Minutes of Regional Planning Committee

1. Welcome/Apologies/Notices

Karakia - Mike Mohi

Chairman Toro Waaka welcomed everyone to the meeting

Resolution

RPC14/16 That the apology for absence from Cr Debbie Hewitt be accepted.

Barker/Wilson

CARRIED

2. Conflict of Interest Declarations

There were no conflict of interest declarations.

3. Confirmation of Minutes of the Regional Planning Committee Meeting held on 3 February 2016

RPC15/16

Resolution

Minutes of the Regional Planning Committee held on Wednesday 3 February 2016, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed as a true and correct record.

Scott/Wilson

CARRIED

4. Matters Arising from Minutes of the Regional Planning Committee Meeting held on 3 February 2016

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

Follow-up Items from Previous Regional Planning Committee Meetings

Ngaruroro River & Clive River WCO application

TANK Stakeholder Group

Clean Air Compliance Strategy

Water Quantity Allocation Policy and Consenting Processes

RPC16/16

Resolution

1. That the Regional Planning Committee receives the report “Follow-up Items from Previous Regional Planning Committee Meetings”.

Waaka/Brown

CARRIED

Call for any Minor Items not on the Agenda

1. Panpac

Meeting in Wairoa
Sharing duties with standing committees
Venue

Revised Regional Planning Committee Terms of Reference

Mrs Lambert presented the draft revised Terms of Reference for questions and amendment if need be, and outlined a programme of work to confirm a new set to be in place following the local government elections. Mrs Lambert advised the committee there have been several smaller group meetings over the last few months with Tangata Whenua members, Councillors and Staff to look at the ToR for the Regional Planning Committee and covered some of the key guiding principles around the development of the ToR.

Some key things highlighted by Mrs Lambert were around functions, more specifically the functions from Section D, 11 – 15 which are essential as they are the supporting functions to the core activities of the committee.

Mrs Lambert talked about the appointments and appointers, procedural matters, quorum, voting entitlement, purpose of the committee and the purpose of the planning committee act.

Mrs Lambert explained how the 10 members would work, and also noted that the committee will meet 6 times a year as opposed to 4 and that workshops will be held prior to these meetings to work through any issues that may come up at the subsequent meeting

Some concerns raised over the degree of frustration from the Tangata Whenua members and their ability to comprehend all the business put before them, how council responds to appeals, membership of hearing panels, numbers of councillors on the committee and TANK.

RPC17/16

Resolutions

That the Regional Planning Committee:

1. Receives and notes the “Revised Regional Planning Committee Terms of Reference” report.

2. Endorses the key milestones set out in Table 1 of the report as the timeframes for work to adopt a revised terms of reference for the RPC so the revised terms of reference are in place and active following the local government elections in October 2016.

3. Agrees that Committee members provide feedback on the first draft revised terms of reference by Friday 13 May 2016, and that Tangata Whenua members do so in consultation with their respective trustees.

Wilson/Scott

CARRIED

Riparian Assessment for Tukituki and TANK Catchments

HBRC Terrestrial Ecologist Mrs Keiko Hashiba ran through a presentation of this item.

In an effort to give a clearer idea of what good work is going on in the Tukituki and TANK catchments and sub catchments. It was suggested that a one day fieldtrip/workshop on riparian planting for HBRC Councillors would be of great benefit.

RPC18/16

Resolutions

1. That the Regional Planning Committee receives and notes the “Riparian Assessment for Tukituki and Tutaekuri Ahuriri Ngaruroro Karamu (TANK) catchments” report.

2. The Regional Planning Committee recommends that Council:

2.1. Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy, and that Council can exercise its discretion and make decisions on this issue without conferring directly with the community and persons likely to be affected by or to have an interest in the decision.

2.2. Approves the “Riparian Assessment for Tukituki, and Tutaekuri Ahuriri Ngaruroro Karamu (TANK) catchments” reports for publication and release.

Scott/Wilson

CARRIED

Groundwater Level Changes in the Heretaunga and Ruataniwha Basin from 1994 – 2014

Senior Scientist Mr Simon Harper gave a presentation on this item. Mr Harper gave an update on groundwater levels and how they have changed. Mr Harper chose the period between 1994 & 2014 to capture as many wells as he could that represented this period so he could compare the different trends and different sizes.

Discussion focused on the dynamic of the Heretaunga Aquifer and the relative contribution of recharge, long term trends in groundwater level and the declines in groundwater levels as the result of the use of water. Mr Harper clarified the relationship between groundwater levels and the use of groundwater over a long time frame, noting that the declines were not unexpected as the system was likely to yet reach an equilibrium as a result of current use. He noted that using groundwater resources would always result in a shift to a new equilibrium state for groundwater levels, and that this new equilibrium may not yet have been reached in the Heretaunga.

The meeting adjourned at 11.00am for Morning Tea and reconvened at 11.13am

Discussion continued after morning tea.

A request was made for council to circulate an article that staff put out in the weekly newspaper a few weeks ago of the impact of this particular subject. Mr Maxwell to circulate.

RPC19/16

Resolution:

1. That the Regional Planning Committee receives and notes the “Groundwater Level Changes in the Heretaunga and Ruataniwha Basin from 1994-2014” report.

2. The Regional Planning Committee recommends that Council:

2.1. Approves the “Groundwater Level Changes in the Heretaunga and Ruataniwha Basin from 1994-2014” report for publication.

