REVIEW of LANDSCAPE AREAS and IMPLICATIONS for PLAN REVIEW Hastings District Council April 2013
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REVIEW OF LANDSCAPE AREAS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PLAN REVIEW Hastings District Council April 2013 Document Quality Assurance This report has been prepared in accordance with Boffa Miskell quality assurance procedures, and has been reviewed and approved for release as set out below. Bibliographic reference for citation: Boffa Miskell Limited 2013. REVIEW OF LANDSCAPE AREAS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PLAN REVIEW: Hastings District Council. Report prepared by Boffa Miskell Limited for Hastings District Council. Pre-Key Stakeholder Consultation Draft: Note this draft report does not include input from any stakeholder engagement or consultative process and represents the findings of preliminary desktop analysis and selected field work investigation. Prepared by: Craig Batchelar Rebecca Ryder Peer reviewed by: John Goodwin / Shannon Bray Status: DRAFT For Council Review Issue date: April 2013 Use and Reliance This report has been prepared by Boffa Miskell Limited on the specific instructions of our Client. It is solely for our Client’s use for the purpose for which it is intended in accordance with the agreed scope of work. Boffa Miskell does not accept any liability or responsibility in relation to the use of this report contrary to the above, or to any person other than the Client. Any use or reliance by a third party is at that party's own risk. Where information has been supplied by the Client or obtained from other external sources, it has been assumed that it is accurate, without independent verification, unless otherwise indicated. No liability or responsibility is accepted by Boffa Miskell Limited for any errors or omissions to the extent that they arise from inaccurate information provided by the Client or any external source. Template revision: 20120608 0000 File ref: T12012_009 Review_of_Landscape_Areas_and_Implications_for_Plan_Review_Working _TRACKED_20130404.docx Cover photograph: Te Mata Peak. Image provided by Hastings District Council, 2012, U:\2012\T12012_CBA_Review_LS_Areas_and_Implications_Plan_Review\Documents\T12012_009 Review_of_Landscape_Areas_and_Implications_for_Plan_Review_Working _TRACKED_20130404.docx CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Purpose 1 1.2 Scope 1 2.0 Strategic Background 3 2.1 Hastings District Council Sustainability Philosophy 3 2.2 Heretaunga Plains Urban Development Strategy 3 2.3 Hastings Coastal Environment Strategy 2000 6 2.4 Landmarks Development Plan 7 2.5 Renewable Energy 8 3.0 Statutory Considerations 10 3.1 Resource Management Act1991 10 3.2 National Environmental Standards (NES) for Electricity Transmission Activities 13 3.3 National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation 2011 13 3.4 Regional Policy Statement 15 3.5 Regional Policy Statement – Change 4 - Managing the Built Environment 16 3.6 Regional Coastal Environment Plan 16 3.7 Adjoining Territorial Local Authorities 16 3.8 Case Law 17 3.9 Significant Cultural Landscapes 23 4.0 Identification of Hastings Landscape Areas 24 4.1 Background 24 4.2 Identified Outstanding Natural Features and Landscapes and Amenity Landscapes. 36 4.3 Identified Landscape Character Areas 65 5.0 Implications for Review of District Plan 67 5.1 Current Approach - Resource Management Unit 68 5.2 Alternatives 71 5.3 Place Based Planning 73 5.4 Recommended Landscape Management Approach 74 Appendices Appendix 1: Assessment Method Appendix 2: Outstanding Natural Landscapes – A Maori cultural review of current schedule of Outstanding Natural Landscapes. Appendix 3: Maps Rural and Coastal Landscape Character Areas Appendix 4: Field Assessment Sheets U:\2012\T12012_CBA_Review_LS_Areas_and_Implications_Plan_Review\Documents\T12012_009 Review_of_Landscape_Areas_and_Implications_for_Plan_Review_Working _TRACKED_20130404.docx 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Purpose This report is a review of the existing landscape assessment report titled “Outstanding Natural Landscapes Report” (Isthmus 1996) and is part of a package of background work to inform the current District Plan review process. Hastings District Council has a number of landscape related statutory obligations under the Resource Management Act (1991) as well as through relevant National Policy Statements. These obligations relate to management of the natural character of wetlands lakes, rivers and their margins and of the coastal environment; outstanding natural landscapes; the relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, water, sites waahi tapu, and other taonga; and amenity landscape values. Case law has also influenced the criteria used in the assessment of landscape values since the 1996 report and Council has indicated that more recent land use change has altered people’s