Minutes of an extraordinary meeting of The Hutt City Council held in the Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, 30 Laings Road, Lower Hutt on
Monday 6 November 2017 commencing at 5.30pm
PRESENT: Mayor WR Wallace (Chair) Deputy Mayor D Bassett
Cr G Barratt Cr C Barry
Cr L Bridson Cr
J Briggs
Cr MJ Cousins Cr
S Edwards
Cr T Lewis Cr
M Lulich
Cr G McDonald Cr
C Milne
Cr L Sutton
APOLOGIES: There were no apologies.
IN ATTENDANCE: Mr T Stallinger, Chief Executive
Ms K Kelly, General Manager, City Transformation
Mr B Sherlock, Strategic Projects Director (part meeting)
Mr M Reid, General Manager, City and Community Services (part meeting)
Mr A Cumming, Divisional Manager District Plan (part meeting)
Mr N Geard, Environmental Policy Analyst (part meeting)
Mr B Hodgins, Divisional Manager, Parks and Gardens (part meeting)
Mr J Gloag, Divisional Manager, Transport (part meeting)
Mr S Cager, Senior Project Engineer (part meeting)
Ms S Simcox, Divisional Manager Communications and Marketing
Ms K Stannard, Divisional Manager Democratic Services
PUBLIC BUSINESS
1. APOLOGIES
There were no apologies.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
Comments are recorded under the item to which they relate.
3. CONFLICT
OF INTEREST DECLARATIONS
There were no conflict of interest declarations.
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Precedence of Business |
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Resolved: (Mayor Wallace/Cr Barry) Minute No. C 17501(2) “That, in terms of Standing Order 10.4, precedence be accorded to item 4c) dealing with the Cycleways.” |
4. Miscellaneous
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a) |
105 Western Hutt Road - Proposal to Change Reserve Classification and Lease to New Zealand Response Team 18 for Civil Defence Purposes (17/1605) Report No. HCC2017/5/259 by the Divisional Manager, Parks and Gardens |
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The Divisional Manager, Parks and Gardens elaborated on the report. Cr Cousins asked officers to notify the Maungaraki Residents Association of the proposal to change the reserve classification. |
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Resolved: (Mayor Wallace/Cr Edwards) Minute No. C 17502(2) “That Council: (i) notes that New Zealand Response Team 18, in looking for a suitable site to relocate, is seeking Council approval to lease part of the property at 105 Western Hutt Road; (ii) notes that this is a reserve property which will need to have its Scenic Reserve classification changed if it is to be used for this purpose; (iii) agrees to publicly notify a proposal to change the reserve classification of the property situated at 105 Western Hutt Road, being at the entrance to Percy Scenic Reserve, from Scenic Reserve to Local Purpose Reserve (Community Buildings) on the basis that the property does not have reserve values consistent with a Scenic Reserve and that it would be more suited for community uses as a base for Civil Defence purposes; and (iv) agrees in principle, subject to the change in classification, to leasing a part of the property at 105 Western Hutt Road to New Zealand Response Team 18.” |
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b) |
Proposed District Plan Change 50 - 135 Witako Street, Epuni - Rezoning from General Recreation Activity Area to Community Health Activity Area (Area 1) (17/1628) Report No. HCC2017/5/260 by the Intermediate Environmental Policy Analyst |
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The Divisional Manager, District Plan elaborated on the report. In response to questions from members, the Chief Executive advised that the purpose of the officer’s report was to ask Council to approve, for consultation, proposed District Plan Change 50. He highlighted that any other matters would be part of the resource consent process. |
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Resolved: (Mayor Wallace/Deputy Mayor Bassett) Minute No. C 17503(2) “That Council: (i) notes Proposed District Plan Change 50 attached as Appendix 1 to the report; (ii) resolves to promulgate Proposed District Plan Change 50 for consultation; (iii) instructs officers to publicly notify Proposed District Plan Change 50 as soon as practicable; and (iv) allows officers to make any non-policy related changes to the details of Proposed District Plan Change 50 should the need arise.” |
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c) |
Report No. HCC2017/5/18 by the Senior Project Engineer |
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Speaking under public comment, Ms Anne Godfrey urged Council to push forward with the cycleways and do what it could to make as much progress as possible.
Speaking under public comment, Mr Derek Richardson urged Council not to lose focus on where Council was heading so as to create a functional safe cycleway for the purposes of commuting and school children.
Speaking under public comment, Mr Matt Young encouraged Council to complete The Beltway route. He expressed concern with the proposed isolated sections of the cycleway resulting in a loss of connection with the cycleway network. He elaborated on the reasons why Council should commit to active transport.
Speaking under public comment, Ms Jo Clendon elaborated on her attendance at the Asia-Pacific Cycle Congress. She expressed concern with the officer’s report as she believed it created a delayed network with disconnected pinch points and did not align with Council’s Walking and Cycle Strategy. She believed there had been little communication and consultation with the relevant cycle groups.
In response to a question from a member, Ms Clendon urged Council to commit to the Wainuiomata Hill Shared Path and The Beltway cycleway network. She asked Council to link the Wainuiomata Hill Shared Path route to the southern route of The Beltway.
