NAPIER CITY COUNCIL

Civic Building

231 Hastings Street, Napier

Phone:  (06) 835 7579

www.napier.govt.nz

Regulatory Committee

Open

MINUTES

Meeting Date:	Wednesday 8 March 2017
Time:	3.02pm – 3.40pm
Venue:	Main Committee Room 3rd floor Civic Building 231 Hastings Street Napier

Present:	Councillor Jeffery (In the Chair), the Mayor, Councillors Boag, Brosnan, Dallimore, Hague, McGrath, Price, Tapine, Taylor, White, Wise and Wright
In Attendance:	Chief Executive, Senior Leadership Team, Manager City Development, Team Leader Policy Planning, Policy Planner, Team Leader Governance, Governance Advisor

Regulatory Committee – 08 March 2017 – Open Minutes

Apologies

Nil

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Nil

Public forum

Nil

Announcements by the Mayor

Nil

Announcements by the Chairperson

Nil

Announcements by the Management

Nil

Confirmation of Minutes

Councillors Boag / Wright

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 27 January 2017 were taken as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

CARRIED

Agenda Items

1.      Gambling Venues Policy Review

Type of Report:	Legal
Legal Reference:	Gambling Act 2003
Document ID:	338322
Reporting Officer/s & Unit:	Kim Anstey, Planner Policy/Analyst

1.1     Purpose of Report

For Council to adopt the Statement of Proposal for the draft Gambling Venues Policy to enable public consultation to commence.

Committee's Recommendation

Councillors White / Wright

That Council approve the draft Gambling Venues Policy and Statement of Proposal and authorise officers to proceed with public notification through the special consultative procedure as prescribed in section 83 of the Local Government Act 2002.

CARRIED

2.         Establishment of a Freedom Camping Working Group and Draft Terms of Reference

Type of Report:	Operational
Legal Reference:	N/A
Document ID:	339045
Reporting Officer/s & Unit:	Paulina Wilhelm, Manager City Development Kim Anstey, Planner Policy/Analyst

2.1     Purpose of Report

To provide Council with a draft Project Plan and Terms of Reference for a Freedom Camping Working Group, in order that Council may agree on the composition of the Working Group, including the appointment of a Chair, Council and community representatives.

At the Meeting

In response to questions from Councillors, it was clarified that:

- the working party is intended to work collectively to bring advice back to Council (so it is not a voting body).

- the working party would be able to task council officers to undertake particular research, to contact and draw on the knowledge and skills on those outside the working party, and to speak to other interested groups or organisations.

- while it would be ideal to have a representative on the working party from non-self-contained vehicles, by their very nature, they are itinerant and there may be other ways to obtain their feedback. It was noted that the Nelson Park ward includes the non-self-contained freedom camping and Cr Tapine is on the working party.

- the working party structure was based on the Taupo model with some adjustments to recognise the particular local needs.

- in the final structure of the working party there will be no distinction between those who have been invited and those who have been appointed to the working party.

- the working party will have a broad enough mandate to look at new and different practices as they see fit.   

- the intention of the working party is to draw on, and represent views from, the whole of Napier including those residents not on the working party or in coastal areas. To this end, the Chair has recommended that the Chair of the Taradale Development Association (Mr Bob Morrison) and the Secretary of the Westshore Residents and Development Association (Mrs Dorothy Pilkington) be invited to participate on the working party, subject to the approval of their Associations.

Some discussion took place on whether the draft Terms of Reference should be adopted at the meeting, but it was decided that the working party should have the opportunity to amend it as necessary and then bring it back to Council for adoption.  

It was generally agreed that included in the guiding principles for the working party (as outlined in the draft Terms of Reference), should be the expectation that the needs of local residents are given priority.  Based on the discussion around this matter, the Chair elected to add a further part to his recommendation.

Officer’s Recommendation

That Council establish a Freedom Camping Working Group composed of key stakeholders, Councillors and Council officers to consider freedom camping issues and to report back to Council with recommendations on potential solutions.

Committee's Recommendation

Councillors Dallimore / Taylor

a.   That the Council resolve that the Officer’s Recommendation be adopted: “That Council establish a Freedom Camping Working Group composed of key stakeholders, Councillors and Council officers to consider freedom camping issues and to report back to Council with recommendations on potential solutions”; and

b.   That Council invites and appoints the following community representatives to the Working Group:

· President of the Taradale Development Association to represent general residents; and

· Secretary of the Westshore Resident and Development Association to represent coastal residents; and

c.  That Council appoint Councillor Hague (as Chair) and Councillor Tapine to the Working Group.

d.  That the third guiding principle outlined in the draft Terms of Reference be expanded to read  develop guiding principles on how freedom camping should be managed whilst minimising impact on the residents of Napier.

CARRIED

3.      Annual Dog Control Report 2015/16

Type of Report:	Legal
Legal Reference:	Dog Control Act  1996
Document ID:	334560
Reporting Officer/s & Unit:	Hayleigh  Brereton, Manager Regulatory Solutions

3.1     Purpose of Report

To present the territorial authority report on dog control policies and practices for the dog control registration year 1 July 2015 – 30 June 2016, for adoption by Council as required under Section 10A of the Dog Control Act 1996, prior to being submitted to the Secretary for Local Government and being made publically available.

At the Meeting

An updated report was tabled due to a couple of small errors identified in the report.    

In response to questions from Councillors, it was clarified that:

- the procedural change utilised by Napier City Council was not a nation-wide programme, but a pro-active approach developed by Napier with the intention of encouraging good behaviours and helping residents of Napier become good dog owners. 

- while Napier City Council does not have the regulatory ability to stop people breeding or owning breed types classified as menacing, recent funding has been received for a programme called Operation Underdog, which offers free neutering for menacing breed types and encouraging people to take this up on their own accord.

- the increase in menacing dogs is proportional to the greater numbers of dogs being registered.

- the noted significant decreases in complaint numbers across a variety of dog-related issues, suggests that the change in procedure is working, however it was reiterated that ultimately the purpose of animal control is compliance. 

- Council intends to continue requesting feedback from the public on all its activities including animal control.  

The Mayor extended congratulations to all staff involved in the recent handling of the dog pound matter from the chief executive to animal control officers.

Action: Director City Strategy to provide information to Councillors on how Napier City Council’s statistics in the report compare with that of other councils. 

Committee's Recommendation

Councillors Wright / Taylor

That the Napier City Council Annual Dog Control Report 2015/16 be adopted by Council, submitted to the Secretary for Local Government, and published in accordance with the Dog Control Act 1996. 

CARRIED

The meeting concluded at 3.40 pm.

APPROVED AND ADOPTED AS A TRUE AND ACCURATE RECORD OF THE MEETING

CHAIRPERSON:____________________DATE OF APPROVAL:________________________