Open Minutes
Commencing: Wednesday 27 October 2021, 09:30 am
Venue: Via Zoom (Audio Visual Meeting)
Chairperson: Cr Paula Thompson
Deputy Chairperson: Cr Stuart Crosby
Members: Chairman Doug Leeder
Cr Jane Nees
Cr Matemoana McDonald
Cr Toi Kai Rākau Iti
Cr Te Taru White
Cr Kevin Winters
Cr Lyall Thurston
Cr David Love
Cr Norm Bruning
Cr Bill Clark
Cr Stacey Rose
Cr Andrew von Dadelszen
In Attendance: Staff: Namouta Poutasi – General Manager Strategy and Science, Stephen Lamb – Environmental Strategy Manager, Stephanie MacDonald – Community Engagement Team Leader, Nicki Green – Principal Advisor Policy and Planning, Ruth Feist – Senior Urban Planner, Lorraine Cheyne – Team Leader – Transport & Urban Strategy, John Olliver (Consultant), Santiago Bermeo – Senior Planner, Marion Henton – Senior Regulatory Project Officer, Nic Newman – Principal Advisor, Laverne Mason – Integrated Catchments Programme Manager, Shari Kameta – Committee Advisor, Jenny Teeuwen – Committee Advisor
External presenter: Bill Bayfield - CEO Taumata Arowai
Please note that the meeting was livestreamed and the recording is available on the Council YouTube channel via this link Strategy and Policy Committee - 27 October 2021.
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Accepts the following apologies tendered at the meeting: Cr Matemoana McDonald and Cr Te Taru White (for absence); Chairman Doug Leeder (for lateness); Cr Stacey Rose (for early departure from the meeting), Chairman Doug Leeder and Cr Stuart Crosby (for departure from the meeting during the course of the morning to attend Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) business). CARRIED |
2. Chairperson's Announcement
The Chairperson advised that a presentation would be provided by Taumata Arowai’s Chief Executive Bill Bayfield at 10:00am (in relation to Agenda item 8.1, Operating Environment).
3. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
None declared.
Minutes to be Confirmed
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Strategy and Policy Committee Minutes - 4 August 2021 |
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Confirms the Strategy and Policy Committee Minutes - 4 August 2021 as a true and correct record. CARRIED |
Strategy
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Operating Environment Presented by: Namouta Poutasi - General Manager Strategy and Science In Response to Questions: · Source water protection monitoring and reporting would be required for reticulated water as well as private water supplies. · The Covid-19 Response Legislation Bill enabled councils to defer commencement of 10 year plans and policy statement reviews. · The National Waste Strategy related to the re-positioning of the Government’s roles. The detail on how this may affect regional councils was not yet available. The Committee would be updated with progress and any impact on the work programme as it came to hand. · Regional Council was working collaboratively and in partnership with other regional councils where possible. A summary of the Regional Sector’s Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) reform approach to efficiency and effectiveness would be provided to the Committee. · Staff were not sure whether there would be an opportunity to provide input into the proposed National Environmental Standards for Air Quality (NES-AQ) amendments. Key Points - Members: · Good understanding and consideration of the democratic practices within iwi authorities was important when drafting discussion papers. 9.48 am - Chairman Leeder entered the meeting. · The Regional Sector Group Local Government Futures paper had been received by the Regional Sector Group, noting that further work was required that may also be picked up by the Future for Local Government Review Panel. |
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Receives the report, Operating Environment. CARRIED |
9:53 am - The meeting adjourned.
10:01 am - The meeting reconvened.
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Presentation - Taumata Arowai Presentation - Taumata Arowai Our Journey: Objective ID A3963033 ⇨ |
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Presented By: Mr Bill Bayfield – CEO Taumata Arowai (in relation to Agenda item 8.1 Operating Environment) Key Points: · The Water Services Bill was awaiting sign-off by the Governor General. · Legislation was still uncertain as there had been some significant changes through the second reading of the Bill and the subsequent order paper. In particular, the drinking water suppliers had been split into two clear categories; registered suppliers to greater than 500 people (approximately 800); less than 500 people (approximately 1,200); and unregistered suppliers (approximately 75,000). · Registered suppliers, including laboratories and water carriers, would need to maintain and upgrade their registrations within the first year. Unregistered suppliers had up to four years to register. · Work on wastewater and stormwater would not start for two years. · Taumata Arowai had recently trialled their first emergency incident exercise and another contamination exercise would be scheduled before Christmas to build capability in that area. In response to questions: · The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) was currently re-writing the NES for Sources of Human Drinking Water and this was not expected until mid-next year. In the first year, the focus for BOPRC would be on source water risk management planning and working with major registered suppliers. · It was not expected that there would be a huge cost involved for the 75,000 unregistered suppliers to become registered. Acceptable solutions were currently being considered to keep costs to a minimum. The Chairperson thanked Mr Bayfield for his presentation. |
10:28 am - The meeting adjourned.
