Minutes of a meeting of the Forestry Advisory Group
Held in the Rūma Waimārama, Floor 2A, Civic House, 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson
On Tuesday 30 June 2020, commencing at 3.01p.m.
Present: Mr J Murray (Chairperson), Her Worship the Mayor R Reese, Councillor R Sanson, Mr A Louverdis (Group Manager Infrastructure) and Mr P Gorman (Independent Forestry Expert)
In Attendance: Councillor R O’Neill Stevens, Sam Nuske (PF Olsen), Lachie Grant (LandVision), Manager Governance (M Birch) and Governance Adviser (J Brandt)
Apologies : Nil
1. Apologies
There were no apologies
2. Confirmation of Order of Business
It was noted that Agenda item 7 was a double up of Agenda item 4 (Nelson Mountain Bike Club – Removal of Trees in the Maitai Valley) and would therefore be discussed once only as item 4.
Councillor Sanson declared an interest regarding agenda item 9 (Forestry Update – Number 12), for the part relating to Central School. She stated that her conflict of interest arose because she was in business with one of the Trustees on the Central Schools Board of Trustees.
There were no other interests or updates to the Interest Register.
4 Nelson Mountain Bike Club - Removal of Trees in the Maitai Valley
Ben Pointer, on behalf of the Nelson Mountain Bike Club (NMTBC), introduced the Club’s proposed plans for trail P1, and noted that the process had started back in 2016. Mr Pointer spoke about the anticipated trail, its measurements, methodology, the trail’s proximity to the ridge, potential impact on the trees and improvements to future consultation regarding tracks.
Mr Pointer answered questions about potential impacts of changing the number of switchbacks, the grading, the type of riders trail 629 sought to attract, the timeline for the build of the trail, and the size of the area to be cleared and number of trees to be removed.
5.1 27 November 2019
Document number M6575, agenda pages 6 - 9 refer.
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That the Forestry Advisory Group 1. Confirms the minutes of the meeting of the Forestry Advisory Group, held on 27 November 2019, as a true and correct record. |
5.2 5 May 2020 - Extraordinary Meeting
Document number M9833, agenda pages 10 - 14 refer.
Two minor amendments were made to the minutes for item 6 (Forestry Update – Number 11), namely a grammatical alteration and the inclusion of a forestry block number (42.06).
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That the Forestry Advisory Group 1. Confirms the amended minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the Forestry Advisory Group, held on 5 May 2020, as a true and correct record. |
6. Chairperson's Report
There was no Chairperson’s report.
7. Request for removal of trees in Maitai block
Document number R17033, agenda pages 15 - 21 refer.
Team Leader Parks and Facilities Activity Management, Paul Harrington presented the report and tabled a map (A2415528) which showed an alternative trail P1 as prepared by the Nelson Mountain Bike Club (NMTBC).
Mr Harrington answered questions about the economic benefits of mountain biking to the region, GIS overlays for tracks and trails and the Enduro event.
It was noted that the NMTBC had successfully applied for a global resource consent to build trails listed in Council’s Out and About Strategy. The Committee requested information about approved recreational trails through council owned forestry land to be presented to a future meeting.
Discussion took place regarding the size of the area required for the proposed trail, the number of switchbacks and possible alterations to these. It was noted that the NMTBC, PF Olsen and LandVision needed to agree the route, and the Harvest Plan should be amended to include the removal of trees as necessary. Clause two of the recommendation was amended accordingly.
The motion was taken in parts.
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Document number R17026, agenda pages 22 - 34 refer. Team Leader Parks and Facilities Activity Management, Paul Harrington presented the report and noted a correction to the numbering of the attachments. Mr Harrington answered questions about engagement with the residents regarding the delayed Tantragee Block harvesting. Mr Louverdis answered questions about the special nature of forestry being a closed accounts and the role of the Forestry Activity Management Plan and the opportunities provided by its upcoming review. Mr Harrington answered questions about the consultation for the Forestry Stewardship Council accreditation. It was noted that the announcement of the consultation was delayed and officers were requested to extend the timeframe for the consultation. It was agreed to discuss the logging routes from the Maitai and Brook blocks as the last item of this report. The motion was taken in parts. Clauses 1 and 3 were taken first, so that clause 2 could be taken later in the meeting, as Councillor Sanson had declared an interest and would leave the meeting for that part. |
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That the Forestry Advisory Group 1. Receives the report (R17026) and its Attachments (A2397884, A2391269, A2389996 and A2400908; and |
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That the Forestry Advisory Group 3. Notes that consultation on the Forestry Stewardship Council Accreditation Management Plan has commenced. |
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Attendance: Councillor Sanson declared an interest relating to Logging routes from the Maitai and Brook blocks with regard to Central School and left the meeting at 4.24p.m. Mr Harrington presented the conditions proposed in the report. Mr Louverdis and Manager Transport and Solid Waste, Marg Parfitt, answered questions about the perceived versus the actual safety risks and the level of engagement that had taken place with the community, noting schools and kindergartens along the route had been contacted. PF Olsen answered questions about the cost to Council that such a condition may incur. There was discussion about wider engagement with the community in regards to establishing the current concerns from schools in regards to safety and traffic related matters. The Group discussed whether the condition to be placed on logging trucks passing Central School should be applied to all schools along the route. The resolution was amended to reflect the committee’s wishes to see the condition applied to all schools for consistency, and for further engagement and consultation to take place, and be reported back to the Group. |
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Resolved FAG/2020/022 |
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That the Forestry Advisory Group 2. Agrees the following condition with respect to logging trucks passing schools along the defined route: - No truck movements between 8-9am and 3-4pm during the school term and that speeds past schools be no greater than 30kph; and note that the results of further engagement and consultation be reported back to the Forestry Advisory group. |
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There being no further business the meeting ended at 5.07p.m.
Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings:
Chairperson
Date