2014 programme for review of local dog access rules is well underway with the local boards that are proposing changes this year. Reports on the submissions have been prepared to support final decisions by summer.

8. The new Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaws and the Health and Hygiene Bylaw have now come into force and the changes that allow the council to operate these new bylaws have been successfully delivered. Media coverage for these has generally been positive. In particular the prohibition on use of sunbeds by those under 18 years old has received positive coverage (reflecting the council’s leadership on this issue).

9. Detailed planning to support the coming in to force of the Navigation Safety Bylaw and the Cemeteries and Crematoria Bylaw, and other upcoming bylaws, is underway.

10. No formal requests for local board bylaws have been received over the period covered by this report.

Recommendation/s

That the Albert-Eden Local Board:

a) Note the progress of the Integrated Bylaw Review and Implementation programme towards its completion of the delivery of new bylaws by October 2015.

Comments

Background to the Integrated bylaw review and implementation programme

11. Auckland Council inherited a set of legacy bylaws from the former councils, covering approximately 30 topics. These bylaws expire at the end of October 2015.

12. The Integrated Bylaw Review and Implementation programme has been established to review these bylaws and prepare a new bylaw for each topic where appropriate, and to make and communicate the necessary changes so that the council can operate the new bylaws and achieve the outcomes sought from each bylaw. The programme will also work with affected parties where a legacy bylaw is not replaced by a new bylaw.

13. Both local boards and the Regulatory and Bylaws Committee receive regular updates on the programme. The previous update was provided to local boards in April 2014. This report provides an update on the various topics included in the programme, and attachment A provides an overview of the timeline through to October 2015.

Funding for bylaw review and implementation

14. A funding proposal for the IBRI programme was approved by the Budget Committee at its meeting of 8 May 2014 (refer resolution BUD/2014/24). This means that the programme will have sufficient resources to deliver its objectives over the 2014/2015 year. The majority of the bylaw topics included within the programme will be completed by the end of this financial year, with several bylaws expected to come into force alongside the start of the new financial year on 1 July 2015. It is expected that there will also be some programme activities through the first part of the 2015/2016 year.

Update on review stage for bylaw topics

15. Table one and table two below show the current status of the review topics and provide further comments for particular topics.

16. This includes bylaws that may be folded into or managed under other topics (Arkles Bay set netting, Orakei Basin), the ongoing local boards’ review of dog access rules, regional film fees, and the review that must take place within five years of any bylaw’s adoption.

17. Local boards have recently provided input to the bylaw reviews for construction and transport for Auckland Council land (such as parks). Further engagement is underway or being planned for the next topics in the review including alcohol controls review, environmental protection and regional film fees.

Table 1: Summary of status and next steps for review of bylaw topics

Topic	Status and Progress – 7 stages								Comments
	Status	1-Preparation	2-Pre-consultation	3-Options	4-Write Bylaw	5-Adopt draft	6-Spec Cons Proc	7-Adopt final
*Reviews completed*
Dog management	G								Completed
Election Signs	G								Completed
Food safety	G								Completed
General administration	G								Completed
Hazardous substances	G								Completed
Health & hygiene	G								Completed
Offensive trades	G								Completed
Public safety and nuisance	G								Completed
Solid waste (Waste m/ment)	G								Completed
Trade waste	G								Completed
Transport (Auckland Transport)	G								Completed
Navigation safety (including lifejackets)	G								See below
Cemeteries and crematoria	G								See below
Election signs (amendment)	G								See below


Work programme
Outdoor / rural fire safety	G
Trading and events in public places	G								See below
Stormwater management	G
Signage	G								See below
Alcohol licensing fees	A
Alcohol control	G								See below
Animal management	G								See below
Health & hygiene amendment									See below
Air quality	G
Boarding houses and hostels	G
Commercial sex industry	A								Issues covered in unitary plan and other bylaws
Construction and development	G
Onsite wastewater	G
Orakei Basin	G
Recreational and cultural facilities	G
Transport (Parks / AC controlled land)	G
Water supply and wastewater (reticulation)	G
Wharfs & marinas	G
Environmental protection	G

Other work
Review - local dog access rules	G								See below
Freedom camping	G
Arkles Bay set netting	G
Regional film fees	G								See below
Five year reviews	B

Status summary codes

G	Green - Work is progressing as planned, due date will be met or any revised date will not have wider impacts
A	Amber – Original due date at risk of being missed and this may have wider impacts; or an issue has arisen.
R	Red - Due date has or will be missed and this will have wider impacts; or an issue has arisen that will have wider or significant impacts.
B	Blue - Not yet scheduled. However, background work is underway.

Table 2: Additional comments for particular topics in the bylaw review programme

Navigation safety (including lifejackets)

On track

Public submissions closed on 17 March and public hearings and deliberations were completed. The Hearings Panel report on the final form of the bylaw was considered and adopted by the governing body at its meeting on 31 July 2014.

