Meeting of the
Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy Joint Committee
Date: 9 August 2024
Time: 10.00am
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Venue:
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Council
Chamber
Hawke's
Bay Regional Council
159
Dalton Street
NAPIER
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Agenda
Item Title Page
1. Welcome/Karakia/Housekeeping/Apologies
2. Conflict
of interest declarations
3. Confirmation of Minutes of
the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy Joint Committee meeting held on
5 July 2024
Decision
Items
4. Clifton
to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy recommendations to HBRC 3
Information
or Performance Monitoring
5. Project
Manager's August 2024 update 7
6. Current
coastal projects update 13
7. Update
on follow-ups from previous meetings 15
Clifton
to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy Joint Committee
9 August
2024
Subject: Clifton to Tangoio Coastal
Hazards Strategy recommendations to HBRC
Reason for report
1. This item seeks a Joint
Committee decision to recommend the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy
(attached), including funding principles, to the Hawke’s Bay
Regional Council (HBRC).
Background
2. The Strategy development
process began in late 2014 as a collaborative project between HBRC,
Maungaharuru-Tangitū Trust, Napier City Council, Mana Ahuriri Trust,
Hastings District Council and Tamatea Pōkai Whenua (at that time He Toa
Takitini).
3. Alongside a range of
ongoing and challenging coastal hazards issues, a key trigger for the
establishment of the Joint Committee was the March 2014 report by Paul Komar
and Erica Harris[1].
4. The report considered the
potential consequences to the coast from climate change, noting It is
evident that any increase in the future levels of the sea and in the
intensities of storms, both being projected by climatologists to occur during
the next 100 years, would result in significantly enhanced threats to
properties along the Hawke’s Bay coast.
5. The Joint Committee was
formed to develop a coordinated response to this challenge.
6. Initial work to better
understand coastal hazards and the risks they present was deliberately paced,
with efforts made to communicate clearly, test and refine hazard and risk
assessments with affected communities, and to start with information and communication,
rather than regulation.
7. In 2017 the Strategy
development process ramped up, with the formation of two community assessment
panels. Over 14 months they worked tirelessly with their communities, technical
experts, academics and Councils to develop their recommended responses.
8. This work coincided with
the release of the 2017 version of the Ministry for the Environment’s
Coastal hazards and climate change guidance (most recently updated in 2024[2]).
This guidance recommended the use of a relatively new methodology, Dynamic
Adaptive Pathways Planning (DAPP). At that time, DAPP had not been used in a
coastal hazards context in New Zealand.
9. Re-working the approach of
the Strategy to utilise DAPP proved a challenge; TAG and the Joint Committee
were designing the plane as they flew it. The Joint Committee was fortunate to
be aided in this by the Living at the Edge project under the Resilience to
Nature’s Challenges National Science Project. The Living at the Edge
researchers shadowed the strategy development process and provided a
‘critical friend’.
10. In 2018 the community
panels delivered their final report, making a series of recommendations for
long term adaptive pathways and other actions at the coast.
11. This marked a turning point
in the Strategy development process, as TAG and the Joint Committee began the
process of translating the community Panel’s recommendations into
Council-led actions.
12. The first task was
extensive design work to build detail and more accurate costings around the
first actions in the pathways recommended by the Panels. A coastal process
model was developed in-house at HBRC to take a whole-of-coast look at how
various structures and nourishment programmes interacted with coastal processes
and sea level rise.
13. Other work progressed on
developing thresholds (required by DAPP) to determine when pathways need to be
implemented to avoid intolerable coastal hazards effects, and defining what a
managed retreat response might look like in Hawke’s Bay, how it might be
done, and how much it might cost.
14. This work progressed
alongside a series of community engagement workshops held from late 2020
through to mid-2022. The workshops included returning Panel members and some
community members new to the Strategy, who collectively provided a sounding
board and assisted with testing and development.
