Agenda of Hibiscus and Bays Local Board

I hereby give notice that an ordinary meeting of the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board will be held on:

Date:

Time:

Meeting Room:

Venue:

Thursday, 4 May 2017

4:30pm

Council Chamber
Orewa Service Centre
50 Centreway Road
Orewa

Hibiscus and Bays Local Board

OPEN AGENDA

MEMBERSHIP

Chairperson	Julia Parfitt, JP
Deputy Chairperson	Janet Fitzgerald, JP
Members	Chris Bettany
	David Cooper
	Gary Holmes
	Caitlin Watson
	Vicki Watson
	Mike Williamson

(Quorum 4 members)

Vivienne Sullivan

Local Board Democracy Advisor

1 May 2017

Contact Telephone: (09) 427 3317

Email: vivienne.sullivan@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Website: www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Hibiscus and Bays Local Board

04 May 2017

ITEM TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

1 Welcome 5

2 Apologies 5

3 Declaration of Interest 5

4 Confirmation of Minutes 5

5 Leave of Absence 5

6 Acknowledgements 5

7 Petitions 5

8 Deputations 5

9 Public Forum 5

10 Extraordinary Business 5

11 Notices of Motion 6

12 Ecological Management Plan for Deep Creek and Waiake Estuary, Stage One 7

13 Annual Budget 2017/2018 63

14 Local board feedback on Government’s Urban Development Authorities Discussion Document 83

15 Consideration of Extraordinary Items

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 Hibiscus and Bays Local Board:

a) confirm the ordinary minutes of its meeting, held on Wednesday, 19 April 2017, including the confidential section, 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

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

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 Hibiscus and Bays Local 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 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

There were no notices of motion.

Hibiscus and Bays Local Board

04 May 2017

Ecological Management Plan for Deep Creek and Waiake Estuary, Stage One

File No.: CP2017/07666

Purpose

1. To adopt the Ecological Management Plan for Deep Creek and Waiake Estuary, Stage One, undertaken by Wildlands Consultants on behalf of the Restore Deep Creek Action Committee.

Executive summary

2. The Restore Deep Creek Action Committee is a community group dedicated to the restoration of Deep Creek and the Waiake Estuary in Torbay.

3. The Restore Deep Creek Action Committee was successful in sourcing $4500 of the Locally Driven Initiatives operational expenditure funding from the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board to commission an Ecological Management Plan. The plan is intended to guide future ecological restoration work in the area.

4. The Restore Deep Creek Action Committee commissioned Wildland Consultants Limited to develop the plan (Attachment A).

5. The plan was reviewed by subject matter experts from within council and Auckland Transport. Relevant feedback has informed recommended conditions to adopting the plan.

6. Officers are recommending that the Ecological Management Plan is adopted, subject to conditions.

Recommendation/s

That the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board:

a) adopt the Ecological Management Plan for Deep Creek and Waiake, Stage One, subject to conditions :

i) That indicative costings of initiatives outlined in the Ecological Management Plan, including consent requirements, are provided to the local board, to inform consideration of budget allocation in future years.

ii) That the coast redwood and swamp cypress trees are not removed.

b) request that consultation is undertaken with adjacent neighbours and mana whenua on approved and funded initiatives identified within the Ecological Management Plan.

Comments

7. The Ecological Management Plan for Deep Creek and Waiake Estuary, Stage One, has been reviewed by Auckland Council and Auckland Transport staff. Their comments are summarised in the table below:

Department/Unit	Section	Comments
Biodiversity Advisor (ESU)	Section 5.3	The suggested creation of a swale or small wetland area in a damp part of Aitken Reserve open field area is a great idea. This process would assist with intercepting both silt and manmade inorganic debris before entering the mangrove estuary environment and in particular, storm water carried materials coming directly off Deep Creek Road itself.
	Section 7.2	Officers agree with carrying out large exotic tree replacement in favour of Pohutukawa Metrosideros excelsa reinstatement planting.
	Section 8.1	New Zealand mangrove species is an indigenous species and as such, are a native and naturally occurring species.
	Section 9.1	Reference has been made to the removal of some of the larger exotic tree species in favour of planting pohutukawa and in particular, the removal of the few macrocarpa trees that inhabit the narrow riparian strip. The macrocarpa has been recently identified as having been used for breeding by White Faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) and as such, should be retained for the time being until other species grow and become suitable for breeding/roosting purposes.
	Section 9.3	Long Tailed Bats (Chalinolobus tuberculate) are known to inhabit the general area and some echolocation monitoring for the species should be considered before removal of either the macrocarpa trees or even the large environmental weed species. The bats possible presence requires considered phasing of any large scale tree removal, and some active monitoring could be a part of any planned work with these trees. The biodiversity team are able to advise in more detail around the Long Tailed Bats and suggest contact be made in the first instance with officers engaged with the species wellbeing.
	Section 11	Kayak and other vessel access is already in place here and the access area described in the report is currently used and has a deliberate low key status as desired by the Torbay Sailing Club.
Senior Regional Freshwater Advisor (ESU)	General report/other suggested works	The report touches on and provides solutions for most of the critical issues. The retention of the present mangrove cover, recommending only judicious pruning to make the lower stream reaches more navigable is supported by officers. The report offers good suggestions for stormwater and rubbish moderation. Wildland’s suggestion of constructing a wetland swale in Aicken Reserve (as a way of treating overland flow and improving visual amenity) is strongly supported (refer plate 15). Other potential initiatives in the immediate area to improve Deep Creek’s freshwater ecology in Deep Creek’s most downstream reach. 1. Rip rap remediation: Plate 3 shows rock revetment extending downstream from a site east of the Beach Road Bridge. A hard, engineered stream face creates a bare and unproductive zone at the land/freshwater interface. Officers can provide a method for remediating the rip rap which will benefit inanga spawning and other species with a preference for trailing edge cover. 2. Saline mapping and predator control: Inanga are now in decline nationally due largely to ongoing habitat loss. Wetlands have diminished in extent nationally and as such lowland rivers and streams have become surrogate habitat for inanga. Mapping of the saline wedge to find the inanga spawning zones is recommended. Inanga spawn along discrete and truncated sections of stream banks often covering no more than a few lineal metres. Once spawning nests have been found, they can be protected and enhanced. This is something community group members can become involved in. In addition to re-establishing vegetation in denuded spawning zones, measures can be taken to reduce the impacts of predation on spawning nests (predominantly rats and mice). If the Restore Deep Creek Action Committee are interested in this as one of its restoration initiatives officers would certainly provide support.
Parks Services – Arborist input	Regarding the removal and pruning of trees in the reserve.	From a practical perspective the removal of the macrocarpa trees will need to occur within the next 10 years therefore it is recommended to be done while there is a restoration strategy in place. It is not recommended that the coast redwood and the swamp cypress be removed. It is necessary to retain as many large growing established trees as possible in the reserve for amenity and landscape value, especially if there is a future commitment to remove the larger macrocarpa trees.
Auckland Transport		One part of the report suggests - “Canvas Auckland Transport to investigate possible solutions to capture, or minimise the volume of sediment and rubbish discharging into the estuary from Beach Road and Deep Creek Road.“ Officers from Auckland Transport advise that some works to road drainage are feasible, and may be appropriate as both Deep Creek Road and Beach Road carry more than 5000 vehicles per day. There are a range of options with more or less quality benefits, but these would be subject to funding over and above routine Auckland Transport maintenance and renewal budgets. Estimates, programming and budget can be discussed with the local board. This may also be in collaboration with Local Parks work and siting of devices, which the board would need to approve.

8. The Restore Deep Creek Action Committee (the committee) met with Local Board Services and Parks Services staff on 28 September 2016 to discuss the ecological management plan and the next steps for carrying out ecological restoration in Deep Creek Reserve and Waiake Estuary.

9. It was decided at that meeting that the committee present the report on Ecological Management Plan For Deep Creek and Waiake Estuary, Stage One, to the local board.