The panel requested that a campaign be developed to communicate the changes introduced in the new bylaw and to support the bylaw’s objectives around safety on the water, particularly in relation to smaller boats and the wearing of lifejackets. Planning for this campaign is now underway to support the commencement of the new bylaw.

Cemeteries and crematoria	On track	G
Public submissions closed in June and the public hearings and deliberations were completed. The Hearings Panel report on the final form of the bylaw was considered and adopted by the governing body at its meeting on 31 July 2014. The final bylaw and code of practice included a number of changes arising from public consultation, including clarifying procedures around burial and plots and for scattering of ashes.

Election signs (amendment)

On track

The Auckland Transport board proposed a series of amendment to the Election Signs Bylaw to reflect issues that arose in the 2013 local body elections. These changes included limits on the times when signs can be displayed on private sites, allowing candidates to appear on both individual and team signs on a single site, and requiring contact information on signs to be readable. Submissions closed on 3 June.

Final changes were adopted by the board at its meeting of 24 June, and came into force on 18 July (just before the two month period that runs up to the general election on 20 September).

Trading and events in public place

On track

Both Auckland Council and Auckland Transport have endorsed their proposed Trading and Events in Public Places bylaws. These apply to streets and footpaths and other public places. Public submissions were open from 4 August to 4 September, with hearings and deliberations to follow. It is expected any new bylaws could come into force for July 2015. This would allow any fee changes to also be put in place with the new long-term plan that will start then.

The bylaws cover a range of issues including street performances, mobile shops, outdoor dining and displays, markets and stalls and charity collections.

Signage

On track

A proposed Signage Bylaw was reported to the August meetings of the Regulatory and Bylaws Committee, the governing body and the Auckland Transport board. Public consultation is open from 3 September to 3 October 2014.

The bylaw covers a range of types of signs including portable, free standing, wall-mounted, veranda and window signage. It also addresses requirements for posters and for certain types of signs including signs in public open spaces, signage advertising commercial sexual services, real estate signage and event signage.

Any new bylaw could be in place for July 2015 and will work alongside Unitary Plan requirements that apply to specific types of signs.

Alcohol control

On track

The Alcohol Control Bylaw will allow the council to put alcohol bans (previously call liquor bans) in place. These bans prohibit the consumption or possession of alcohol in specified public places, at particular times. Alcohol bans can work alongside other regulatory and non-regulatory tools to help minimise the harm that can be associated with alcohol.

A proposed bylaw was adopted by the governing body on 31 July and was open for public consultation from 15 August to 15 September. The proposal includes delegations allowing local boards to review, make, amend and revoke alcohol bans for local public places. The governing body would make these decisions for public places that are of regional significance.

The bylaw includes criteria to help evaluate any request for an alcohol ban, based on the requirements of the enabling legislation. It has also been designed to support a range of approaches to help communities manage problems associated with alcohol use.

The current proposal does not include a review of the existing alcohol bans or the making of new alcohol bans. Decisions on the existing alcohol bans will need to be made by local boards and the governing body after the new bylaw is adopted and before October 2015. Local boards are now receiving further information on how they can carry out their role for this review.

Animal management

On track

A proposed Animal Management Bylaw was adopted by the governing body on 31 July and was open for public consultation from 15 August to 15 September. The bylaw provides Aucklanders with the opportunity to own different types of animals for companionship, while minimising possible impact on their neighbours. Under the proposed bylaw, people that keep animals need to ensure the animals do not cause a nuisance, risk to public health and safety, or damage council land.

Specific provisions are included for urban properties relating to the keeping of bees and chickens or other stock (such as a rooster, goat, pig or sheep). There are also specific provisions related to horse riding in public places.

Issues relating to animal welfare, wildlife predation and dog management are addressed through national legislation and do not form part of this proposal.

Health & hygiene amendment

On track

The Health and Hygiene Bylaw 2013 was adopted by the council in 2013 and came into force on 1 July 2014. The bylaw and code, as adopted, requires pharmacists to obtain a licence under the bylaw if they offer commercial ear-piercing services.

The council has now received further information from industry representatives that shows public health is adequately protected through existing central government regulation and industry-based standards. Accordingly, the council is proposing an amendment to the bylaw that will exempt pharmacists from the requirement to obtain this licence under the bylaw when they provide commercial ear-piercing services. Public consultation was open from 15 August to 15 September.

Local dog access review

On track

The 2014 local board dog access review includes some areas within the following local boards: Kaipatiki, Orakei, Maungakiekie-Tamaki, Puketapapa, and Hibiscus and Bays.

This is the first year of the new approach to reviewing dog access rules and means the council can consider requests for changes to dog access rules on an annual basis. This approach is more responsive to residents and the environment and enables robust consideration on specific public places to provide for public safety and comfort, the needs of dogs and their owners, and to ensure the practicality of dog access rules.