15. The Joint Committee has
faced a raft of challenges in progressing the Strategy since the Community
Panels delivered their recommendations, with the most significant being the
Covid-19 pandemic and Cyclone Gabrielle. Each required a major re-think on how best
to progress this work and engage with tangata whenua and communities deeply
affected by these events.
16. One of the most
time-consuming internal challenges was developing an approach to pay for
Strategy implementation. Unlike most local government functions, there is no
clear legislative direction on whether regional councils or territorial
authorities should lead this type of work.
17. The Raynor Asher report[3]
helped unlock this, and presented clear recommendations that led the Councils
to enter into a Memorandum of Transition in 2022 that confirmed an in-principle
position that HBRC would lead Strategy implementation. TAG isn’t aware of
any other examples of an arrangement like this being formed elsewhere in New
Zealand.
18. To formalise this
arrangement, a range of legislative and process matters required resolution,
including that HBRC would need to consult with the community on a proposal to
undertake a significant new activity under s.16 of the Local Government Act.
19. HBRC commenced this process
in 2022, including meeting a requirement that it must consult with all
territorial authorities in the region, which was concluded successfully.
However, HBRC received advice from the Office of the Auditor General that a
s.16 consultation process required a full and functional funding model to be
defined. As this was still in development, HBRC elected instead to undertake a
more general consultation process to test community sentiment on the proposal
that HBRC would lead Strategy implementation. HBRC’s consultation process
showed good community support for this.
20. Since then, the Joint
Committee has focused on working out how the costs for Strategy implementation
should be allocated between those properties and ratepayers with direct and
indirect benefits.
21. The “who pays”
question is vexing Councils nation-wide and is regularly identified as the
greatest challenge to taking action on climate change adaptation.
Discussion
22. Today, the Joint Committee
has reached a conclusion – the final proposed Clifton to Tangoio Coastal
Hazards Strategy.
23. The Strategy is intended
for multiple audiences but is primarily a document to drive Council actions.
24. The actions proposed are
directly reflective of the long-term adaptive pathways recommended by the
Community Panels. Additional actions are proposed to ensure a comprehensive
response, including further work under the Mātauranga Māori Workstream
and a recommended regulatory response to both facilitate Strategy
implementation, while addressing the risk of maladaptation.
25. The Joint Committee has
also developed funding principles to guide and inform the development of
HBRC’s funding model for Strategy implementation. There is further refinement and
development work required by Section 101 (3) of the Local Government Act to
prepare a fully functional funding model to test through community
consultation. The Joint Committee has been deliberate about leaving this work
to HBRC, as the primary decision-maker and only agency that is able to consider
the specific organisational and ratepayer implications from various funding
model refinements.
26. This paper presents a
proposed resolution that, if passed, would result in the torch being passed
from the Joint Committee to HBRC to move the Strategy through to community
consultation and Council adoption. This would largely conclude the work of this
Joint Committee.
27. As set out in the
Memorandum of Transition, the intention is that once HBRC has confirmed and
adopted the Strategy, the Joint Committee will be disestablished, and a new
Advisory Committee formed. The Advisory Committee is proposed to be formed with
equal membership from the Partner Councils, Maungaharuru-Tangitū Trust,
Mana Ahuriri Trust and Tamatea Pōkai Whenua. A draft Terms of Reference
for the Advisory Committee has been developed and is included in the Memorandum
of Transition.
Strategy
consultation and implementation
28. As the Joint Committee has
worked through the final stages of confirming its recommended Strategy for HBRC
to take forward, HBRC staff and Councillors have, in turn, been preparing to
receive the recommendations and allocate resources to next steps.
29. HBRC advises that they are
preparing for Strategy consultation in March 2025, to align with a wide range
of significant projects following Long Term Plan adoption, Cyclone Gabrielle,
flood control scheme reviews and other critical work.
30. The Joint Committee
discussed HBRC’s consultation timing in their most recent meeting and
concluded that they wished to stress the importance to HBRC of there being no
further delays. This sentiment has been reflected in the proposed resolution in
this item.