appreciation and perceptions of landscapes. These community landscape values are also reflected in core non-mandatory strategy documents such as the Landmarks Development Plan. An increased awareness of the importance of cultural landscape values through statutory planning processes is also a key reason for this review with the acknowledgment of Nga Wahi Tuturu o Heretaunga (significant cultural landscapes) to appropriately reflect the relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, water, sites waahi tapu, and other taonga as required under section 6e of the Resource Management Act. 1.2 Scope This report addresses the following matters: Strategic Background - Consideration of influences on landscape management since the 1996 assessment report was completed, including: • Hastings District Council Sustainability Philosophy • Heretaunga Plains Urban Development Strategy • Hastings Coastal Strategy • Landmarks Development Plan • Energy Development Statutory considerations - including: • Resource Management Act • National Environmental Standard for Electricity Transmission • National Policy Statement on Renewable Energy Generation • Recent Case Law • Significant Cultural Landscapes • Regional Policy Statement and Plans REVIEW OF LANDSCAPE AREAS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PLAN REVIEW | Hastings District Council 1 Identification of Hastings Landscape Values - through a review of the 1996 Report including: • Assessment and evaluation methodology • Review of current Outstanding Natural Features and Landscapes (ONFLs) and Significant Landscape Character Areas (SLCAs) • Additional ONFLs and SLCAs • Regionally significant landscapes • Subdivision and landscape design aspects in Significant Landscape Character Areas Implications for Review of District Plan - including: • Evaluation of the appropriateness of the current RMU approach • Alternatives • Place Based Planning • Recommended Landscape Management Approach 2 REVIEW OF LANDSCAPE AREAS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PLAN REVIEW | Hastings District Council 2.0 Strategic Background 2.1 Hastings District Council Sustainability Philosophy 2.1.1 Summary The Council’s Sustainability Philosophy is set out in the Ten Year Plan: “Great living, for a sustainable future We will progress as town and country together and sustain our natural resources, enhance our valued lifestyle, culture and heritage, and build a strong economy and community founded on innovation and partnering for success. Hawke’s Bay will be the premier land based production region of the South Pacific.” Community aspirations include: “An environment that is appreciated, protected and sustained for future generations” Community outcomes include having : “a nurtured environment for future generations through the care, protection and best use of resources”. Landscape values have a strong relationship to this philosophy. Although landscape values are not referred to directly in the defined community outcomes, the issue is addressed in the context of having a “strong district identity”. The relationship Tangata Whenua have with their land and their traditions and values are a key part of identifying the values attributed to landscape. The Landmarks Development Plan picks up on this outcome which includes recognition of the Districts iconic landscapes” (See below). 2.1.2 Implications for Landscape Management The Review of Landscape Areas will support the Council’s Sustainability Philosophy. 2.2 Heretaunga Plains Urban Development Strategy 2.2.1 Summary The purpose of the Strategy is to provide a comprehensive, integrated and effective growth management strategy for the Heretaunga Plains sub-region. HPUDS takes a long-term view of land use and infrastructure and how growth will be managed in the Heretaunga Plains sub-region for the period 2015-2045. HPUDS describes what the anticipated level of growth will be over the next 30 years and beyond by identifying: • Where growth will go and desired density • What the sequence of development should be and the anticipated timetable/or triggers • The criteria for establishing the boundaries to urban growth REVIEW OF LANDSCAPE AREAS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PLAN REVIEW | Hastings District Council 3 • What infrastructure is needed, with particular reference to transportation and drainage • The budget implications HPUDS is implemented through: • Regional Policy Statement(s) • District Plans • Council’s Long Term Plans (LTPs) • The Regional Land Transport Strategy • Infrastructure development planning (including both policy and social infrastructure networks). HPUDS covers the Heretaunga Plains including the small rural settlements on the fringes such as Maraekakaho, Puketapu, and Pakipaki. The coastal settlements of Waimarama, Ocean Beach, Te Awanga and Haumoana also fall into the study area as does Waipatki on the northern boundary. The Strategy Vision