The Otago Regional Council and the Dunedin City Council will later this month begin consulting the public on new rules and standards for development in areas of Dunedin identified as vulnerable to natural hazards.
The vulnerable areas, and the extent to which they are prone to flood, coastal, or geological hazards, have been identified in a series of reports prepared by the ORC and GNS Science.
The work was done to assist the development of the DCC's district plan, which sets rules and standards for land use and development across the city.
The areas identified as most at risk from natural hazards are mainly the city's lower-lying areas, its coastal terraces, the floodplains and valley floors of the urban areas, and the Taieri Plain.
A report to the ORC's technical committee meeting today said the information was being used to revise rules and standards protecting people and property from the risks posed by hazards in the identified areas.
It would also help councils provide better information to land owners and investors about constraints on land development, as well as the most suitable land for development, and limit the exacerbation of risks from natural hazards.
The two councils would take the new rules on the road in a series of 11 community consultation sessions this month and next.
Feedback from those sessions would be used to refine the proposed district plan rules and standards for those areas.
The hazards information was also being used to inform the Otago regional policy statement, which sets out a policy for managing the region's resources into the future.
It was recommended the reports were noted, endorsed and provided to the DCC.
The areas
Broad areas identified as potentially vulnerable to. -
Coastal hazards (including tsunami, storm surge, erosion and sea level rise): South Dunedin, upper harbour, Brighton-Westwood, Harwood-Te Rauone, Aramoana-Long Beach, Waitati-Evansdale, and Karitane-Waikouaiti.
Flood hazards: Lower reaches of Water of Leith, Lindsay Creek, Kaikorai Stream, Waitati and Waikouaiti catchments, Strath Taieri, Taieri Plain.
Geological hazards, landslips: Central Dunedin, Otago Peninsula, Warrington to Karitane, Waikouaiti, Saddle Hill to Brighton and Green Island to Blackhead; liquefaction: South Dunedin, upper harbour, Outram, Momona, Ocean Grove, Aramoana, Harwood, Waitati, Long Beach, parts of Brighton, Port Chalmers, Karitane and Waikouaiti, Mosgiel.