Speaking under public comment, Ms Kelvin Aris elaborated on his background which related to community engagement around cycling and large cycling events. He highlighted the importance of more people being involved, collaborating and exercising their imagination around bicycles. The Strategic Projects Director elaborated on the report. He acknowledged the feedback from the public speakers. He apologised that the matter had not been reported through the Cycling Steering Group. However officers had just reached a point where they understood the financial cost implications. He highlighted that the officers were now asking Council for a urgent decision regarding the Wainuiomata Hill Shared Path and a commitment to these projects to ensure that officers locked in up to $2.9M of urban cycleway fund subsidy. He noted that if Council decided to revisit the matter in two years time, then there would be no urban cycleway fund subsidy available and the costs could increase. In response to questions from members, the Senior Project Engineer elaborated on the contingency net costs for the Wainuiomata Hill Shared Path, Eastern Bays Shared Path and The Beltway projects. He also elaborated on the history of the Wainuiomata Hill Shared Path. Mayor Wallace elaborated on the history and consultation undertaken for the Wainuiomata Hill Shared Path over the many years. The Senior Project Engineer elaborated on the extent of the consultation with the communities on all three cycleway projects especially Wainuiomata and Eastern Bays Shared Paths. He clarified that officers were looking to delay the southern section as after consultation they realised there was a need for a rail underpass rather than trying to cross two structures. In response to a question from a member, the Senior Project Engineer advised that there was no specific modelling. He advised that officers undertook pre-construction counting for a number of years and once construction finished they undertook post-construction counting so they could see the difference between pre and post construction numbers. In response to questions from members, the Senior Project Engineer advised that the Wainuiomata Hill/Pukeatua Bridge was presented as a package to NZ Transport for safety reasons. He also advised that The Beltway’s business case was now completed, was moving to detailed design and would be ready for construction by the start of the next financial year. In response to a question from a member, the Senior Project Engineer confirmed that Option A included the underpass and the primary and secondary routes. In response to a question from a member, the Senior Project Engineer advised that the reason for not undertaking the southern route was due to lack of finance. He also advised that the consultation undertaken around Bell Road south was inconclusive. He noted that the major concern raised by residents was about cyclists safety. In response to a question from a member, the Divisional Manager, Transport confirmed that the $400,000 pa set aside in the cycle budget would cover the necessities and the maintenance of the increased network. MOVED: (Mayor Wallace/Cr Sutton) That Council endorses the recommendations contained in the report, continues with Option D and request officers to bring back, as part of the Long Term Plan, a report on potential funding to go towards The Beltway once further investigations have been completed. In response to a question from a member, the Senior Project Engineer confirmed that he would include information on the linkages from the bottom of the Wainuiomata Hill to the appropriate spaces including costings connected with those linkages in his report. Mayor Wallace confirmed Council was committed to cycleways around the City. He highlighted that Council would continue to work on cycleways to make the City the most cycle friendly City in the region. Cr Bridson expressed support for the motion. She considered it was necessary that all the cycleway projects were completed. She recognised that the Wainuiomata Hill and Eastern Bays routes needed to be completed for safety reasons. She highlighted that The Beltway fed into all areas of the City and should not be forgotten. Cr Edwards expressed support for the motion with reluctance. He considered that Council should be completing all the cycle projects. He considered that the Wainuiomata Hill Shared Path was the least priority. He believed that more data was required on accident rates. He considered the Eastern Bays Shared Path was the top priority due to safety concerns. Cr Milne expressed concern with Council’s internal process whereby the matter was not reported through Council’s Cycleway Steering Group. He advised that he was still left with unanswered questions. He believed the motion was preloading the Long Term Plan budget in favour of cycleways. Cr Barry expressed support for the motion. He highlighted the importance of the cycleway/shared path for the Wainuiomata Hill including building upon the success of Pukeatua Bridge and to address safety concerns. |
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Resolved: (By Division) (Mayor Wallace/Cr Sutton) Minute No. C 17504(2) “That Council: (i) authorises officers to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Urban Cycleways Authority which will allow Council to access the remaining $1.65M of subsidy; in return for which Council commits to the construction of the Wainui Hill, Eastern Bays and officers preferred option for the Beltway, (Northern and Central portions only), as discussed in Report HCC2017/5/18; (ii) authorises officers to award the contract for the Wainuiomata Hill project so that works can commence as soon as possible, with a target completion date of late 2018; (iii) notes the strong level of community support for all three projects as expressed through previous years’ planning rounds, and in the project specific consultation held over the last several months; (iv) notes that the decisions in part (i) and part (ii) above will result in future capex expenditure estimated to be in excess of current budgets in the amount of $4.6M, and directs officers to accommodate this level of spending within the current Long Term Plan budget round; and (v) continues with Option D as outlined in Report HCC2017/5/18 and requests officers to compile a report for the Community Plan Committee in early March 2018 for potentially additional funding to go towards The Beltway once further investigations have been considered and work investigated in more detail.” |
The motion was declared carried by Division with the voting as follows:
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For
Mayor Wallace Deputy Mayor Bassett Cr Barratt Cr Barry Cr Bridson Cr Briggs Cr Cousins Cr Edwards Cr Lewis Cr Lulich Cr McDonald Cr Sutton
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Against
Cr Milne |
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Total: 12 |
Total: 1 |
5. QUESTIONS
There
were no questions.
There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 6.20pm.
WR Wallace
MAYOR
CONFIRMED as a true and correct record
Dated this 12th day of December 2017