I hereby give notice that an ordinary meeting of the Auckland Domain Committee will be held on:

 

Date:

Time:

Meeting Room:

Venue:

 

Wednesday, 14 February 2018

3:00pm

Knox Room,

Jubilee Building, 545 Parnell Road, Parnell
Auckland

 

Komiti o te Papa Rēhia o Pukekawa /

Auckland Domain Committee

 

OPEN AGENDA

 

 

 

MEMBERSHIP

 

Chairperson

Cr Mike Lee

 

Deputy Chairperson

Pippa Coom

 

Members

IMSB Member Renata Blair

 

 

Mr Shale Chambers

 

 

Cr Linda Cooper, JP

 

 

IMSB Member Terrence Hohneck

 

 

Cr Desley Simpson, JP

 

 

Mr Vernon Tava

 

Ex-officio

Mayor Hon Phil Goff, CNZM, JP

 

 

 

 

 

(Quorum 5 members)

 

 

 

Sonja Tomovska

Governance Advisor

 

9 February 2018

 

Contact Telephone: 09 890 8022

Email: sonja.tomovska@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Website: www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

 

 


 


 

AUCKLAND DOMAIN COMMITTEE - Terms of Reference

 

Background

 

The Auckland Domain is an important regional park and also has areas within it managed by the Waitemata Local Board.  This committee is set up jointly by the Governing Body and Waitemata Local Board to co-ordinate decisions relating to the Domain.

 

Responsibilities

 

Decision-making responsibility for parks, recreation and community services and activities in Auckland Domain including those anticipated in the Auckland Domain Act 1987, which are the responsibility of the Governing Body or the Waitemata Local Board.

 

Powers

 

All powers of the Governing Body and Waitemata Local Board necessary to perform the committee’s responsibilities including those powers conferred on Auckland Council pursuant to the Auckland Domain Act 1987.

 

Except:

(a)  powers that the Governing Body cannot delegate or has retained to itself (section 2)

(b)  where a matter is the responsibility of another committee or local board

(c)  the approval of expenditure that is not contained within approved budgets

(d)  the approval of expenditure of more than $2 million

(e)  the approval of final policy

(f)   deciding significant matters for which there is high public interest and which are controversial.

 


 

Exclusion of the public – who needs to leave the meeting

 

Members of the public

All members of the public must leave the meeting when the public are excluded unless a resolution is passed permitting a person to remain because their knowledge will assist the meeting.

 

Those who are not members of the public

General principles

·         Access to confidential information is managed on a “need to know” basis where access to the information is required in order for a person to perform their role.

·         Those who are not members of the meeting (see list below) must leave unless it is necessary for them to remain and hear the debate in order to perform their role.

·         Those who need to be present for one confidential item can remain only for that item and must leave the room for any other confidential items.

·         In any case of doubt, the ruling of the chairperson is final.

 

Members of the meeting

·         The members of the meeting remain (all Governing Body members if the meeting is a Governing Body meeting; all members of the committee if the meeting is a committee meeting).

·         However, standing orders require that a councillor who has a pecuniary conflict of interest leave the room.

·         All councillors have the right to attend any meeting of a committee and councillors who are not members of a committee may remain, subject to any limitations in standing orders.

 

Independent Māori Statutory Board

·         Members of the Independent Māori Statutory Board who are appointed members of the committee remain.

·         Independent Māori Statutory Board members and staff remain if this is necessary in order for them to perform their role.

 

Staff

·         All staff supporting the meeting (administrative, senior management) remain.

·         Other staff who need to because of their role may remain.

 

Local Board members

·         Local Board members who need to hear the matter being discussed in order to perform their role may remain.  This will usually be if the matter affects, or is relevant to, a particular Local Board area.

 

Council Controlled Organisations

·         Representatives of a Council Controlled Organisation can remain only if required to for discussion of a matter relevant to the Council Controlled Organisation

·          


Auckland Domain Committee

14 February 2018

 

ITEM   TABLE OF CONTENTS                                                                                        PAGE

1          Apologies                                                                                                                        7

2          Declaration of Interest                                                                                                   7

3          Confirmation of Minutes                                                                                               7

4          Petitions                                                                                                                          7  

5          Public Input                                                                                                                    7

6          Local Board Input                                                                                                          7

7          Extraordinary Business                                                                                                7

8          Notices of Motion                                                                                                          8

9          Auckland Domain - general update                                                                             9  

10        Consideration of Extraordinary Items 

 

 


1          Apologies

 

An apology from Mr V Tava has been received.

