Auckland Council’s Emergency Committee today approved mandatory Stage 1 water use restrictions to begin from 16 May 2020 and agreed the first tranche of projects to be submitted to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Innovating Streets for People pilot fund.
The following is a summary of decisions made. The agenda is available on Auckland Council’s website and minutes will be added once confirmed. This meeting was also webcast on the council’s website and items are available on demand.
Item 8: COVID-19 briefing and Auckland Emergency Management status update
The regular weekly update on the COVID-19 pandemic and the Auckland Emergency Management response was received by the committee.
This week’s updates included:
- Mace Ward, Group Controller, AucklandEmergency Management, provided a status update on Auckland’s emergency response.
- Ian Maxwell, Director Executive Programmes, on the Auckland Council Group COVID-19 response.
- Rodger Murphy, Auckland Transport, with an update on how AT is responding to COVID-19 issues.
- Phil Wilson, Group Recovery Manager COVID-19, gave a general update on recovery work in Auckland.
The full updates will be available to view on-demand on the Auckland Council website.
Item 9: Auckland Unitary Plan – Request to make Plan Change 17, Improving consistency of provisions in the GIS Viewer, operative
The committee approved a plan change (Plan Change 17) to address technical issues that have been identified in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) viewer. The GIS viewer is the tool used to display the Auckland Unitary Plan maps on the Auckland Council website.
Item 10: Joint Auckland Council and Auckland Transport bids for the Waka Kotahi NZTA Innovating Streets for People pilot fund
The committee endorsed Auckland Transport’s applications to the first tranche of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Innovating Streets for People pilot fund.
It also approved was the process for developing a recommended package of projects for the second funding round closing on 3 July 2020, which will include Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and Panuku Development Auckland projects.
Successful applicants in round one are expected to be announced in June 2020.
Item 11: Council Submission on Draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2021 and Draft National Rail Plan
The committee approved Auckland Council’s draft submission on the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport and the draft National Rail Plan, with the council supporting the overall intent of both the GPS and National Rail Plan.
This item was deferred from the 30 April Emergency Committee meeting.
Item 12: Submission on the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill
The council’s submission on the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill was approved.
The draft submission supports the Bill. The proposed amendments have a strong alignment to the council’s objectives for improving Māori outcomes.
More information, including a copy of council’s submission, is available on the meeting agenda here (item 12).
Item 13: Auckland’s response to the 2019/2020 drought
The committee unanimously approved mandatory Stage 1 water use restrictions to come into force from 16 May in response to the ongoing drought in Auckland.
For households this includes no use of an outdoor hose or water blaster.
For the commercial sector and non-residential, no use of an outdoor hose or water blaster unless it is for a health, safety, emergency, or biosecurity reason, no operation of a carwash unless it uses recycled water, no watering of sports fields, plants or paddocks unless an irrigation system is fitted with soil moisture or rain sensors.
Also approved were the stage two water use restrictions to come into force once trigger levels in the Metropolitan Drought Management Plan are reached.
There are no restrictions on water for drinking or sanitary use of water in the household, or uses for health, safety, emergency or biosecurity reasons.
