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Ōrākei
Local Board
20 April 2017
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Future
Management of the Ōrākei Basin
File No.: CP2017/05734
Purpose
1. To
agree to an implementation strategy to undertake the actions required by the
Ōrākei Basin Management Plan 2010 (the Management Plan).
2. To
update the Ōrākei Basin Advisory Group Terms of Reference, including
the role and membership of the Ōrākei Basin Advisory Group.
Executive
summary
3. Since
the 2016 local government elections, the Ōrākei Local Board has
reviewed the work undertaken on the Ōrākei Basin and the role of the
Ōrākei Basin Advisory Group (OBAG). The Local Board, as the
governing entity over the Ōrākei Basin, is committed to implementing
the Management Plan and sought clarification of the role of OBAG.
4. The
Terms of Reference under which OBAG operated needed to be reviewed and these
have been rewritten to clarify the membership of OBAG and how it could better
operate as intended by the Management Plan.
5. The
revised Terms of Reference are attached for adoption by the Ōrākei
Local Board.
6. Parks,
Sport and Recreation staff propose that the actions envisaged by the Management
Plan be commenced, with the first priority being the preparation of a State of
the Ōrākei Basin Report.
7. Staff
propose that the scope of the State of the Ōrākei Basin Report be
approved by the Local Board, following staff advice, and consultation with
necessary stakeholder groups.
8. Following
completion of the State of the Ōrākei Basin Report, an action plan
for the basin will be developed; this will include a list of prioritised
initiatives and projects.
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Recommendation/s
That the Ōrākei
Local Board:
a) agree
to the continuation of the Ōrākei Basin Advisory Group.
b) appoint
the Orakei Local Board Parks portfolio lead to the Ōrākei Basin
Advisory Group.
c) approve
the revised Terms of Reference for the Ōrākei Basin Advisory Group.
d) request
that staff draft a scope for the state of the basin report, for approval by
the Board.
e) request
that staff develop the action plan, as required by the Ōrākei Basin
Management Plan following the completion of the state of the basin report.
f) request
that the Ōrākei Basin Advisory Group investigate the establishment
of a “Friends of Ōrākei Basin” group.
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Comments
9. The
area known as the Ōrākei Basin (the basin) is one of many volcanic
features in the Auckland region. It is highly valued by the community for its
geological, ecological, archaeological, recreational and landscape values.
10. The
Ōrākei Basin Management Plan was adopted by Auckland City Council in
August 2010. It was prepared in accordance with the process set out in the
Reserves Act 1977 and is intended to provide direction for the future
development, management and use of the open space network associated with the
Ōrākei Basin. The area that the Management Plan covers includes the
water bodies of the Ōrākei Basin and Creek, and eight smaller pieces
of public land. These are shown on the map in Attachment A.
11. The
Management Plan requires a number of actions which include:
· setting
up an Ōrākei Basin Advisory Group,
· investigating
the establishment of a “Friends of Ōrākei Basin” group,
· preparing
a state of the basin report, and
· preparing
an action plan to be developed based on the interim action plan provided in
Appendix 5 of the Management Plan.
12. Of these
actions, only the establishment of the Ōrākei Basin Advisory Group
has occurred. At the time when Auckland Council was formed, the basin was
regarded as a regional feature and was therefore managed by the Governing Body.
In 2013 the Ōrākei Basin was categorised as a local park and is now
under the governance of the Ōrākei Local Board.
Ōrākei
Basin Advisory Group
13. In May 2011
terms of reference (TOR) for a proposed Ōrākei Basin advisory group
were endorsed by the Regional Development and Operations Committee. OBAG was
established immediately after in June. It is made up of representatives of the
recreational user-groups at the basin, as well as of local residents’ and
interest groups, a council parks officer and an Ōrākei Local Board
member. Since its establishment, OBAG has provided important local and
recreational input and assisted the Council with a number of physical works
projects.
14. The primary
role of the Advisory Group is intended to “support on-going
implementation of the management plan”. It was also set up to prepare:
· an
‘action plan’ to prioritise work,
· a
state of Ōrākei Basin report, and
· a
development plan.
15. The
Management Plan also states that “the advisory group will investigate the
establishment of a Friends of Ōrākei Basin.” It appears that
there was an attempt to establish a “Friends of” group, but this
was unsuccessful. The other tasks listed above have not yet been completed.
16. The TOR have
been in place for the last six years and should have been regularly reviewed
(three times per year), but this appears to have been overlooked.
17. The
Ōrākei Local Board believes it is timely to review the TOR. This has
led to the revised TOR (Attachment A), which among other points of
clarification, changes the review period of the TOR to every three years to
align with each local board term.
18. The revised
TOR clarifies the role of OBAG as an advisory group and the Local Board as the
primary decision-maker. This is clearly expressed by the Management Plan as
follows:
‘The advisory group will be able to provide
recommendations however, budget allocation decision making responsibility will
rest with the council’.