The council is required to advise registered dog owners about these proposed changes and this has been achieved by including relevant material within the annual dog registration package. This is the first year that this approach has been possible and it has reduced costs and ensured that dog owners receive a single combined communication from the council. This targeted advice has been supported by other communication including public notices, local newspaper advertising and initiatives planned by these local boards.

Submissions on the proposed changes closed on 23 July 2014. Panels established by the relevant local boards considered the submissions, held hearings and reported to their respective local boards who have adopted the recommendations and finalised the review process.

Further access review changes are planned for the next two years. Work is now underway for local boards that are involved in the 2015 review programme. The local boards that are receiving a report in September to confirm commencement of the review and define its scope are Rodney, Upper Harbour, Devonport-Takapuna, Waitakere Ranges, Waiheke Island, Albert-Eden, Puketapapa, and Waitemata.

Regional film fees

On track

There are around 500 permit applications for filming activity each year, including many on local parks. The Auckland Film Protocol expresses the council’s intention to welcome filming, support this activity and maximise the financial and other benefits it brings to Auckland. The protocol also includes measures to ensure filming’s impacts on communities are well managed.

When the Film Protocol was adopted in 2013 several local boards asked that further work be carried out to understand how local communities can get more benefit from filming. The regional film fees project responds to part of that request. It will review how fees for filming can be set and managed, and how council’s direct revenue associated with filming permits can be used to meet the costs of facilitating filming and to improve the public spaces (including parks and streetscapes) that are used by film-makers.

Further information is being provided to local boards through September and October.

Update on implementation stage for new bylaws

18. Table three and table four below show the current status of implementation projects and further comments for particular implementation projects.

Table 3: Summary of status and next steps for implementation projects

Implementation project name	Status and Progress					Link to bylaw topics / Other comments
	Status	1-Preparation	2-Planning	3-Implementation	4-Closure
*Underway*
Alcohol licensing readiness	G					Completed
Alcohol licensing fees	A					See below
Animals (Stage 1)	G					Completed
Dog access review 2014	G
Electoral Signs 2013	G					Completed
Electoral Signs 2014	G
Environmental	G
Facilities	G
Food safety	G					Completed
Health protection	G					Health & hygiene bylaw and code of practice; See below
Marine	G					Navigation safety – see below
Public safety & nuisance	G
Revoked and lapsing bylaws	G					General admin; Offensive trades; Others
Signage	G
Stormwater	G
Street trading	G
Waste management	G					Solid waste bylaw
Animals (stage 2)	G
Alcohol controls	G
Air quality	G

*Proposed future*
Construction	B
Transport (AC land)	B

Table 4: Additional comments for particular implementation projects

Alcohol licensing fees

On hold

As part of reforming laws relating to the sale and supply of alcohol, central government updated licensing fees and also allowed each council to set its own fees for the licensing services it must provide. Auckland Council considered a report on the costs involved in this in August 2013, and endorsed adopting a bylaw to set its own alcohol licensing fee amounts, to take affect from 1 July 2014 (refer governing body meeting of 22 August 2013, item 13, GB/2013/83).

A further report has now been considered by the Regional Strategy and Policy Committee (7 August, item 11). The report provided an update on this matter, noting that revenue collected to date effectively covers relevant operating costs. The committee endorsed the council continuing to use the default licensing fees set by central government and that a further update should be provided early in 2015 (refer REG/2014/101).

Health protection	On track	G
The new Health and Hygiene Bylaw and code of practice are in force from 1 July 2014 and this project has now completed its closure phase after managing commencement successfully. The council’s leadership on prohibiting the use of sun-beds for people under 18 years of age was highlighted positively in the media.

Marine (including Navigation safety)	On Track	G
The new Navigation Safety Bylaw will come into force for the 2014/2015 summer. The bylaw includes key changes around the wearing of lifejackets on vessels under six metres in length. An education and information campaign is currently being prepared to support this and other changes that the bylaw introduces. This will include updating the signs at key boat ramps across Auckland and working with other water safety organisations to deliver these safety messages to the community.

Consideration

Local board views and implications

19. Local boards are involved in the review of each bylaw topic (consistent with the review’s principles). This report provides an update on the programme, but does not raise any issues specific to local boards apart from those already noted above.

20. No proposals for local bylaws have been received through the above period.

Māori impact statement

21. This report does not raise any specific issues relating to Māori. The review of each topic includes considering whether that topic includes any elements of special interest to Māori, and if so the appropriate way to seek a greater level of engagement. Where appropriate, consultation with Māori (on a particular topic) may be linked to consultation on other related topics through the Unitary Plan or other initiatives.

General

22. The recommendations in this report do not trigger the council’s policy on significance.

Implementation

23. The programme includes implementation and delivery for each bylaw, as noted above. This includes working with internal and external stakeholders as relevant to each topic.

Attachments