 

 

2          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.

 

 

3          Confirmation of Minutes

 

That the Auckland Domain Committee:

a)         confirm the ordinary minutes of its meeting, held on Thursday, 30 November 2017, as a true and correct record.

 

 

4          Petitions

 

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

 

 

5          Public Input

 

Standing Order 7.7 provides for Public Input.  Applications to speak must be made to the Governance Advisor, in writing, no later than one (1) clear working day prior to the meeting and must include the subject matter.  The meeting Chairperson has the discretion to decline any application that does not meet the requirements of Standing Orders.  A maximum of thirty (30) minutes is allocated to the period for public input with five (5) minutes speaking time for each speaker.

 

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

 

 

6          Local Board Input

 

Standing Order 6.2 provides for Local Board Input.  The Chairperson (or nominee of that Chairperson) is entitled to speak for up to five (5) minutes during this time.  The Chairperson of the Local Board (or nominee of that Chairperson) shall wherever practical, give one (1) day’s notice of their wish to speak.  The meeting Chairperson has the discretion to decline any application that does not meet the requirements of Standing Orders.

 

This right is in addition to the right under Standing Order 6.1 to speak to matters on the agenda.

 

At the close of the agenda no requests for local board input had been received.

 


 

 

7          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.”

 

 

8          Notices of Motion

 

There were no notices of motion.

 


Auckland Domain Committee

14 February 2018

 

Auckland Domain - general update

 

File No.: CP2018/00835

 

  

 

Te take mō te pūrongo / Purpose of the report guidance

1.       To update the Auckland Domain Committee on recent activities in Auckland Domain.

Whakarāpopototanga matua / Executive summary guidance

2.       The Auckland Domain has been a hive of activity over the past few months with many visiting people enjoying the sunshine and the displays within the winter gardens.

3.       Progress of particular note for the quarter is:

·    the completion of a parking survey, the associated analysis of the issues arising from this and recommendations for future parking management

·    Implementation a range of measures that have curbed the misuse of the grassed areas of the Domain by vehicles

4.       These, along with a wide range of other activities, are discussed in more detail in this report.

 

Ngā tūtohunga / Recommendation/s

That the Auckland Domain Committee:

a)      thank Auckland Transport for undertaking the parking survey and for their cooperation in working with Auckland Council to implement the Auckland Domain Masterplan

b)      note the parking survey results show a very high level of occupancy of carparks by commuters during week days

c)      request Auckland Transport and Auckland Council officers work together on options for introducing parking charges on weekdays in Auckland Domain and prepare a draft agreement for the management of parking meters and, in particular, the return of any net revenue to the Auckland Domain and that this be reported back to the June committee meeting for decision making

d)      note the primary objective of introducing parking charges would be to reduce use of the Domain for commuter parking and make the Domain more available as a place of public recreation and enjoyment.

 

Horopaki / Context guidance

Implementation of the Auckland Domain Master Plan

5.       At the August meeting of the Auckland Domain Committee (committee) it was agreed that a business case for the implementation of the Auckland Domain Masterplan (masterplan) be progressed for inclusion in the 10-Year Budget (Long Term Plan 2018-28).  It was agreed that this should include revenue sources appropriate to the status of Auckland Domain (Domain). Revenue was to include partnerships, parking charges, concessions and hire facilities. 


 

 

6.       A business case has been submitted through the 10-Year Budget process however, given the range of organisational priorities, this has not been able to progress in its entirety.  The projects (already underway) that are still being considered as part of the 10-Year Budget are:

·        Renewal of the winter gardens

·        Completion of the Natural Play and the Kari Street Commons (stage one) projects

·        Potential for future improvements to the sports fields

·        Funding to contribute to the development of a Memorial on the Centenary of WWI

7.       In collaboration with Auckland Transport (AT) it may be possible to implement several of the pedestrianisation initiatives within existing AT work programmes.  However, given some of the initiatives would see transition of responsibility from AT to Auckland Council (conversion of some roads to dedicated pedestrian and cycle routes) Auckland Council will need to contribute some budget.  The minimum budget requirement is estimated at $50,000 capital funding which would enable the installation of basic wayfinding, enforcement signage and bollards. 

8.       In addition to this, funding in the order of $3.425M would be required to deliver the entrance and intersection improvements which would significantly improve the safety, legibility and look of entrances and intersections associated with the existing road network to be utilized as a pedestrian and cycling network.  A further $2.568M would be needed to deliver the new paths and improved pedestrian and cycling connections included in the masterplan.  These funding estimates do not include resurfacing of roads to delineate shared paths or lighting upgrades. 