19. It does
however provide for OBAG’s ability to ‘make formal requests for
discretionary funding when considered appropriate’.
20. The Board is
now interested in working with OBAG to complete the tasks that the Management
Plan requires, but have not yet been initiated.
Work Required by the Ōrākei Basin Management
Plan
21. The
Management Plan is clear that both the State of the Ōrākei Basin
Report and the Action Plan would be led by Council staff, who, when
appropriate, would seek input and advice from the Ōrākei Basin
Advisory Group. Any decisions on the projects with financial implications would
be referred to the Local Board for final decision-making.
The State of the
Ōrākei Basin Report
22. The Board has
recently been advised that a water quality monitoring programme of the
Ōrākei Creek and Basin has been initiated. This will ascertain the
state of water quality in the Ōrākei Creek and parts of the basin. It
goes some way to meeting the first priority project required by the Management
Plan. However, the State of the Ōrākei Basin report is intended to
‘cover not only the basin and creek but also the public park areas around
the basin that are included in the management plan’.
23. A priority
for the Board should be to ensure that an assessment of the current condition
of the basin and its immediate environs (as mapped in Attachment A) is provided
against which future annual monitoring can be measured and projects can be
prioritised.
The Action Plan
24. The Schedule
in Appendix 5 of the Management Plan appears to have been used as a list for
some work/projects in the last 5 years, but the list was actually intended
‘to inform the basis of an ‘action plan’ to be developed by
the Ōrākei Basin Advisory Group.’[1] No prioritised action plan
appears to have been developed. It is proposed that the action plan will be
developed using the list of projects and programmes in Appendix 5 of the
Management Plan as a starting point, but will also consider progress and/or
changes that have occurred, to prioritise future projects in and around the
Basin.
Consideration
25. The Local
Board has responsibility for the Ōrākei Basin and its associated
public areas provided for in the Ōrākei Basin Management Plan. The
clarification of the membership and role of OBAG is important to ensure that
the outcomes and actions set out the in the Management Plan are achieved.
26. The Local
Board may choose not to support the concept of an advisory group, in which case
an amendment to the Management Plan under the Reserves Act 1977 would have to
be initiated. This is not recommended as removing this provision or any other
changes to the Management Plan would entail a lengthy and time consuming
process.
27. The revised
Terms of Reference are intended to clarify the role of OBAG and it is
recommended that OBAG work closely with the Local Board to ensure the outcomes
of the Management Plan are realised.
28. To ensure
that the requirements of the Management Plan are met, Parks, Sport and
Recreation staff proposes to first work with all relevant stakeholders,
including OBAG, to provide a draft scope for the State of the Ōrākei
Basin work for approval by the Ōrākei Local Board. At the completion
of the report, the action plan required by the Management Plan can then be
developed.
29. It should be
noted that while the tasks outlined above are implemented, capital works
projects already approved in and around the basin will be initiated and/or
continued. These include the retaining wall and improvements to the steps
behind the Auckland Water Ski Club and the renewal of the paths around the
southern side of the basin.
Local
board views and implications
30. The Local
Board has been consulted in the preparation of this report.
31. The Local
Board has requested that the Terms of Reference be updated to ensure that
ongoing engagement between the Local Board, Council officers and representative
groups occurs in a formalised manner and that there is a clear avenue for the
input by relevant community group representatives into the work of Council
staff.
32. The Local
Board has requested that the work in relation to the State of the Basin Report
and the Action Plan be expedited due to the significance of the
Ōrākei Basin to the Local Board Area. The advice provided proposes an
approach that will enable the work to progress with the necessary engagement
with both the local Board and the relevant stakeholder groups.
33. It is likely
that there will be further implications in relation to the surrounding area for
the Ōrākei Local Board to consider once the State of the Basin Report
is completed. These considerations and any subsequent action required will be
considered and workshopped with the local Board as part of the process to develop
the Action Plan.
Māori
impact statement
34. OBAG includes
a representative of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. Due to the
significance of the Ōrākei Basin, Mana Whenua will be engaged during
the development of both the State of the Basin Report and the Action Plan
through the regular meetings of OBAG.
Implementation
35. Following
approval of this report, Parks, Sport and Recreation staff will commence the
work in line with the proposed approach, and will return to the Local Board
with a draft scope to a workshop in May 2017.
Attachments
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No.
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Title
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Page
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a⇩ 
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Revised Terms of Reference for OBAG
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9
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Signatories
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Author
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Greer O'Donnell - PSR Portfolio Manager
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Authorisers
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Mace Ward - General Manager Parks, Sports and
Recreation
Adam Milina - Relationship Manager - Albert-Eden &
Orakei Local Boards
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Ōrākei
Local Board
20 April 2017
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Local board feedback on Government’s Urban
Development Authorities Discussion Document
File No.: CP2017/06390
Purpose
1. To provide an opportunity for local boards to formally provide
feedback on the government’s Urban Development Authorities Discussion
Document.
