The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has suspended public consultation for its annual plan in light of the current Covid-19 precautions.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council Photo: Charlotte Jones / LDR
It has also suspended public consultation on its proposed Resource Management Act changes but will continue with public consultation on its flood protection and drainage by-laws.
Regional council chief executive Fiona McTavish told councillors at last week's meeting that they were currently living in "extraordinary times" and public consultation on these would not be appropriate.
She said the changes to the Resource Management Act were minor, and there would simply now be no change.
She told councillors that instead of consulting on the regional council's annual plan the public would be provided with an information document of all the proposed changes.
Recommendations would then be brought back to council for consideration in June.
Deputy chairwoman and Western Bay of Plenty councillor Jane Nees asked what would happen with consultation on key matters such as public transport.
McTavish said the council would begin consultation as soon as it could.
"It depends how fast we come back from Covid-19," she said.
Flood protection measures 'key to ensuring the safety of our communities'
Tauranga councillor Stuart Crosby asked if the council could stop public consultation under the requirements set by central government.
McTavish said the council was not required to consult on its annual plan, only its long-term plan.
She said public consultation would be continuing on the flood protection and drainage by-laws as they were an essential public service.
Under the proposed by-laws, landowners would need to apply for prior written authority to undertake activities that may have a detrimental effect on the regional council's assets.
There were also proposed rules specifically for ploughing and fencing.
When these activities were carried out in close proximity to the stopbanks, particularly those in the lower reaches of the Kaituna, Rangitaiki and Tarawera Rivers, they could have a detrimental impact on the integrity of those stopbanks.
There were also four new proposed floodways in addition to the Rangitaiki in the Eastern Bay. These were Waioeka, Mangorewa, Waingaehe and Ngongotahā.
The Rangitaiki River behind the stopbank on College Road, Edgecumbe shortly before it broke through in April 2017, causing devastating flooding in the Bay of Plenty town. Photo: Supplied
Regional council chairman and Eastern Bay councillor Doug Leeder said in a statement that these by-laws were a core function and would continue to be a focus for the council even during the Level 4 Covid-19 alert.
"In parts of our region, the by-laws are key to ensuring the safety of our communities," he said.
"People will continue to be consulted to ensure these by-laws can be approved later this year.
"However, we are acutely aware that our communities will have different matters on their minds over the coming weeks and months, so we have made the decision not to consult on our annual plan, but to ramp up our consultation later in the year on our long-term plan."
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