9.       The other priority projects that were agreed by the committee and initially planned within the first three years (but not currently included in the 10-Year budget) are enhanced storytelling and lighting.  Story-telling is a project that has not been scoped in detail.  Costs could range greatly depending on the level of storytelling deemed appropriate. This could start with a small project/new story and expand to a fairly full range of new story telling offerings. 

10.     Some Māori stories are being captured through a mana whenua led project called Te Kete Rukuruku.  These are not necessarily site specific but some will be relevant to Auckland Domain and with the consent of mana whenua could be told at the Domain. 

11.     It is recommended that funding be sought to gather some more site specific stories and also plan for and deliver onsite storytelling.  There may be some partners that are interested in supporting investment in storytelling.  The website and social media can provide a means of telling some stories quite cost effectively.  Despite this, without some base level of investment by Auckland Council it is difficult to direct staff efforts toward this initiative and it likely to be hard to leverage partners to support this work.

Parking survey

12.     At the August meeting of the committee AT was requested to undertake a comprehensive parking survey which would inform the prioritisation for implementation of the master plan. 

13.     AT has now completed the parking survey and recommendations resulting from this are being workshopped with the committee prior to the February committee meeting. 

14.     At a high level the results of the Domain parking survey indicate parking is very close to capacity during the week and not so high on weekends.  During the week day surveys the average peak occupancy (usually 11am to 3pm) was 91% in all parking areas, during Saturday this average peak occupancy was 68%.  They also indicate that a high number of weekday users are repeat and long term users indicating that they are commuters likely to be from nearby businesses.

 

15.     The Auckland Domain Act 1987 specifies that all existing roadways within the Domain are declared to be roads for the purposes of the Transport Act 1962 and of the Local Government Act 1974.  Roadways within the Domain are therefore “legal” roads under the management and control of AT, and the masterplan acknowledges this.  As a result AT play an instrumental role in the management of the Domain. 

16.     Legal advice has noted that charging for parking is not contrary to the Auckland Domain Act 1987 provided that it is not just a money-making exercise and it furthers the Domain's purpose as a place of public recreation and enjoyment.

17.     The Act provides for Auckland Council/AT to provide car parks and the power to regulate the use of the Domain for "activities" taking place including regulating and charging for parking. However the revenue, or more precisely the net income, from charging for parking, must be held and applied in furtherance of the Domain such as delivery of services, developments or maintenance programmes.

18.     Given the results of the parking survey, which indicate long-term commuter parking by people not actually using the Domain, current parking habits are likely to be having an adverse impact on those using (or wanting to use) the Domain.  Charging, in order to discourage the use of Domain as a free commuter carpark, would therefore be consistent with Council’s obligation to make the Domain available as a place of public recreation and enjoyment.

19.     It is recommended that the committee support Auckland Transport and Auckland Council officers working together on options for introducing parking charges on weekdays in Auckland Domain.  This would need to include the preparation of a draft agreement for the management of parking meters and, in particular, the return of any net revenue to the Auckland Domain.  It is further recommended that this be reported back to the June 2018 committee meeting for decision making.

Wayfinding

20.     On 30 November 2017 the committee heard from Dr David Gaimster, Director Auckland Museum and his senior management team about the museum vision, aspirations and some of the projects that they have underway.  A priority project for the museum is wayfinding and enhanced access to the museum.  It was agreed that Auckland Council and Auckland Museum staff would work together on wayfinding.

21.     Auckland Council and Auckland Museum staff met near the end of December 2017 and reviewed the museum brand awareness and activation work.  It was agreed that Auckland Museum could help with designing the new signs to be erected on the northern boundary of the Domain (funded by the Waitemata Local Board).  It was also noted that it may be an option for the museum to investigate reskinning some of the existing park signs where this is likely to offer significant improvements to wayfinding for the Museum (without watering down the brand or wayfinding needs of users of the wider Domain).  Beyond these initiatives it was noted that there is currently no Auckland Council budget to support additional wayfinding, place making or storytelling in the Domain.

Carlaw Park pedestrian path and wayfinding

22.     The Carlaw Park pedestrian pathway project, being led by Auckland Transport, has been granted building consent and the contractor, at the time of writing, was due to mobilise mid-February. 

23.     The work will start with site clearance and then move to piling for the structure until the end of March. The footpath is due to be completed by Mid-June and then AT can install and commission ticket gates. AT is looking at ways of completing this concurrently so then the footpath can be opened as soon as possible.