31. HBRC’s most
significant task before consultation commences is to conclude funding model
refinements.
32. Alongside the Strategy,
HBRC will be preparing a consultation document that will provide a summary of
the proposed Strategy, alternative options for consideration, and the key
consultation questions.
Decision-making considerations
33. Council and its committees
are required to make every decision in accordance with the requirements of the
Local Government Act 2002 (the Act).
34. Staff have assessed the
requirements in relation to this item and have concluded that the Joint
Committee can exercise its discretion and make a decision without consulting
directly with the community or others
having an interest in the decision.
35. The reason for this is that
the Joint Committee’s decision is to recommend a proposed Strategy to
HBRC. HBRC is the ultimate decision-maker in this case and intends to consult
with the community in
accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002.
Recommendations
That the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal
Hazards Strategy Joint Committee:
1. Receives and considers the Clifton
to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy recommendations to HBRC staff report.
2. Recommends that
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council:
2.1. Receives the proposed
Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy dated July 2024.
2.2. Using the proposed funding
principles included in the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy dated
July 2024, refines and finalises a funding model for Strategy implementation.
2.3. Prepares a final Clifton to
Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy for community consultation in accordance with the
requirements of the Local Government Act 2002.
2.4. Concludes community
consultation on the implementation of the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards
Strategy no later than March 2025.
Authored by:
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Simon Bendall
Coastal Hazards Strategy Project
Manager
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Approved by:
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Chris Dolley
Group Manager Asset Management
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Attachment/s
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1
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Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards
Strategy 2120
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Under Separate Cover – online
only
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Clifton
to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy Joint Committee
9 August
2024
Subject: Project Manager's August 2024
update
Reason for report
1. This report provides an
update on project-related matters including timeframes, budgets and tracking
towards milestones.
Project dashboard
2. The project dashboard
(Table 1) is provided to summarise current project status for budget, timeline
and all eight Strategy Workstreams (WS). An assessment of each project element
is made on a ‘traffic light’ basis, with a brief commentary provided
to explain the rating given.
3. There are no status changes
to report in this period.
Table 1: Project Dashboard Report: August 2024
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Status:
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 On Track
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 Under
Stress
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Key Risk
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Metric
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Status
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Commentary
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Project Budget
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2023/2024 budget underspent relative to forecast. Unspent
funds to be carried forward to 2024/2025. Sufficient budget available to
support consultation process.
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Project Timeline
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Strategy to be consulted on in March 2025. Joint
Committee has asked that there be no further delays. ‘Key Risk’ status
assigned to acknowledge continued delays that have occurred to date in
progressing the Strategy and the challenges and uncertainty for communities
experiencing ongoing effects from coastal hazards.
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WS1:
Funding / Governance
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Funding principles developed for Joint Committee
endorsement. Status reflects complexity of challenge to develop a principled
and practical funding model, and current financial environment.
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WS2: LGA Consultation
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LGA Consultation requirements (Section 16 / LTP
amendment) on track to be achieved, noting March 2025 timing.
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WS3: Comms & Engagement
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Comms and engagement plan being refined to reflect
March 2025 timing including shifting early engagement to February.
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WS4: Design
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Gravel nourishment feasibility assessment completed,
confirming gravel is available to support beach nourishment activities
although required volumes particularly for capital nourishment are high.
CoastSnap on track for deployment in August.
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WS5: Mātauranga Māori
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External contractor engaged to provide expertise and
capacity. PSGEs have confirmed capacity constraints are limiting ability to
engage in Strategy development at this time. Desktop work to develop draft
cultural values frameworks based on existing information underway. Outcome to
be provided to PSGE’s in the first instance for review.
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WS6: Coastal Ecology
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Draft coastal ecology monitoring plan has been received
and reviewed by HBRC science team. Mana Whenua engagement sought to expand /
refine monitoring plan. Recommended monitoring is currently cost-prohibitive.
TAG working on options to progress.
