Decision digest: Regulatory & Bylaws Committee

Decision digest
Regulatory & Bylaws Committee
08 July 2015

Reports on boarding houses, set-net controls and remaining legacy bylaws discussed by committee

Auckland Council committee members met today to discuss the bylaw review programme and decide which of the remaining bylaws would be revoked or amended. Other matters discussed were reports on operational guidelines for trading activities, set-net controls, and an investigation into boarding houses. A decision was also made on the current Boarding House Bylaw. The following is a digest of decisions made.

The agenda is available on Auckland Council’s website and minutes will be added once confirmed.

Items 1-8 are administrative items, and there was no extraordinary business.

Item 9: Approval of Trading and Events in Public Places 2015
Councillors were presented with guidelines for implementing the Auckland Council Trading and Events in Public Places Bylaw 2015. The guidelines were created in order to manage trading activities such as outdoor dining, markets, mobile shops and events approvals consistently across the region after consulting with stakeholders. Stakeholders included Hospitality Association, business associations and current licence holders. Collateral has been developed for current and new licence holders that summarises many of these guidelines now that the bylaw is in place.

Operational staff now have a clear and practical approach to granting approvals for trading activities, while taking into account key principles of the bylaw that ensure appropriate standards of pedestrian/vehicle access and visual amenity are maintained. The committee approved the guidelines.

Item 10: Decisions on Remaining Legacy Bylaws
When Auckland Council was established on 1 November 2010, it inherited 140 legacy bylaws from the former Auckland-based local authorities. Under the Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Act 2010, are required to confirm, revoke or amend all bylaws by 31 October 2015.The council has now reviewed most of these bylaws and has adopted 16 new, region-wide bylaws with two more pending approval.

The committee was asked today to make a decision on the remaining legacy council bylaws, specifically; allowing 11 bylaws to be revoked and seven bylaws to go out to public consultation at a later date. The seven bylaws, which include Freedom Camping, Wharves and On-site Wastewater, need further work and will need to go to Governing Body to be approved.

The committee approved the recommendations.

Item 11: Update report on set net controls
The committee received a report on set net controls and were asked to approve the recommendation to investigate the making of set net controls at Omaha Beach and Arkles Bay. Further monitoring of set net and crab pot activities over the 2015/16 summer period at Hatfields Beach, Browns Bay, Matakatia Beach and Campbells Bay was also recommended and agreed to.

The committee discussed how this investigation would work and that further community engagement and Maori customary rights are considered. National legislation regulated by MPI considers these rights and the rules around visibility of set nets however it was clarified that council gets involved if there is a concern when safety or nuisance occurs, for example to swimmers being entangled in nets.

Item 12: Evidence gathering for Boarding House project in South Auckland
A report was tabled on an evidence gathering project for Boarding Houses undertaken by council in March and April. The project was to evaluate the conditions of boarding houses, the effectiveness of current legislation, and where limitations to council’s powers may exist. To evaluate the Boarding Houses, staff from Building Control, Resource Consents and Environmental Health inspected each dwelling alongside NZ Fire Service. They wanted to assess the physical environment of these dwellings to ensure they were safe and sanitary.

The committee was advised that in the course of the investigation, 17 of the 19 boarding houses inspected were non-complying. The report showed that council is working with the owners/managers of these establishments to make them compliant and fire safety issues have already been rectified.

Council staff will now develop an operational plan to proactively monitor and inspect boarding houses across the Auckland region. The committee received the report and asked that further information on the wider issues be provided to the next Regional Strategy and Policy Committee 06 August so council can continue its advocacy for the setting of better standards.

Item 13: Review of Boarding Houses Bylaw
Staff sought agreement by the committee to allow the revocation of the Auckland City Council Hostels Bylaw and Rodney District Council Sanitation and Cleanliness of Buildings and Places of Public Resort Bylaw on 31 October 2015. Staff recommended that, using existing legislation, an Auckland Council boarding house operational plan that would include proactive inspections, was the most effective way forward to monitor these establishments. The committee agreed that an operational plan should be progressed.

Ends

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