Scott/Hopmans

CARRIED

Rei Te Nahu, Oha Manuel, Nic Caviale-Delzescaldx and Pat O’Brien came from Mahia to talk about the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group Whangawehi project and the positive impact it has had on the community and environment. It was suggested that Pat comes and tells his story to the Regional Council team.

Wilson/Scott

CARRIED

10.

TANK Stakeholder Group: Terms of Reference and Master Plan

Mr Palmer gave a recap of this item and introduced Senior Planner Mary-Anne Baker and Programme Leader Desiree Cull. A presentation was provided covering the work programme from here, for the TANK project, in particular the work that the TANK collaborative group will be undertaking that has been endorsed by the TANK Stakeholder Group and recommended to the RPC. Mrs Baker covered the changes to the operational dimensions of the TANK collaborative process including the ToR. Mrs Cull then talked the Committee through the project structure.

There were concerns raised over public consultation, and it was clarified that a community engagement team has been set up. Concerns were also raised over trying to catch up with previous reports, and it was confirmed that an information portal is being set up so that RPC and TANK group members can easily access all the information they need related to the plan change.

Other concerns raised were water take permits, and the impact of the water conservation order application on the Ngaruroro.

Cr Graham requested that his opposition to amendment of attachment 3, bullet point 5 be recorded.

RPC20/16

Resolutions

1. That the Regional Planning Committee receives and notes the “TANK Stakeholder Group: Terms of Reference and Work Programme” report.

2. The Regional Planning Committee recommends that Council:

2.2. Agrees that the Master Plan set out in Attachment 1 outlines critical deliverables and dependencies between now and the Plan Change becoming operative

2.3. Agrees on the changes to the Terms of Reference for the TANK Group, as set out in Attachment 2.

2.4. Endorses the principles set out in Attachment 3, and as amended at today’s meeting, as the approach to the relationship between the Council, its committees and any stakeholder-led collaborative planning groups for preparation of Regional Plans/Plan Changes under the Resource Management Act.

2.5. Agrees, in principle, to appoint a Hearings Commissioner-Accredited Panel comprised of equal numbers of councillors and tangata whenua members from the Regional Planning Committee, representing the TANK planning area, to hear and make recommendations on submissions received as part of any Schedule 1 process following the TANK Plan Change development process.

Belford/Pipe

CARRIED

The meeting adjourned for lunch 12.35pm reconvened at 1.05pm

11.	Iwi - Hapu Engagement Plan for the Development of the TANK Plan Change
	Deferred to June Meeting
12.	Next Steps for Freshwater Discussion Document
	Mrs Baker talked the Committee through the report. The Government has issued a discussion document around the further steps it wishes to address in relation to freshwater management. This document covers a range of topics and various proposals. Staff collated a submission which they circulated around the Regional Planning Committee membership last month with the feedback received then drafted into this report. Mrs Baker covered each topic, these included ownership of water, priority of use of water, stock exclusion and good practice.
RPC21/16	Resolution 1. That the Regional Planning Committee receives and notes the “Next Steps for Freshwater Discussion Document” report and the attached draft submission and provides feedback to staff as to amendments required. 2. The Regional Planning Committee recommends that Council: 2.1. Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy, and that Council can exercise its discretion and make decisions on this issue without conferring directly with the community and persons likely to be affected by or to have an interest in the decision. 2.2. Lodges the submission as attached, including any amendments agreed at this meeting, to the Ministry for the Environment. Dick/Scott CARRIED

12.

April 2016 Resource Management Planning Project Update

Mr Ide gave an update on the April 2016 Resource Management Planning Project

RPC22/16

Resolution

1. That the Regional Planning Committee receives and takes note of the ‘April 2016 Resource Management Planning Projects Update’ report.

Barker/Beaven

CARRIED

13.	Verbal Update on the Ngaruroro Water Conservation Order Application
	Covered in item 5 Follow ups from previous meetings.

14.	Presentation of Pataka - A Resource Management Tool
	Deferred to June meeting

15.

December 2015 - March 2016 Statutory Advocacy Update

Mr Palmer gave an update on this report.

In regards to the Thompson consent, currently a proposal is with the applicants to agree on a management plan.

RPC23/16

Resolution:

1. That the Regional Planning Committee receives the December 2015 – March 2016 Statutory Advocacy Update report.

Wilson/Barker

CARRIED

16.

Minor Items Not on the Agenda

Item	Topic	Councillor / Staff
1.	Panpac – currently an appeal to the environment court by Maungaharuru Tangitu Trust on the councils hearing panel decision on applications from Panpac to extend the pipeline. There will be invites to the tangata whenua in the near future regarding an application in next year from Panpac to renew their discharge consent/permit.	M Mohi
2.	Meeting in Wairoa - Good engagement with the community and the Maori Committee in February.	A Smith
3.	Sharing duties with standing committees - an informal subcommittee of the Maori Committee has been discussing the possibility that instead of two members coming from the Maori Committee the possibility of passing the responsibility over to the Regional Planning Committee and/or sharing this responsibility ie: 1 from 1 each	M Mohi
4.	Venue – this venue is quite small	T Waaka
5.	Waihi Dam – Eastland work involved removing sediment and debris from above the dam face. Approx. 3 weeks ago they concluded this work, closed the sluice gates and have stopped the discharge. HBRC staff investigations continue, and staff will brief the committee on this issue as they progress.	Cr Barker

Closure:

M Mohi - Karakia

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 3.03pm on Wednesday 20 April 2016.

Signed as a true and correct record.

DATE: ................................................ CHAIRMAN: ...............................................