Minutes of a meeting of the Planning and Regulatory Committee
Held in the Council Chamber, Civic House, 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson
On Thursday 14 May 2015, commencing at 9.00am
Present: Councillor B McGurk (Chairperson), Her Worship the Mayor R Reese, Councillors R Copeland, E Davy, K Fulton (Deputy Chairperson), M Lawrey, and M Ward and Ms G Paine
In Attendance: Nelson Youth Councillor Taylah Shuker, Group Manager Strategy and Environment (C Barton), Manager Communications (P Shattock), Senior Strategic Adviser (N McDonald), Administration Adviser (S McLean)
Apologies: Councillor I Barker for attendance and Her Worship the Mayor R Reese for lateness
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Resolved PR/2015/001 THAT apologies be received and accepted from Councillor Barker for attendance and Her Worship the Mayor for lateness. |
2. Confirmation of Order of Business
There was no change to the order of business.
There were no updates to the Interests Register, and no interests with items on the agenda were declared.
There was no public forum.
5.1 2 April 2015
Document number M1002, agenda pages 6 - 10 refer.
It was noted that further information was called for under items 4.1 and 7, and this would be added to the minutes.
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Resolved PR/2015/002 THAT the amended minutes of the meeting of the Planning and Regulatory Committee, held on 2 April 2015, be confirmed as a true and correct record. |
5.2 2 April 2015
Document number M1003, agenda pages 11 - 15 refer.
Attendance: The meeting adjourned from 9.04am to 9.07am during which time Her Worship the Mayor joined the meeting.
At the request of Councillor Fulton, it was agreed that the sentence at the top of page 4 of the minutes would be expanded to ‘After discussion on sandwich boards and relevant submissions,...’
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Resolved PR/2015/003 THAT the amended minutes of the meeting of the Planning and Regulatory Committee to deliberate on submissions to the draft Urban Environments Bylaw, held on 2 April 2015, be confirmed as a true and correct record. |
6. Status
Report - Planning and Regulatory Committee
- 14 May 2015
Document number R4253, agenda pages 16 - 17 refer.
It was agreed that the communications plan for the Urban Environments Bylaw should commence after deliberations on the Long Term Plan 2015-25.
In response to a question, Group Manager Strategy and Environment, Clare Barton, confirmed that sandwich boards would be considered at the 25 June 2015 Committee meeting, and that no new information would be presented.
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Resolved PR/2015/004 THAT the Status Report Planning and Regulatory Committee 14 May 2015 (R4253) and its attachment (A1155974) be received. |
Document number R4252, agenda pages 18 - 19 refer.
The Chairperson provided a verbal update on a proposed Nelson Resource Management Plan 101 workshop. It was agreed that a workshop on 23 June 2015 was appropriate.
Attendance: Councillor Fulton left the meeting at 9.20am.
The Chairperson advised that an officer report on the use of glyphosate would be reported to the 25 June 2015 Committee meeting.
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Resolved PR/2015/005 THAT the Chairperson’s Report (R4252) be received and the contents noted. |
Regulatory
8. Submission on Proposals for Regulations under the Food Act 2014
Document number R4115, agenda pages 20 - 46 refer.
Manager Consents and Compliance, Mandy Bishop, and Manager Environmental Inspections Limited, Stephen Lawrence, presented the report.
In response to a question on the implication of the Food Act 2014 (the Act), Mr Lawrence said he believed the Act would open up more possibilities for home kitchens, as opposed to current food hygiene regulations.
Attendance: Councillor Fulton returned to the meeting at 9.23am
In response to further questions on the impact of the Act, Ms Bishop advised the industry was shifting from a regulation focus to an education focus to help operators achieve standards under the Act. Mr Lawrence added that the onus would be on food operators to take ownership of their systems, which may result in additional paperwork. He said premises in Nelson which had been involved in the Voluntary Implementation Programme had provided positive feedback.
In response to a question, it was advised that the regulations may be available by the end of 2015, unless a further round of consultation was undertaken by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
Attendance: Councillor Ward left the meeting at 9.36am.
Councillor Davy, seconded by Councillor McGurk, moved the officer recommendation.
THAT the report Submission on Proposals for Regulations under the Food Act 2014 (R4115) and its attachments (A1325172 and A1335703) be received;
AND THAT the submission in Attachment 1 of this report (A1325172) be confirmed by the Committee as the position of the Council on the proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014.
Concern was raised that the Act could result in Council undertaking regulatory functions which it had not done previously, and this could result in further cost to the ratepayer.
Attendance: Councillor Ward returned to the meeting, and Councillor Fulton left the meeting at 9.38am.
In response to a question, Ms Bishop advised that when the Act came into force, Environment Inspections Limited would be able to continue providing services until November 2017. She said after this time, there may be new requirements for contractors.
Attendance: Councillor Fulton returned to the meeting at 9.46am.
Concern was raised that Council would be taking on an educative function if MPI did not adequately liaise with affected parties.