24.     AT would prefer not to open the footpath at the same time as constructing and commissioning the gates as it will be disruptive to contractors and passengers. However, this will be reviewed so we do not unnecessarily delay the opening of the footpath.

25.     One of the questions that was discussed and resolved since the last update was the design and colour of the privacy screen.  A green colour has been chosen.

Titoki Street pedestrian connection

26.     The Auckland Museum has advised that two preferred tenderers have been shortlisted for the construction of the Titoki Street pedestrian connection to the back of the museum.

27.     The contract has been delayed while AT consider the management of the Titoki Street intersection.  Award of the contract will be made once this issue is clarified.

28.     The Chair attended a project briefing with Heather Harris, Head of Operations, Auckland Museum, in early February to review landscape details. 

29.     The trimming of two trees adjoining the proposed path has been successfully completed.

30.     Sod turning / blessing arrangements are underway for the end of the month.

Natural Play and Kari Street Commons

31.     The Natural Play and Kari Street Commons projects have been presented to the committee on several occasions over the last few years.  They have also been presented at three mana whenua hui (one of which was a workshop).  The concept designs are now ready to be signed off to enable the project to progress to resource consent. 

32.     The draft concept designs reference the site’s proximity to the harbour and the natural volcanic and historical features of the site.  Both concept designs have themes which allow cultural narratives to be told and both will improve ecological stewardship, including native planting and treatment of stormwater. 

33.     The committee delegated decision making on the final design to the Chair and Deputy Chair.  Once this delegation is exercised final resource consent drawings can be prepared and lodged.  Mana whenua will be invited to support the appointment of a design lead to input to developed design plans (for the purpose of tender and construction). 

34.     Providing delegated consent is given in February then resource consent can be lodged this financial year.

Wintergardens Café

35.     The Wintergardens Café is currently licenced for use as a café and event centre.  This licence expires in November 2019. The licencee currently has a right of renewal for three years from November 2019 with final expiry in November 2022.

36.     They current operators are seeking a longer term extension and have put two options on the table:

i.    Adding 3 rights of renewals for 3 years each from November 2021 which will take effect from the final expiry to November 2030.

ii.    Vary to lease from November 2019 and renew the lease for a further 10 years.

37.     This licence is managed by Panuku who observe that the current tenant has been operating a successful business and meeting their licence conditions.  Panuku have initially noted the following in relation to the lease options:

·        Option i provides a lot more flexibility to Council while ensuring that there is a check point for us to ensure that they are undertaking capital works that they said they would.

·        Option ii is a lot more binding and inflexible.

38.     Panuku also recommend any extension to current terms would be subject to changes to the Assignment/Sub-lease clause. Panuku recommend strengthening this to give Council better control over choice of supplier, in case of sale or sub-lease by this or future vendor(s).

39.     A report, including options for future use of the site, will be put to a forthcoming meeting of the committee. 

Garden of Humanity

40.     The Holocaust Memorial Trust has been making good progress with the Garden of Humanity project that was discussed at the November 2017 committee meeting.  They are hoping to appoint a landscape architect firm who have a very good reputation in this area/have worked on a range of similar projects.  Following appointment they will commence work on a design for the garden/landscape feature in and around the fairy ponds.  In doing so they will continue to liaise with officers, including George Farrant, to develop a draft concept.

41.     It is likely that the Holocaust Memorial Trust will be in a position to meet with the committee to workshop a draft design immediately prior to the June committee meeting.

Events

Coca Cola Christmas in the Park

42.     The annual Coca Cola Christmas in the Park event was held on Saturday 9 December to a crowd of approximately 10,000 spectators.  2018 will see the 25th anniversary of the show.

Anzac Day

43.     The events team is well underway with planning for the annual ANZAC Day memorial field and services.  This has been the subject of a previous report to the committee.

ASB Classic, 1-15 January

44.     Pack in for this event ran smoothly across the site however they were somewhat hampered by the heavy rain at the start of the competition. The site handover went well with no damage reported to any of the assets, including both land and the trees in Grafton Mews area.

45.     Feedback was received from the public about the lack of pedestrian access through the Domain.  Learnings from the event include the need for improved advisory signage throughout the external footprint of the event highlighting dates, possible access restrictions with a map and contact details. Additional signage and improvements for pedestrians will be included for next year’s event.

Lantern Festival, 1 – 4 March

46.     Planning for the Lantern Festival is tracking well.  Based on feedback from last years event, additional wayfinding towers will be distributed throughout the site and these will be supported by a mobi-site (wayfinding on your phone or device) which is currently being developed ahead of the event.

