Mayor hails Waimakariri council's annual plan with average rates rise of 4.5%
From local democracy reporter David Hill:
Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon has praised the efforts of staff after the Waimakariri District Council confirmed “one of the lowest rates rises in the country”.
Councillors voted to adopt the 2022-23 annual plan at a council meeting on Tuesday, with an average rates rise of 4.5%.
“It’s been a large piece of work because of the current economic situation,” Gordon said.
The annual plan largely followed on from last year’s 2021-31 long-term plan (LTP), with some adjustments to reflect the challenging economic environment, he said.
Economic indicators suggest the Waimakariri district is performing well, despite the impacts of Covid-19 and global economic uncertainty.
The prospect of nearly 900 new houses being built this year provides some optimism going forward, Gordon said.
“We wanted to ensure that we were going to be able to deliver on everything that we planned and to not end up with a case of over promising and under delivering.
“I’m very confident that we can provide the very high level of service that our ratepayers expect, while ensuring that we are not overspending at this crucial time.”
This year’s annual plan features upgrades to drinking water plants, increased funding for the proposed mixed use community hub in Kaiapoi, upgrades to the Rangiora Airfield and funding to protect significant natural areas.
Capital works are not forgotten, with increased funding allocated towards the Kaiapoi storm water and flooding improvements and upgrades to roading infrastructure.
Deputy mayor Neville Atkinson said this year’s annual plan deliberations had been “the most honest we’ve ever been with ourselves with what we can and can’t deliver”.
“We have change from government coming, we have the non-supply of materials, and we have inflation.
“The earthquakes were a difficult time, but it was pretty specific to Canterbury, but this (Covid-19) has impacted on the whole country.
“We are in for an incredibly rough two years, so I think this annual plan is a great achievement.”
Cr Paul Williams raised concern that the percentages of rates funding allocated to roading appeared to be lower than funding for the libraries, parks and swimming pools.
Gordon said it was a subject that needed further debate, but he noted the feedback from residents indicated the council was heading in the right direction.
“We get constant feedback at how much people value our libraries and pools, so I’m comfortable with the rates resolution.”
Last year the council considered climate change in the LTP for the first time.
Gordon said this year’s annual plan was underpinned by a conscious effort to enhance wellbeing, the environment and sustainability in a growing district.
“People told us they are happy with our advocacy around Three Waters and our commitment to balancing growth and optimism with economic uncertainty.”
Waimakariri district plan faces more delays amid changing rules
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Changing Government legislation is causing headaches for council staff, as Waimakariri’s new District Plan is set to be delayed again.
Waimakariri District Council development planning manager Matt Bacon said he was relieved when the last of the public hearings ended last week.
But with final council reports due on December 13, staff will have just two working days to present the final District Plan on December 17. A district plan helps to control and manage the development of the district or city.
‘‘We are working through what it looks like and we will update the council at its meeting on December 3,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘But we will likely seek another extension from the environment minister and the Resource Management Act (RMA) minister.’’
The council first notified its draft District Plan in September 2021, but within months legislation was introduced with new medium density residential housing standards (MDRS).
‘‘We needed to call for further submissions and we had to create a separate hearing panel to consider the plan variations to allow for the MDRS,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘We have tried to merge the process as much as possible, as well as looking at re-zoning and incorporating other new legislation.’’
When the draft plan was first notified there was no National Policy Statement (NPS) for Indigenous Biodiversity, but an NPS was introduced - and then replaced.
The Natural and Built Environment Act came into being last year and then repealed, and then there is the NPS on Urban Development and the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
The Government is now working on more RMA reforms and Environment Canterbury is working on the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement.
And then there is the Fast-Track Approvals Bill, which includes three proposed housing developments in Waimakariri - two of them outside of the future urban development areas identified in the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
All three housing developments in the Bill have been included in submissions to the District Plan, including a proposed 850-home development at Ohoka, near Rangiora, which is also subject to an Environment Court appeal.
‘‘We haven’t seen the detail, so whether it is the same proposals, we don’t know, but they are different processes so we have to just keep doing what we are doing, until we are told otherwise,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘It might just be a timing thing, but we just don’t know.’’
Bacon said delaying the District Plan until new legislation is in place is not an option.
‘‘We are looking at what we can control and having a watching brief, and we will look at transitional timings because we don’t always have to immediately change planning documents when new legislation comes in.’’
Planning manager Wendy Harris said navigating changing Government legislation is a normal part of council planning work.
‘‘If we waited we wouldn’t do anything and we would go nowhere.’’
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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