Attachment a Comprehensive Report on Draft Mercury Bay Reserve Management Plan
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Attachment A Comprehensive Report on Draft Mercury Bay Reserve Management Plan TO: Thames-Coromandel District Council FROM: Derek Thompson – Manager Community Facilities DATE: 24 August 2020 1 Background Reserve Management Plans Under the Reserves Act 1977, Councils are required to prepare reserve management plans for all reserves, except local purpose reserves, for which they are the administering body. These plans are to be kept under continuous review so that the plan is adapted to changing circumstances or new information. Guidance from the Department of Conservation suggests that plans should generally be reviewed at a minimum of 10 year intervals. There are three Reserve Management Plans in the Mercury Bay area. The Whitianga and Wharekaho and the Mercury Bay South Reserve Management Plans were made in 2007, and the Mercury Bay North Reserve Management Plan was made in 2008. Reserve management plans may be prepared for individual reserves or groups of reserves. Each of the Mercury Bay Reserve Management Plans was prepared as an omnibus plan in two parts: Document One, set out the context and the overarching policies and objectives which applied to all reserves in the ward. Document Two, set out information about individual reserves, their classification, specific management issues, any specific policies related to the reserves and future development intentions. Thames-Coromandel District Council’s approach Council resolved on 20 February 2018 to conduct one comprehensive review of the general policies and objectives for all of the reserve management plans prepare one general reserve management policies and objectives document. This general policies document was adopted by Council in May 2019. The Mercury Bay Community Board resolved on 28 March 2018 to review the 2007/2008 Mercury Bay Ward Reserve Management Plans, focusing on the content in Document Two - Individual Reserve Plans. The Mercury Bay Community Board resolved on 19 August 2020 to recommend that Council release the draft Mercury Bay Reserve Management Plan for public consultation. Reserves Act 1977 Section 41 of the Reserves Act 1977 (the Act) sets out the requirements for management plans. Section 41(3) requires that a management plan shall provide for and ensure the use, 1 enjoyment, maintenance, protection, and preservation, as the case may require, and, to the extent that the administering body's resources permit, the development, as appropriate, of the reserve for the purposes for which it is classified. The minimum process for completing a reserve management plan (including a substantive review of a reserve management plan), as specified in section 41 of the Act, is as follows, Council: notifies the community of its intention to prepare (or review) a reserve management plan and calls for suggestions; prepares a draft reserve management plan, including consideration of community suggestions and adopts and releases the draft plan for community consultation; hears submissions on the draft plan and considers verbal and written submissions; prepares an amended reserve management plan after consideration of the submissions; adopts and publishes the final reserve management plan. As required by the Act, Council publicly signalled its intention to prepare a reserve management plan for reserves in the Mercury Bay ward in April 2018 and invited the community to make suggestions. Site visits to key reserves were undertaken with elected members in 2019, and pre-consultation was undertaken to seek additional feedback from stakeholders in June 2020. 2 Discussion Preparation of the Mercury Bay Individual Reserve Plans The 2007/2008 individual management plans for each reserve were reviewed to confirm that the management issues identified are still relevant and to identify new management issues. During the review of the reserve management plans for the Mercury Bay area, every property was investigated to determine its exact legal status in terms of the Land Transfer Act 1952 and the Reserves Act 1977. This process determined many of the reserves in the Mercury Bay area, which have been vested in Council, had not been classified. In order for reserves to be included in a reserve management plan, they must first be formally classified under the Act. This is a necessary process step to ensure that the management plan has full force and effect. This classification process is nearing completion with the final procedural steps for classification currently being undertaken. Pre-consultation Targeted pre-consultation on the Mercury Bay Reserve Management Plan was held on 3 July 2020. Invitations were sent to reserve management groups and ratepayer associations, and two drop-in feedback sessions were held in Whitianga. 53 people attended across the two sessions. A range of feedback was received from the community, and while there was considerable feedback relating to potential projects and operational issues, and for land which is not captured by the RMPs (for example, reserves on DOC land managed by DOC), the following themes emerged: Manage vehicles on beaches and reserves, such as tour buses, campervans, boat trailers, and the impact of all-day parking. Define and/or formalise walkways and other access points to reserves. 2 Limit and/or better manage concessions and permits on reserve, including the secondary impacts they have (exclusive use of public land, signage, parking). Protect trees (native trees and shade trees). Protect and encourage plantings on dunes and wetland areas on reserves to stop erosion and provide bird habitat. Protect bird habitats. Work with DOC when there is DOC reserves adjacent to TCDC reserves to address issues on reserves. Maintain open space for recreation. Preserve the natural environments (i.e. limit development) within reserves. Protect historical and archaeological sites of importance. Control animal and pest plants. Information about the background and history of reserves (i.e. stories of past uses of reserves) was also provided. The feedback which was received in relation to operational issues has been passed on to the appropriate teams within Council to action. Project staff have contacted Ngāti Hei and Ngāti Whanaunga to seek their input and feedback earlier in 2020. Iwi will continue to be invited to take part in the review as and when they are able. Minor changes made since Community Board endorsement Staff have undertaken a final review of the document in preparation for Council adoption, and the following minor changes have been made: Placeholder maps replaced with the final maps to show accurate and consistent reserve boundaries. Two reserves moved from the Sports and Recreation Category to the Neighbourhood Category to better reflect the use of the reserves, given the category definitions (Hilton Park – Whitianga and Kotare Reserve – Hahei). Addition of missing parcels to the Matarangi Pedestrian Links and Accessways Reserve Management Plan. The Esplanade – Whitianga moved from Appendix C (other open spaces) to the Recreation and Ecological Linkages category to reflect that it will be classified and therefore able to have a Reserve Management Plan. Correction of minor typographical and formatting errors throughout the document. Co-governance of reserves As the Crown advances settlements with iwi of breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi some settlements relate to crown reserves which will now be governed by iwi or co-governed by iwi and the Council. Te Puia at Hot Water Beach and Paparoa Shakespeare Cliff Reserve falls into this category. Where reserves are subject to settlement processes public submissions will not be invited on the management plan for these reserves as a separate management plan will be prepared through a process established jointly by iwi and Council post settlement. 3 Disposal of reserves The draft management plan identifies two reserves (Jack Mills Reserve in Opito and Cook Drive No. 245 in Whitianga) which council may consider for disposal, subject to further investigation and the satisfactory conclusion of required statutory processes. Reserves that have been vested and classified under the Reserves Act 1977 must have their classification status revoked before the land can be disposed of. The Reserves Act 1977 outlines a clear process for administering bodies to follow in revoking reserve status and selling reserve land, including community consultation requirements. The most common reasons for revocation and disposal of a reserve are that the land is no longer serving the needs of the community or is no longer fit-for purpose, no longer provides significant long term benefit to the community or is surplus to requirements. Draft Mercury Bay Reserve Management Plan All reserves must be classified and held under the Act. Under s16 of the Act, it is mandatory that reserves are classified based on their purpose. The Act provides for eight different reserve classifications, these being: Local Purpose Reserves Government Purpose Reserves Recreation Reserves Historic Reserves Scenic Reserves ‘A’ Scenic Reserve ‘B’ Nature Reserves While the Reserves Act 1977 provides the legal classification system for reserves, because it is high level, it has been found to have limited application and value for the planning and management of parks managed by local authorities. Council is adopting a framework that allows the reserves to be categorised according to their size, type of use and management focus. This framework has been developed by the New Zealand Recreation Association