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WS7: Regulatory
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Discussion document on key regulatory matters for the
Strategy to drive through local planning frameworks presented to Joint
Committee. Outcome now reflected in Strategy drafting.
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WS8: Signals and Triggers
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Thresholds development process completed and outcome
will be reflected as draft thresholds in Strategy document. TAG has assessed
the development of signals and triggers and has determined to pause further
work until the Strategy has been adopted with confirmed thresholds.
Workstream currently on hold.
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HBRC
Strategy consultation timing update
4. TAG has prepared an updated
programme to reflect HBRC’s decision to hold the Strategy consultation in
March 2025, summarised below.
4.1. 9 August (today) – Joint
Committee formal meeting to confirm recommendations to HBRC on the Strategy
including funding principles.
4.2. 28 August 2024 – HBRC Council
workshop, Joint Committee members invited to attend to support presentation of
Joint Committee recommendations to HBRC.
4.3. August – December
2024
– HBRC to refine funding model and Strategy, develop consultation
document and LTP amendment.
4.4. January / February 2025
– HBRC
decision to commence consultation. Early engagement starts.
4.5. March 2025 – Strategy consultation.
5. A full updated timeline is
provided as Attachment 1.
6. For completeness it is
noted that there is no communications and engagement agenda item on
today’s meeting agenda. With consultation activity now taking place in
early 2025, an updated communications and engagement plan is being prepared for
HBRC to consider.
Central
Government: Climate Inquiry
7. On Monday 29 July, the
Chair, both Deputy Chairs and the Project Manager joined a video conference
with Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee to speak to the Joint
Committee’s two submissions on the Inquiry into Climate Adaptation.
8. Further information on the
Inquiry can be found at https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/document/54SCFIN_SCF_F4A021AF-6284-4959-1470-08DC7066FF1A/inquiry-into-climate-adaptation.
9. Although there was only a
10 minute speaking slot available which limited the depth and breadth of
discussion, the Chair stressed the Joint Committee’s interest and
willingness to engage further and share lessons learned from the Strategy
development process.
10. The Finance and Expenditure
Committee is due to report back to Parliament on the Inquiry by
5 September 2024. This is expected to include recommendations on whether
new legislation is required.
11. TAG will keep the Joint
Committee updated on the Finance and Expenditure Committee’s fundings.
Joint Committee
12. Should the Joint Committee
pass a resolution in today’s meeting recommending the Strategy to HBRC to
take forward, it would mark a major milestone in the Strategy development
process.
13. It would also largely
conclude the work of the Joint Committee, as HBRC takes on the lead role to
refine, consult on and finalise the Strategy.
14. Subject to any requests or
feedback from HBRC and the outcome of today’s meeting, there may be no
further meetings of this Joint Committee before it is reformed as an Advisory
Committee as proposed by the Memorandum of Transition.
15. TAG would like to organise
a function to thank Joint Committee members, former panel members, and other
key contributors to this work at the appropriate time.
Decision-making process
16. Staff have assessed the
requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have
concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision-making
provisions do not apply.
Recommendation
That
the Clifton to
Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy Joint Committee receives and notes the Project Manager's August 2024 update.
Authored
by:
|
Simon Bendall
Coastal Hazards Strategy Project
Manager
|
|
Approved by:
|
Chris Dolley
Group Manager Asset Management
|
|
Attachment/s
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1⇩
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Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards
Strategy Timeline
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Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards
Strategy Timeline
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Attachment
1
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Clifton
to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy Joint Committee
9 August
2024
Subject: Current coastal projects
update
Reason for report
1. This report provides an
opportunity for the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to update the Joint
Committee on various coastal projects that members have expressed an interest
in keeping abreast of.
Westshore resource consent
renewal
2. The Westshore renourishment
scheme is a controlled activity of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Coastal
Environmental Plan (Rule 103), therefore resource consent must be granted and
no public notification is required.
3. The amount of gravel
allowed for a 12-month period is up to 50,000m3, our current consent
is for 30,000m3/year and the amount of renourishment required for
the Hazards Strategy is approximately 40,000m3/year.