11.00 am - The meeting reconvened.
5. Reports (Continued)
Strategy
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Community Impact Network Action Plan Presented by: Stephanie Macdonald - Community Engagement Team Leader Key Points: · The Community Impact Network comprised four main workstreams –engagement, democracy, volunteering and funding. · The Action Plan would be a living document and updated with organisation learnings and as the operating environment changed. · Feedback from councillors had been received and thirty six changes had been suggested. · It was noted that concern had been raised regarding some of the actions within the democracy stream. · Staff sought the Committee’s endorsement of the Action Plan with further feedback welcomed. Key Points - Members: · There was concern at the lack of information around definitive changes in the Action Plan and it was suggested that a working group with councillors and staff be set up to further refine the document before endorsement. · Concern was raised regarding the democracy action points, in particular actions 24 to 28; however, it was noted that through the Local Government Act, chief executives had a responsibility and obligation to introduce those action points. · It was difficult to discern what councillor feedback had been received and what had been included in the report. A summary of submissions received and tracked changes showing what had been altered would have been helpful to better understand this. · As all councillors indicated that they would like to be part of the working group, it was suggested that a workshop be considered. |
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Receives the report, Community Impact Network Action Plan. 2 Establishes a working group of interested councillors to further progress and refine the Community Impact Network Action Plan. CARRIED |
Regulatory Policy
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Essential Freshwater Policy Programme - Update and Notification Deadline Presented by: Nicki Green - Principal Advisor Policy and Planning Key Points: · Highlighted issues that had put pressure on the work programme and timeframes; however, noted that good progress was being made despite these challenges. · A decision to extend to the December 2024 timeframe would enable more certainty for the Freshwater Hearings Commissioner as well as providing more flexibility in the programme if it was required. · Staff would still aim for July 2024 as much as possible. Key Points - Members: · Favour was indicated to continue to target for July 2024. Staff to continue to monitor the situation including the opportunity to review later. General Comments - Members: · Councillors requested that they receive a copy of any material for public consultation prior to it going out to the public. · It was also important that a balanced view was received through community engagement. It was suggested that focus groups be used more to ensure it was clear where the community was standing on issues. |
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Receives the report, Essential Freshwater Policy Programme - Update and Notification Deadline. 2 Continues with Council’s intended timeframe of July 2024 for notifying proposed changes to the Regional Policy Statement and Regional Natural Resources Plan, with the option to review the timeframe if critical issues arise. CARRIED |
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Update to Regional Policy Statement - Housing Bottom Lines Presented by: Ruth Feist - Senior Urban Planner Key Points - Members: · BOPRC needed to work closely with Territorial Local Authorities (TLAs), especially Tauranga, to focus on achieving strong community outcomes in the housing space. In Response to Questions: · BOPRC would be submitting to the Resource Management Amendment Bill and had contacted other local councils regarding a collaborative submission. |
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Receives the report, Update to Regional Policy Statement - Housing Bottom Lines. 2 Approves the content, steps and estimated timing outlined in this report for the non-Schedule 1 RMA process to update the Regional Policy Statement to include Housing Bottom Lines for Tauranga, Western Bay and Rotorua as required by the National Policy Statement – Urban Development 2020. 3 Delegates authority to the General Manager Strategy and Science to finalise minor changes to Policy UG 25B as part of the update. CARRIED |
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Streamlined Planning Process for Proposed Change 6 (NPS UD) to the Regional Policy Statement Presented by: Lorraine Cheyne – Team Leader Transport & Urban Strategy Key Points: · Approval was sought to lodge the application to change the process, not approval for the proposed plan change. · The Streamlined Planning Process (SPP) removed appeals that could impede Council. · If the SPP was approved, further consultation would be undertaken and an application made to the Minister for the Environment. The Minister’s response would be reported back to Council for adoption. In Response to Questions: · The recently announced Enabling Housing Supply Bill did not affect the Regional Policy Statement (RPS); however, it would affect Tauranga City Council’s and Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s review of Plan Change 26. · Reporting back on the consequences of the SPP would occur subsequent to Plan Change 6 being notified. |
