Auckland Council wants to make sure that all Aucklanders can enjoy our region’s public places while keeping safe.
Today, the council’s Governing Body confirmed changes to the Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaw to minimise nuisance and safety risks to people when using public places.
These places include parks, beaches, civic spaces and other places accessible to the public.
It is a wide-ranging bylaw that includes issues Aucklanders encounter daily, from using a drone, activities on a park or a beach, rules around fireworks, fires, fences, set netting, leaving or storing items on public places and nuisance or unsafe behaviours.
“The review of the bylaw found that it is no longer used to address some issues, and there are some issues where central government legislation applies and are dealt with by police or other government agencies”, says Councillor Linda Cooper, Chair of the Hearing’s Panel that made the recommendations to the Governing Body.
“Some issues have been removed as they belong on other council bylaws such as animals and vehicles on parks and beaches. We’ve also introduced provisions for drones which weren’t commonly used when the bylaw was first written.
“Most importantly, Aucklanders won’t notice any difference in current service provision following these changes but will find the bylaw clearer and easier to understand.
“We thank all the Aucklanders who shared their views with us during the consultation last year and are pleased that they are largely supportive of the improvements,” she says.
Key changes:
- using central government legislation instead of a bylaw to address damage, car window washing, mind-altering substances, graffiti, noise, fish offal, gates in parks, fireworks on non-public places, street names and property numbering
- specifically include drones and the rules for their use over Auckland’s public places including the maunga
- moving issues about animals, signage, stormwater and traffic to the existing, dedicated bylaw
- prohibiting leaving construction materials, boats, shipping containers and consumer goods not on display for sale in public places, unless approved by the council
- clarifying the expected behaviours and restrictions on the use of public places
- clarifying how the council makes controls and gives approvals
- clarify which public places the Bylaw applies to and enabling people in control of those public places to approve exemptions
- replacing legacy bylaws about fences with changes to the Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaw 2013.
A public consultation period was held from October to early December 2018 when Aucklanders, stakeholders, and local boards provided feedback on the proposed changes.
Read the full report here (item 11).
How does the bylaw minimise nuisance and keep people safe?
Auckland Council sets rules for how people must behave and what activities are permitted or not permitted in public places. It also provides permission or approval for some activities in public places.
The council responds to complaints about people breaking rules in the bylaw using a graduated compliance approach. We work with people to resolve issues in the first instance. We issue warnings to if people do not comply and it may issue fines or take legal action if people continue to not comply after warnings.
If you are unhappy or concerned about a service, you receive you can contact the council to discuss your concerns.
