The council’s district plan review committee on Tuesday recommended the council not investigate a so-called "streamline approach" for significant geological sites in its proposed geopark.
The council officer proposal to investigate involving the ministry could have saved time and money, but would have vested the final decision on a section of the district plan review with the ministry with no right of appeal. The relatively new process was used in Hastings for a housing variation that was tied up in the environment court and in the Bay of Plenty in relation to a regional growth boundary, a report to the committee said. But after a presentation in a public forum by Federated Farmers representatives opposing the move before the committee meeting, Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher pushed to scrap the approach. He said unlike the Hastings and Bay of Plenty examples provided, the district plan review was not a standalone process.
Also, based on the Federated Farmers presentation he understood there would not be significant savings for the council.
Mr Kircher argued keeping the process under local control would also help to keep the social licence, "that we need", for the proposed geopark.
Federated Farmers South Island regional policy manager Kim Reilly warned the district plan review committee of "potentially perverse outcomes" if the council were to adopt the streamlining approach. She said given the complexity of the issues at play in the district plan — and its potential impact on the natural environment — streamlining could undermine biodiversity values, property rights, and the relationship the council had with some of its landowners.
"The absolute imperative is to make sure your landowners are fully involved [in the district plan review]," she said.
Cr Jan Wheeler said the process lacked a track record and was not in the spirit of democratic local decision-making for which the council had been elected.
Prior to the committee vote, council planning manager Hamish Barrell said the decision for the committee came down to "how long we want the district plan to rattle on for", the initial advice from the ministry had been favourable, and the council would keep the scope of the streamlining "as narrow as we could".
The committee also discussed councillors’ distaste for putting the draft plan before the public prior to next year’s elections.
The draft district plan is expected to be made public in March 2020.
