The Dunedin City Council will involve the community in developing a response to climate change, a sustainability subcommittee says.
Council corporate policy manager Maria Ioannou updated members of the sustainability audit subcommittee in the Civic Centre yesterday.
The council working group, formed in 2011 to respond to climate change issues, had decided to engage with key stakeholders and the community before starting any further work.
‘‘We are in a good space now but there is a lot to do,'' Ms Ioannou said.
Scientific data was being collated to help the council and community inform further work.
Mayor Dave Cull asked how the plan would ‘‘unfold'' after the data was collated.
Ms Ioannou said some ‘‘trigger points'' could be created from the data.
‘‘If this road floods X number of times a year, then we need to think about doing something,'' Ms Ioannou said.
Cr David Benson-Pope said when South Dunedin flooded last year a lot of data was collected on those renting and those living in their own homes in the area.
A summary of results was never published but would be useful in creating a plan, he saidMs Ioannou said the data was never published because those surveyed were never told the data could be used for any other purpose.
‘‘It has caused us and our planning team a lot of grief, because we wanted to draw on that data.''
Ms Ioannou said a city had two communities within a community- those who owned properties and those who rented.
The ‘‘double community'' made it trickier to tackle climate change issues, she said.
Cr Jinty MacTavish said she knew many renters who were loyal to South Dunedin and would stay there, despite not being home owners.
Consequently, the community consultation was ‘‘critical'' and she expected people from across the city to contribute to the plan. Ms Ioannou said all Dunedin residents faced the challenge, not just South Dunedin residents.
‘‘If people have to move, how are we going to deal with that as a city?'' Ms Ioannou asked.
The working group would meet in a fortnight to begin to ‘‘map out'' who it would engage with and how, Ms Ioannou said.