47.     ATEED will be recommending the use of public transport alongside walking and cycling options to get to the event in addition to advising of nearby parking facilities for those who still choose to drive the venue.

Renewals

Paths

48.     The footpath between the duck ponds and Lower Domain Drive on the southern side of Domain Drive is in a very poor state and is the last of the footpaths along the major arterial routes to be renewed in the Domain.  This is currently been scoped and is due to be renewed later this year. 

Depot glasshouses

49.     The renewal of the Domain depot glasshouses are going to tender in mid-February 2018.  Once the contractor is appointed (expected to be early May 2018) there will be a period of site establishment works before works commence onsite.  This includes the need to move the depot staff and operation to Kari Street for the duration of the construction period. 

 

50.     This is a significant project with a reasonably long construction period.  During construction fencing around the site access point (at the entrance to Watsons Bequest) will be needed to keep park users safely separated from the construction works and away from the construction site access.  Interpretation is planned to adorn the safety fences.  This will help to tell some of the stories of the Domain as well as make the construction site more attractive.

Bledisoe Track

51.     This project began last year in December.  It was put on hold twice due to the Christmas in the Park event and then the ASB Classic event. Weather permitting this project should be completed by 5 February 2018 (which was after the date of writing this report).

52.     Temporary signage has been placed on both sides of the track notifying the public of the project and end date.  Images showing some of the upgrade are below. 

 

Maintenance and operation

Parking management

53.     Since erecting the new ”no parking signs”, AT have recorded only a few infringements issued to illegally parked vehicles. Community Facilities have also carried out their own audits and noticed a major change due to these signs being put up. Feedback was that there has now been an increase in illegal vehicle parking on the grass verge behind the museum circuit. We have identified that these patrons are actually parents picking up their young children from the school across the road (see images below). An email has been sent to the school kindly reminding all parents that it is illegal to park anywhere on the grass within Auckland Domain.  Another email has also been sent out, via the parks bookings system, to all sports teams reminding them to keep all vehicles off the grass.

54.     Over the course of February staff will start removing the temporary core-flute signs as well as the pigtail ropes round Kiosk Drive.  Auckland Transport has confirmed that their wardens are on site every day in the Domain and the night shift are conducting random patrols after 7pm.

55.     As part of the ongoing efforts to prevent vehicles on the grass rubber wheel stops have been installed on the edges of the top field.  See before and after images below.

 

Water leak

56.     A leak from Auckland Hospital grounds across the upper pathway of Domain Drive has been affecting pedestrian access around this part of the Domain.  Auckland Hospital has been more than helpful in getting a line blockage cleared by cutting roots that had penetrated the line back in December.  Unfortunately the problem has reoccurred.  At the time of writing Watercare had been engaged to find a permanent solution and in the interim City Parks Services have put cones and barrier arms up to warn the public.

                                                                                                       

Duck ponds

57.     At the time of writing suppliers are providing a quote to repair the jets in the top pond. Staff are also looking at installing a wider surface area drain catchment for the bottom pond to mitigate future flooding caused by heavy rain fall.

 

Winter Gardens

58.     A range of major maintenance projects have been completed in the winter gardens.  A final project is to fix the pump in the courtyard fountain which has failed. At the time of writing this was due to be replaced and, once complete, this water feature will provide an attractive display once again.

 

Homeless

59.     Over the last couple of months staff have noticed an increase in impacts from the number of homeless people camping across the Domain. To help manage some of the negative impacts the NZ Police have served trespasses notices for camping in the areas outside the winter gardens and grandstand area.

Ngā whakaaweawe ā-rohe me ngā tirohanga a te poari ā-rohe /
Local impacts and local board views
guidance

60.     This is largely an operational update so the views of the Waitemata Local Board have not been sought on this report however matters affecting the community will be discussed with the local board as required.

Tauākī whakaaweawe Māori / Māori impact statement guidance

61.     This report largely reflects ‘business as usual’ operational activity and, in general, is not considered to have an impact on the significant values to mana whenua of Auckland Domain. 

62.     Given the significance of the site to mana whenua and Māori of Auckland engagement on any new developments is essential and this has been reported on a case by case basis as projects arise.

 

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.      

Signatories

Author

Jane Aickin - Paeurungi Te Waka Tai-ranga-whenua

Authorisers

Mace Ward - General Manager Parks, Sports and Recreation

Jane Aickin - Paeurungi Te Waka Tai-ranga-whenua