Executive
summary
2. The
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Urban Development
Authorities Discussion Document, released in February 2017, proposes new
legislation for urban development authorities.
3. The
potential legislation is the government’s direct response to
recommendations made by the Productivity Commission during the Using Land for
Housing inquiry (2015). The government signaled the proposal in August
2016.
4. The
discussion document notes that the urban development authority proposal is one
of a number of initiatives to improve the urban development system overall,
others being the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill and the Productivity
Commission inquiry into Better Urban Planning.
5. The
proposed legislation is intended to complement the government’s recent
introduction of a National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity and
the Housing Infrastructure Fund.
6. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to
enable better urban development at scale, where projects are complex or
strategically important.
7. The legislation would enable local and central
government:
· to empower nationally or
locally significant urban development projects to access more enabling
development powers and land use rules; and
· to establish new urban
development authorities to support those projects where required.
8. The
intention is to overcome barriers to large scale urban development identified
by the Productivity Commission’s Using Land for Housing inquiry.
9. The
proposed legislation would enable publicly-controlled urban development
authorities to plan and oversee the necessary development. Urban development
authorities would be granted access powers to overcome these barriers, where
applicable and strategically appropriate. This may include:
· powers to acquire parcels of land,
· powers to plan and fund infrastructure
· powers to buy, sell or lease land and
buildings and fund infrastructure, and
· override existing and proposed district
plans.
10. Developments
could include housing, commercial premises, associated infrastructure, and
amenities including parks, community spaces or shopping centres. Projects could
also be greenfield and part of city expansion. Projects would not be limited to
solely housing related projects. Development powers will not be available for
stand-alone infrastructure projects.
11. The
planning and consenting system as a whole; and any ability for urban
development authorities to access powers under the Building Act 2004 and the
Building Code will not be considered in this discussion document or during the
further development of the urban development authority proposal.
12. In
its submission to the Productivity Commission Using Land for Housing draft
report in June 2015, the council raised the following points regarding urban
development authorities. These are that the council:
· agrees that there can be high value in
urban development agency models
· does not support the establishment of a
government urban development agency in Auckland
· supports and believes there is scope for
government to undertake complementary development activities and work alongside
Development Auckland (now Panuku)
· does not support the removal of planning
powers from local government to an urban development agency as local government
is better placed to undertake local planning.
· recommends government undertakes an
evaluation of existing development initiatives it has been involved in in
Auckland, e.g. Tamaki Redevelopment Company Limited, and Hobsonville Point
Company Limited.
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Recommendation/s
That the Ōrākei
Local Board:
a) endorse
the attached feedback on the Urban Development Authorities discussion
document.
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Consideration
Local
board views and implications
13. Local board
chairpersons were invited to make an Expression of Interest to be a member of
the Political Reference Group providing direction to staff on the submission.
14. The purpose
of this report is to seek local board feedback which will be attached to the
Auckland Council submission at the Planning Committee.
15. A committee report with the draft Political Reference group
submission points will be reported to the 2 May meeting of the Planning
Committee, with delegated sign off for the final submission for the 19 May
deadline. The submission closing date is very tight and local board feedback
will be tabled at the 2 May Planning Committee meeting. We would be grateful
for any specific comments you wish to be considered for council submission to
be:
· in a word document, regarding the overall proposal to enact
new legislation as well as the specific proposals which are included within the
overall proposal (see Appendix 1), provided by 28 April 2017. Any
feedback received after 28 April and before 15 May 2017 will be attached to the
final submission.
· sent to Christina Kaiser christina.kaiser@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
If you have any questions please contact
Christina Kaiser.
Māori
impact statement
16. The proposals
in the discussion document will have an impact Māori. The discussion
document proposes a process to identify potential Urban Development Authorities
and develop related plans that may impact on agreed to planning decisions which
were made with Māori engagement and input.
17. The
Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) are providing input into
the submission. The Political Reference Group set up to work with staff on
Auckland Council’s submission includes a member of the IMSB Secretariat.
Implementation
18. There are no
implementation issues as a result of this report.
Attachments
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No.
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Title
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Page
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Urban Development Authorities Discussion Document
February 2017
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17
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b⇩
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Appendix 1 Questions for Consideration
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143
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c⇩
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Appendix 2 Summary diagram of the processes being
proposed under the new legislation
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145
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Signatories
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Author
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Christina Kaiser – Principal Strategic Advisor
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Authorisers
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Jacques Victor – GM Auckland Plan Strategy and
Research
Karen Lyons - Manager Local Board Services
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