10. Following that presentation it was agreed that the Ecological Management Plan be presented for formal approval by the local board.

11. Officers are currently working with the committee and Wildlands Consultants to provide indicative costings of initiatives outlined in the Ecological Management Plan, including consent requirements. Once costings have been investigated additional workshops will be scheduled with the local board.

Consideration

Local board views and implications

12. The views of the local board were sought at a workshop on 24 November 2016. The local board is supportive of the plan in principle.

Māori impact statement

13. Although not identified as a site of significance, any restoration work will require engagement with Mana Whenua. Projects identified may provide opportunities for Māori to participate in the care of the natural environment to ensure alignment with the principals of the Parks Sport and Recreation Māori Responsiveness Plan.

Implementation

14. Any works associated with the implementation of the plan will be contingent on available budgets and in consultation with the Community Facilities Operations Team. It is anticipated that all works associated with the management plan, once adopted, will be funded through local board discretionary budgets or third party funding.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a ⇩	Deep Creek Ecological Management Plan	11

Signatories

Authors

Tony Strange - Parks Advisor Hibiscus and Bays

Authorisers

Mace Ward - General Manager Parks, Sports and Recreation

Lesley Jenkins - Relationship Manager

Hibiscus and Bays Local Board

04 May 2017

Hibiscus and Bays Local Board

04 May 2017

Annual Budget 2017/2018

File No.: CP2017/07029

Purpose

1. This report seeks decisions and input from local boards on a range of annual budget related matters, including locally driven initiatives, advocacy, regional financial policy issues and other rate proposals.

Executive summary

2. This report seeks decisions and input from local boards on a range of annual budget related matters, including:

a) making decisions on:

i. final Locally driven initiative budgets by project, within funding envelopes

ii. advocacy

b) providing any feedback on regional issues, including:

i. rates increases

ii. rating stability (regarding proposals that both businesses and residential ratepayers receive the same rates increase)

iii. paying for tourism promotion

iv. paying for housing infrastructure (proposed changes to the Revenue and Financing policy to allow for the use of targeted rates, alongside existing growth charges, to fund infrastructure for new houses)

v. paying council staff a living wage

vi. other changes for 2017/2018 (regarding waste management and charges, the mass transit network, SkyPath implementation, collaborations on reducing homelessness and the rural fire service)

c) making recommendations to the governing body on other financial matters such as:

i. any new/amended Business Improvement District targeted rates

ii. any new/amended local targeted rate proposals

iii. proposed locally driven initiatives capital projects outside local boards’ decision-making responsibility.

iv. proposed locally driven initiatives opex to capex conversions

v. release of local board specific reserve funds

vi. Locally driven initiatives opex projects for deferral to 2017/2018

3. Local board views on these matters will be considered in discussions between the local boards and the Finance and Performance Committee on 9 May; and by the governing body prior to adopting the Annual Budget 2017/2018.

Recommendation/s

That the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board:

a) makes decisions on final 2017/2018 Locally Driven Initiatives budgets by project, within funding envelopes

b) agrees their advocacy initiatives for inclusion in the 2017/2018 Local Board Agreement

c) agrees one key priority for the organisation to work on (and potentially a common issue)

d) provides any views it may have on regional financial policy issues

e) recommends any new or amended Business Improvement District targeted rates

f) recommends any new or amended local targeted rate proposals

g) recommends any proposed Locally Driven Initiatives capital projects, which are outside local boards’ decision-making responsibility

h) recommends $430,000 of 2016/2017 Locally Driven Initiatives opex to be deferred to 2017/2018

Comments

Consultation

4. Consultation on the Annual Budget 2017/2018 took place from 27 February to 27 March 2017. The results from the consultation have been analysed and summarised, and provided to local boards to assist with decision-making (see Attachment A).

Locally Driven Initiatives (LDI)

5. Local boards are requested to agree the level of funding by project for each group of activity. The expected delivery outcomes are further detailed in work programmes which will be reported against throughout 2017/2018.

6. Local boards can defer those projects that are funded by the LDI where there was an agreed scope and cost but have not been delivered. The local board may wish to resolve 2016/2017 projects that meet the criteria for deferral to 2017/2018.