It was agreed that a further submission would be presented to MPI, reaffirming Council’s stand that costs should be fair and reasonable.
With the approval of the mover and seconder, a third clause was added to the officer recommendation.
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Resolved PR/2015/006 THAT the report Submission on Proposals for Regulations under the Food Act 2014 (R4115) and its attachments (A1325172 and A1335703) be received;
AND THAT the submission in Attachment 1 of this report (A1325172) be confirmed by the Committee as the position of the Council on the proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014; AND THAT the Chairperson lodge a late submission focusing on the costs of regulation and the costs of implementation. |
9. Strategy and Environment Report for 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2015
Document number R4114, agenda pages 47 - 65 refer.
Manager Planning, Matt Heale, Manager Consents and Compliance, Mandy Bishop, Manager Building, Martin Brown, Environmental Programmes Officer, Mary Curnow, and Manager Environmental Programmes, Dean Evans, presented the report.
In response to questions on waste minimisation, Ms Curnow advised that work was being done on YouTube clips, workshops and library demonstrations.
In response to a question, Mr Evans said he understood the king tide inanga spawning event had been a success.
In response to questions, Mr Heale spoke about the feedback from developers on their need for accurate flood modelling data. He added that officers were working on a practise note to provide more certainty, and more information would be provided at the upcoming Nelson Plan Hazards workshop.
In response to a question on earthquake prone buildings owned by Council, Mr Brown agreed to provide to interested councillors the number of detailed seismic assessments passed to his team for assessment.
In response to a question about resource consents for Council developments, Ms Bishop advised that commissioners with appropriate expertise were chosen to assess consents for Council.
In response to questions, Ms Curnow advised that initiatives had resulted in a 25% reduction in construction waste for building sites that had implemented different methods. She confirmed that officers worked closely with the Nelson Environment Centre.
After questions on recent changes to the Resource Management Act, it was asked that information on resulting amendments to Council processes be presented to the Committee in future reports.
In response to a question on iwi liaison, Group Manager Strategy and Environment, Clare Barton, advised that officers were working on a tender document for comment from iwi. Ms Barton agreed to provide further information on this at the following Committee meeting.
Officers undertook to include trend data on resource consents in future reports. It was confirmed that subdivision and land use consent data would be separated.
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Resolved PR/2015/007 THAT the report Strategy and Environment Report for 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2015 (R4114) and its attachments (A1352532 and A1335080) be received. |
Attendance: The meeting adjourned for morning tea from 10.35am to 10.47am.
Environment
Document number R4137, agenda pages 66 - 107 refer.
Environmental Programmes Officer, Mary Curnow, and Manager Environmental Programmes, Dean Evans, presented the report.
In response to a question, Ms Curnow advised that the officer recommendation was not related to the temporary closure of the Trafalgar Centre.
In response to a question, Ms Curnow confirmed key messages would be delivered through schools, and in particular Enviroschools. It was highlighted that Council’s emphasis should be on engaging the younger generation.
Councillor Copeland, seconded by Councillor Fulton, moved a motion:
THAT the report Ecofest 2015 and its attachments (A915145, A1120552, A1137528 and A1329058) be received;
AND THAT the Nelson Ecofest event is cancelled;
AND THAT budget and resources from the Nelson Ecofest event be reallocated to support the delivery of the Nelson 2060 strategy including targeted sustainability information and educational initiatives throughout the year.
There was some support for the Ecofest event to continue in a format that recognised leaders and celebrated success.
Councillor Ward, seconded by Councillor Davy, moved an amendment to the motion on the table:
THAT the report Ecofest 2015 and its attachments (A915145, A1120552, A1137528 and A1329058) be received;
AND THAT the Nelson Ecofest event become a flagship event;
AND THAT budget and resources from the Nelson Ecofest event be reallocated to support the delivery of the Nelson 2060 strategy including targeted sustainability information and educational initiatives throughout the year.
Concerns were raised that current resources could not include both an Ecofest event and targeted sustainability initiatives. It was suggested that event fatigue was also a factor to be considered.
The amendment was put and lost.
A suggestion was made that the essence of Ecofest could be incorporated into the reopening of the Trafalgar Centre, but there was no further support for this.
An additional clause regarding Council communications about the cancellation of Ecofest was proposed by Councillor Lawrey. This was accepted by the mover and seconder of the original motion.
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Resolved PR/2015/008 THAT the report Ecofest 2015 and its attachments (A915145, A1120552, A1137528 and A1329058) be received; AND THAT the Nelson Ecofest event is cancelled; AND THAT budget and resources from the Nelson Ecofest event be reallocated to support the delivery of the Nelson 2060 strategy including targeted sustainability information and educational initiatives throughout the year; AND THAT Council promotes through Live Nelson and letters to previous exhibiters how Council is redirecting its funds and energy. |
There being no further business the meeting ended at 11.27am.
Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings:
Chairperson
Date