Porirua City prepares for growth
There is a lot, probably too much, going on in the planning world. Last evenings’ speakers were planning commissioner and consultant Gina Sweetman, and Porirua City Planning manager Stewart McKenzie. Gina is the younger daughter of Rhondda and Les, and does a lot of work with, and for, our city council.
They both knew their stuff and were forthright in their views. An overwhelming issue is that our central government has several large balls in the air at once: a review of the 30- year old Resource Management Act, the “Three Waters” proposal, and a review of local government in general. Against this uncertainty, the city council is preparing a new District Plan with a 30-year vision for Porirua.
It will be a plan to deal with growth. Porirua City expects to add 30,000 to its population over 30 years and will need 11,500 new homes and $1.8Bn worth of new infrastructure. This can only be achieved by diversifying housing (eg into medium density types) and making new zoning across the city and surrounding area. Housing will be intensified near transport hubs.
The hearings on the new District Plan will take place from now until June 2022.
Transmission Gulley and the impacts of climate change are more powerful factors than before. The responsibility for dealing with the costs of coastal retreat is yet to be decided.
There was a robust question and answer session. The diminished role of the layperson in planning processes is a constant problem which the city is well aware of. Outcomes for Porirua are to a large degree determined by central government.
Club members were certainly better informed at the close of the lively meeting.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62% Summer
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36.5% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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