A freedom camping bylaw could be ratified by the Queenstown
Lakes District Council before Christmas.
A council hearing panel on Thursday considered submissions on
the proposed bylaw and the council will now consider points
raised, consult lawyers and hope to have the bylaw finalised
for the final 2012 council meeting on December 18 when it
could be adopted.
After hearing submissions, councillors Cath Gilmour, Russell
Mawhinney and Jude Battson, and the council's regulatory and
corporate manager Lee Webster deliberated in private.
Mr Webster said the bylaw needed to make the full council
agenda "in order to have it in place for the summer".
Thursday's hearing was held in the Queenstown council
chambers and submitters from Wanaka were also able to be
heard via video link.
Some submitters raised concerns about rubbish and human
effluent being left behind at freedom camping sites and other
submitters argued this was not from genuine freedom campers.
Cr Gilmour said whether freedom camping was totally
prohibited in some popular places or just restricted, there
would be a cost to ratepayers either way.
"Anything is going to have to be enforced and therefore
anything will have a cost," Cr Gilmour said.
While it was argued freedom camping could be controlled by
having small designated areas, the point was raised that such
campers did not want to camp in such close proximity.
QLDC had a freedom camping bylaw but was required to make a
new one after the Government introduced the Freedom Camping
Act 2011.
A round of submissions was heard in May and the council put
the amended freedom camping bylaw out for consultation in
October. It attracted 21 submissions.
After concerns the freedom camping bylaw was hard to enforce,
Mr Webster said 1500 infringements had been handed out over a
seven-month period after a two-month "education period" last
year.
He said 600 had paid the infringement fine and another 600
were "going through the process", meaning they still had time
to pay.
When a fine was given to an overseas visitor, Mr Webster said
the council did its best to get the payment.
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