4. It is convenient to apply
for the 40,000m3/year in order to avoid a new consent application if
the Strategy is approved.
5. It will be necessary to
seek the views of the MACA claimants (Mana Ahuriri) in case some of the
renourishment occurs below MHWS.
Haumoana shingle crest
height
6. Current consent conditions
on beach scraping require any gravel scraped from the seaward side to be
replaced with similar material. However, close sources of gravel are no
longer available, making this approach even more cost prohibitive. These issues
remain unresolved.
7. Work has recently been
completed to bring sections of beach crest in the Haumoana area back up to a
consistent height, following recent sea events, and has been a shared exercise
between HBRC and HDC.
Haumoana
18
8. No further activity in this
period.
Maraetotara
River at Te Awanga
9. The Hastings District
Council has agreed to include funding of $730,000 for stage 1 of an ECO Reef in
the Long-Term Plan to protect the Te Awanga Lagoon’s stormwater function.
10. Work has commenced on the
site-specific design detail and programming, along with initial meetings with
HDC and HBRC regulators to determine an agreed way forward through the design
and consenting processes. A follow up community meeting is proposed over the
next month to ensure locals keep abreast of progress on this project. HDC will
also work with HBRC on the Memorandum of Transition process for this project.
Whirinaki
11. No further activity in this
period.
Haumoana
12. From the agreed actions
from the Cape Coast residents meeting action plan, held in September 2023.
Action
1: HBRC to
investigate and implement a more effective solution for the pump station and
review the levels of service.
12.1. The Heretaunga Plains
– Haumoana / Te Awanga scheme review will commence in August 2024 with a
draft report to be completed by late 2024.
Action
2: HDC to
request variation to consent to allow for shingle on the sea side of the crest
to be used for crest management.
12.2. Remains under
Investigation.
Action
3: Graeme
Hansen (with support of CC community) to develop a plan about how to progress,
including how the Ecoreef solution might be funded and what the consenting
process would look like.
12.3. See update under
Maraetotara River at Te Awanga.
Hawke’s Bay Climate
Action
13. The next meeting of the
Climate Action Joint Committee has been re-scheduled to 26 August.
14. The Joint Committee will
continue to lend its weight to an initiative that focuses on climate adaptation
and emissions reduction.
15. A forward work programme to
support the Joint Committee will be presented at their upcoming meeting. Of
interest to this committee is initial scoping work for a regional climate risk
assessment and the forward plan for this work. There will be an update on this
work at the Climate Action Joint Committee meeting in August.
Decision-making process
16. Staff have assessed the
requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have
concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision-making
provisions do not apply.
Recommendation
That
the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy Joint Committee receives the Current
coastal projects update.
Authored
by:
|
Simon Bendall
Coastal Hazards Strategy Project
Manager
|
|
Approved by:
|
Chris Dolley
Group Manager Asset Management
|
|
Attachment/s
There are no attachments for this
report.
Clifton
to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy Joint Committee
9 August
2024
Subject: Update on follow-ups from
previous meetings
Reason for report
1. This item
tracks items raised at previous meetings that require action. A list of
outstanding items is prepared for each meeting, including who is responsible
for each, when it is expected to be completed and a brief status comment.
2. Once the items
have been completed and reported to the Committee they will be removed from the
list.
Decision-making process
3. Staff have assessed the
requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have
concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision-making
provisions do not apply.
Recommendation
That
the Clifton to
Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy Joint Committee receives and notes the Update
on follow-ups from previous meetings.
Authored by:
|
Simon Bendall
Coastal Hazards Strategy Project
Manager
|
|
Approved by:
|
Chris Dolley
Group Manager Asset Management
|
|
Attachment/s
|
1⇩
|
Actions from previous Clifton to
Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy Joint Committee meeting
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Actions from previous Clifton to Tangoio
Coastal Hazards Strategy Joint Committee meeting
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Attachment
1
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