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Receives the report, Streamlined Planning Process for Proposed Change 6 (NPS UD) to the Regional Policy Statement; 2 Approves the Resource Management Act 1991 Streamlined Planning Process Application for Proposed Change 6 (NPS UD) to the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement and subsequent submission of the application to the Minister for the Environment; 3 Delegates authority to the General Manager Strategy and Science to finalise minor changes to Application for Proposed Change 6 (NPS UD) to the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement. 4 Notes: that use of the Streamlined Planning Process must be agreed to by the Minister for the Environment. 5 Notes: staff will provide opportunities to engage with key stakeholders, iwi and hapū, consultants and the development community to develop Proposed Change 6 (NPS UD). 6 Notes: approval to notify Proposed Change 6 (NPS UD) will be sought from this Committee mid-2022. CARRIED |
Non-Regulatory Policy
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Sustainable Homes Scheme: design decisions Presentation - Sustainable Homes Scheme: Design Decisions: Objective ID A3963030 ⇨ Presented by: Santiago Bermeo - Senior Planner and Marion Henton - Senior Regulatory Project Officer Key Points: · Updates were provided on two issues raised in the September workshop - consultation with other organisations that were working in the sustainable homes space and prioritisation of funding to areas of highest need. In Response to Questions: · The objective of the scheme was to address emissions rather than tackling climate change. · The scheme had two funding components – a grant component and a loan component. · The grant component would start as soon as possible. The delay to the loan component of the scheme was due to issues of compliance with the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act. · Grant conditions would be more targeted to areas that were most deprived to avoid the fund being overwhelmed with applications. The loan component would be available to a wider range of the population. Key Points – Members: · The Local Government Ratepayer Funding Scheme had progressed to a more detailed stage, but was not expected to be online for another 18 to 24 months. Disappointment was expressed for the time this was taking. |
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· Implementation and funding eligibility criteria of the scheme to be worked through with the Committee at a later date. |
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Receives the report, Sustainable Homes Scheme: design decisions. 2 Agrees for the grant component of the Sustainable Homes Scheme to: (a) work alongside the Warmer Kiwi Homes Programme, covering (or partially covering) the portion of heating and insulation costs which is not funded by the Programme, up to a maximum of $1,000 (excl. GST) per facility per household; (b) be allocated $200,000 (or 10% of total capital funds); (c) adopt the same eligibility criteria as the Warmer Kiwi Homes Programme; and (d) start as soon as possible, by 1 February 2022 at the latest. 3 Agrees for the loan component of the Sustainable Homes Scheme to: (a) cover heating and insulation costs (up to $5,000 each, excl. GST) and solar power costs (up to $12,000 excl. GST) AND work alongside the Warmer Kiwi Homes Programme, covering the unfunded portion of heating and insulation beyond the Scheme’s grant limits [refer to 2(a) above]; (b) be allocated $1.8 million (or 90% of total capital funds); (c) offer interest-free loans only; and (d) limit eligibility to owner-occupiers only for the first three years, before extending eligibility (e.g., to landlords) from the fourth year, subject to available funds. 4 Agrees for the Sustainable Homes Scheme as a whole to: (a) in relation to heating devices, restrict funding to heat pumps and ultra-low emissions wood burners only AND require inefficient/high-emission heating to be removed; (b) generally require homes to be insulated before funding heating facilities, and generally require homes to be insulated and heated before funding solar power; and (c) adopt a medium level of control to preferred suppliers through a low entry barrier but retaining the ability to exclude suppliers. CARRIED |
11.58 am – Chairman Leeder left the meeting.
Other
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Update on climate change adaptation work Presented by: Nic Newman - Principal Advisor and Stephen Lamb – Environmental Strategy Manager Key Points: · The Climate Change Adaption Act (CCAA) was due in 2023. · The National Adaption Plan was due out in August 2022. · Significant uncertainty had been created by RMA reforms. · BOPRC would be focussing on three key pieces of work – community and iwi/hapu led adaption planning, Whakatane Tauranga river catchments resilience project, and a regional climate risk assessment. Key Points - Members: · The Lifelines assessment would feed directly into the regional climate risk assessment. · The Whakatane Tauranga river catchments resilience project was a chance to gain a collective view of the river. |
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Receives the report, Update on climate change adaptation work. CARRIED |
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Resolution to exclude the public 1 Excludes the public from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting as set out below: The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter, and the specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows:
CARRIED |
8. Public Excluded Business to be Transferred into the Open
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Public Excluded Strategy and Policy Committee Minutes - 4 August 2021 |
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1. Confirms that the only business transacted in the public excluded section of the meeting was to confirm the Public Excluded Strategy and Policy Committee Minutes - 4 August 2021. Thompson/Nees CARRIED |
12.15 pm – the meeting closed.
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Chairperson, Strategy and Policy Committee