7. Key information of the funding of each activity and the LDI funded projects that meet the criteria for deferral is provided in Attachments B and C.

Advocacy

8. This triennium a three year approach is proposed for considering initiatives that local boards wish to progress that are unable to be funded by LDI. Such an approach seeks to better utilise the annual budget, Long-term Plan (LTP) and local board plan processes to progress and advise on a narrower range of local board initiatives, in a more comprehensive way.

9. The proposed new approach involves:

· as part of the Annual Budget 2017/2018 process, local boards begin narrowing their priorities to predominately one key advocacy initiative, and one initiative held in common with other local boards, for further research and consideration

· Council departments provide local boards with information to help inform their position on these initiatives (in essence, developing a business case for them)

· based on this information, local boards develop the case for their advocacy further by testing ideas with the community in the local board plan process and other engagement

· local boards discuss priority initiatives with the Finance and Performance Committee through the annual budget and LTP processes, supported by organisational advice on the key initiative.

10. Local boards resolved on their key advocacy initiatives in December 2016 (Attachment D), for potential inclusion in their local board agreements. Local boards were requested to further consider and refine these at workshops post consultation, and look to identify:

· one key initiative, and potentially one initiative held in common with other local boards, for business case development and to progress through the annual budget, local board plan and LTP processes

· other advocacy initiatives to be included in the local board agreements, as key matters of importance to the local board.

11. Local boards may now wish to agree on these advocacy priorities.

12. Discussions with the Finance and Performance Committee will take place on 9 May 2017.

Regional issues

13. Regional issues consulted on as part of the 2017/2018 annual budget process include rates increases, rating stability, paying for tourism promotion, paying for housing infrastructure, paying council staff a living wage and other changes for 2017/2018 (regarding waste management and charges, the mass transit network, SkyPath implementation, collaborations on reducing homelessness and the rural fire service).

14. Local boards may wish to provide feedback on these issues for consideration by the Finance and Performance Committee.

Local targeted rate and Business Improvement District (BID) targeted rate proposals

15. Local boards are required to agree any new BID and local targeted rate proposals (noting that any new local targeted rates and BIDs must have been consulted on before they can be implemented).

Consideration

Local board views and implications

16. Local board decisions and feedback are being sought in this report.

17. Local boards play an important role in the development of the annual budget, and provide views and information at key stages as council continues through the annual budget process.

Māori impact statement

18. Many local board decisions are of importance to and impact on Māori. Local board agreements and the annual budget are important tools that enable and can demonstrate council’s responsiveness to Māori. Local board plans, which were developed in 2014 through engagement with the community including Māori, form the basis of local priorities.There is a need to continue to build relationships between local boards and iwi, and where relevant the wider Māori community. Ongoing conversations will assist local boards and Māori to understand each other’s priorities and issues. This in turn can influence and encourage Māori participation in council’s decision-making processes.

Implementation

19. Feedback from the local boards will be provided to the Finance and Performance Committee and governing body for consideration and adopting the Annual Budget 2017/2018.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a ⇩	Annual Budget 2017/2018 consultation feedback report	67
b ⇩	LDI schedule for 2017/2018	77
c ⇩	List of LDI projects to be carried forward	79
d ⇩	Advocacy issues	81

Signatories

Authors

Michele Going – Lead Financial Advisor

Authorisers

Christine Watson - Manager Financial Advisory Services - Local Boards

Karen Lyons - General Manager Local Board Services

Hibiscus and Bays Local Board

04 May 2017

Local board feedback on Government’s Urban Development Authorities Discussion Document

File No.: CP2017/07663

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.

Recommendation/s

That the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board:

a) endorse the attached feedback on the Urban Development Authorities discussion document.

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 on 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

No.	Title	Page
a ⇩	Urban Development Authorities Discussion Document February 2017	87
b ⇩	Appendix 1 Questions for Consideration	213
c ⇩	Appendix 2 Summary diagram of the processes being proposed under the new legislation	215