From today until 27 October, members of the public are invited to have their say about a new joint Auckland Council and Auckland Transport (AT) Signs Bylaw.
At the same time, Aucklanders can also share their views with the council about alcohol advertising at off-licence alcohol outlets, like liquor stores. This feedback will help inform a separate piece of work.
Signs Bylaw 2022
The proposed new Signs Bylaw combines the existing Signage Bylaw 2015 and Election Signs Bylaw 2013 into a single bylaw, which will help better manage the problems signs can cause in relation to public safety, nuisance, misuse of public places, and the Auckland transport system.
Auckland Council Regulatory Committee Deputy Chair, Councillor Josephine Bartley says: “Signs benefit the community by helping people connect, for example by promoting events and businesses, selling homes, election campaigning and more.
“However, we have to regulate signs so they don’t cause nuisance and they help keep people safe; unregulated signs could be distracting for drivers or impact people with mobility issues,” she says.
Major features of the proposed new joint Signs Bylaw include:
- Combining the current rules into a single bylaw, which will reduce confusion and streamline regulation from having two bylaws about signs;
- Introducing a nine-week display period for election signs on places that would not otherwise be allowed for signs unrelated to that location as a result of combining the current two bylaws about signs;
- Increasing the area where portable signs are prohibited to cover the entire City Centre Zone, including Karangahape Road. This will prioritise the area for pedestrians, remove potential safety risks and improve accessibility for mobility and vision-impaired pedestrians;
- Increasing the maximum area of flat wall-mounted signs in Heavy Industry Zones. This increase would allow businesses and real estate agencies to display more information in areas where the buildings are generally larger and there is a lower priority on amenity values.
Aucklanders are invited to provide feedback about any aspect of the sign rules contained in the proposed new Bylaw.
No feedback however is being sought through the bylaw consultation process on sign rules in other regulations (for example billboard rules in the Auckland Unitary Plan) or about the regulation of alcohol advertising.
Off-licence advertising signs outside alcohol stores
Although rules for alcohol advertising are not included in the proposed new Signs Bylaw, the council is also inviting Aucklanders to give their views - through a separate consultation process - on alcohol advertising at off-licence outlets, such as liquor stores.
The council will use these views to investigate ways of reducing community exposure from this type of advertising. These views will not be used to make changes to the proposed new Signs Bylaw.
Cr Bartley says: “When council staff reviewed the existing signage bylaws, we received a lot of passionate feedback from Auckland public health organisations about off-licence advertising and the harm they believe it causes within their communities.
“Public views will help inform a separate project where we investigate how the council could minimise harm from this type of signage in the future,” she says.
How to have your say
Consultation runs from 22 September until 27 October 2021, after which, the Bylaw Panel will consider the views of Aucklanders on the proposed new Signs Bylaw before a final decision is made. Views about off-licence alcohol advertising will be reported separately to the Regulatory Committee in 2022.
Visit akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz for more information, to give feedback and to find out where drop-in ‘have your say’ events will be held.
Free internet access is available at council libraries or contact us by phoning 09 301 0101.
