Waimakariri District Plan hearings expected mid-year
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Hearings on the proposed Waimakariri District Plan are expected to be held mid-year.
Waimakariri District Council development planning manager Matt Bacon says the aim is to integrate variation 1, which gives effect to the new medium density residential standards (MDRS), into the district plan process before the hearings.
This would mean appointing an independent commissioner, which was a requirement of the MDRS legislation.
‘‘It makes sense to integrate the process so people don’t have to turn up and present on the district plan, and then make effectively the same submission two days later for a Variation 1 hearing.
‘‘We are working with the hearings panel to work out how they want to run the hearings and we expect they will put some direction around how they intend to hear the submissions.’’
He expected the hearings would be held in May or June.
The district plan was first notified in September 2021, with 421 submissions being received, which made 6704 submission points.
About 53% of submissions indicated support for the proposed changes in the draft district plan and submitters addressed a wide range of issues, Bacon said.
A further 81 submissions were received in response to Variation 1.
Bacon said ‘‘a well-informed’’ district plan was essential, even though the Government’s proposed legislation to replace the Resource Management Act aimed to replace district plans with regional plans.
‘‘It will take about eight to 10 years to transition before the new process comes in, so in the meantime we are progressing with the district plan.
‘‘In the legislation it isn’t entirely clear what happens to the district plan, but there will be a local ‘statement of intent’ and we would imagine a lot of that would be from the district plan.
‘‘Hopefully we will get a well-informed district plan which can then progress seamlessly into a regional plan.’’
Bacon said replacing district plans with regional plans had some merit.
The difficulty was in allowing for local variation across a large region like Canterbury, he said.
■ Public interest journalism is funded by New Zealand on Air.
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Hero
“I was born and raised in war. To be honest, those are not good memories.
I really like Iran, and I really miss it, but I couldn’t be myself there. Even though my family didn’t like my decision, I left Iran. I promised myself that I would do whatever I can for all communities, especially for the kids, so they do not have the same experience I had.
I studied software engineering in Iran and left in 2006. I went to Malaysia and stayed in Kuala Lumpur for seven years. I was admitted to Lincoln University to do my PhD here, but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford the expenses. I requested a scholarship, but they told me I had to be there for six months first. So, I stayed in Malaysia and did my PhD in network security. In December 2013, I came to New Zealand with a work visa.
It took me a while to connect with the Iranian community here. I volunteered with the Multicultural Council, SPCA, and community patrol, and I established the Christchurch Iranian Society in 2017. Before that, I started working on Radio Toranj, the only Farsi-language radio show in New Zealand.
One of the reasons I started organizing cultural events was to showcase Iranian culture. I wanted to show people that we have delicious food, colorful dresses, traditional customs, and our own instruments. My hope was to show people that we are not what you see in the media.
I am working to involve all the communities that celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in the Nowruz festival in March 2025. We want to share this celebration not only with our community but with the public as well. It’s better when it’s shared.
I remember the first time someone from Dunedin called me and asked, Hero, can you help? Something happened, and they keep declining Iranian visa applications. When I heard that, I felt insulted. We are still human, so how can they do that?
Through this journey, I’ve learned a lot. Every single day, people with different cases call me, and I try to share my knowledge and guide them as much as I can.
I have received several awards, including the Christchurch Civic Award and an Award of Recognition for my contributions to the community during the pandemic. In 2021, I established Canterbury Kia Ora Academy, a charitable trust. Through this charity, I can help other communities as well, not just the Iranian community.”
- Hero
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
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