1 ref Name or SUBMISSION CONTENT ON ALL OR SPECIFIC DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS no. organisation 138205 Howard Simpson COMMENT ON ALL DISCUSSION PAPERS 1. Congratulations Kapiti Council for your bravery and wisdom in facing reality head on, and naming the major issues of peak oil and climate change! 2. Yes, you are on the right track. We are impressed with the depth of the analysis which has gone into this document. 3. You could add: • the promotion of NZ made technology which reinforces environmental goals outlined eg Pyroclassic wood burning fires (which run well on plantation pine, as well as having exceptionally low emissions). • Banning of 1080 and support for pest trapping projects. • Promotion of double rail to Otaki, and a station at Te Horo. • Consideration of greater use of appropriate recycled construction materials, and • emphasis on passive solar, extensive insulation, mandatory water tanks etc in local residential and commercial architecture (acknowledging that some of this is already in place) . In recognition of the increasing demand on water supply, consideration given to storage in the hills, of high storm run off . For local power generation, a revisitation of the 'Roaring Meg' Hydro scheme in the Otaki Gorge. 138208 NZ Horse COMMENT ON ALL DISCUSSION PAPERS Recreation 1. Culture and heritage is not just about physical land or buildings but also about pastimes and recreation that provide links to our culture and heritage. The place of the horse in New Zealand's culture and history is important and c/ Vivien Dostine can be 'remembered' through the continuation of horse recreation and sports, and access to rural areas where links to the land and agriculture are retained. The Global Issues and Pressures Discussion Document states that: "Planning to minimise the need to travel by car to work, shop, go to school, and access medical and other community services is a key method of reducing the impact of peak oil for the community" 2. You could add: • emphasis on creating pathways\shared recreation trails across the region. There is mention of retaining access to beaches and rivers, and transport linkages, but providing access to areas for recreation is not included in the current document. Having to get into a car (or for horse riders, a truck) in order to travel to a recreation area is anathema. • Continually purchasing new areas for segregated sport and recreation is not feasible; there is finite land supply and limited funding. However, creating shared use and increasing linkages between existing areas expands opportunities for many types of recreation and also provides for local walking and cycling access to community facilities (provided that a wide-base of user types is allowed for in the first place). Ensure that subdivision includes provision to set aside bridleways\shared trails (non-motorised access) to ensure that communities and land use areas are linked. All subdivisions should be required to include public access easements for non-motorised traffic). A region wide plan to link recreation resources as well as historic\cultural areas is required. Recreation and transport planning should be integrated to ensure best use of resources, creating routes suitable for multiple purposes e.g, roadsides and verges are often made dangerous or unuseable for walkers, the elderly, disabled and recreational users when vehicle only considerations are applied. However, roads may form part of a wider network of routes used for transport, community access and recreation. Economic benefits may be gained by creating more accessible communities - for a wide variety of recreationalists, through improved local access (not having to use cars for local trips) and for tourism. 138214 Greater Wellington COMMENT ON ALL DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS Regional Council Greater Wellington Regional Council now wishes to provide an overall supportive submission of the seven Discussion Documents which discuss sustainability issues andoptions for the Kapiti Coast District Plan Review. Attn: Caroline Greater Wellington is interested in whether the discussion documents are consistent with the direction provided in the operative and more particularly the proposed Regional Policy Statements (RPS) and the Regional Land Ammundsen Transport Strategy. Greater Wellington is supportive of attempts by KCDC to tackle a large number of issues that are not only challenging for the Kapiti District but challenging for the rest of the world. It is important that these issues are seriously considered to enable the direction of the new district plan to be appropriate and realistic for the next 10 years. As populations rise and competition for natural resources increases it becomes ever more important that communities are resilient to changes in resource availability. GLOBAL CHANGE: ISSUES AND PRESSURES Support KCDC in its endeavours to consider these important issues for the long term sustainable natural resource management of the Kapiti Coast. The direction of the proposed RPS is considered in this discussion document and it lists policy topics that the proposed RPS promotes including compact regional form, renewable energy and the avoidance of natural hazards. In terms of infrastructure design, it is important to note that stopbanks (infrastructure) do have the capacity to be topped up instead of designed and built for the worse case scenario. URBAN FORM AND TRANSPORt The link between urban form and transport is strongly supported by Greater Wellington. The challenges around the issue of growth in mobility of people and freight and its impact on land use, mode choice, social and environmental wellbeing are highlighted in the document. We note that an overall transport and land use objective should be to provide improved access and that this does not need to involve increased mobility. In many circumstances access to goods and services can be provided without the need to travel (eg. online information or services) or by more efficient means of travel (eg. one supermarket delivery van versus 10 car trips by households). Improved access can also be achieved through greater transport choice and through reduced reliance on the private vehicle. The opportunities and challenges of growth are well documented. We agree that some of the big transport challenges for Kapiti include significant congestion at peak times due to commuters travelling south to Porirua and Wellington, increasing volumes of freight on SH1, and planning for land use development and local connections in light of the proposed Kapiti Expressway. 2 ref Name or SUBMISSION CONTENT ON ALL OR SPECIFIC DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS no. organisation Increasing local traffic is becoming more of an issue as Kapiti grows. Road safety on both local roads and the state highway is also an important consideration, and is influenced by growth. Support development within a framework of consolidation, compactness and containment. In particular, we support targeted intensification within existing urban areas around public transport nodes and commercial centres including potentially at Waikanae. There may be more opportunities around Paraparaumu railway station, particularly if the existing SH1 can be 'de-tuned' once the Kapiti Expressway has been built. Greater Wellington notes that on page 8 a statement is given that it should be ensured that all new development avoids natural hazard prone areas. This is inconsistent with ideas offered in the natural hazards and managed retreat discussion document which describes mitigation structures. It is important that a consistent message on development in areas at high risk from natural hazards is portrayed. Greater Wellington also considers that avoiding or mitigating flood hazards should be considered as an important component of growth management in the Kapiti district. In relation to any intensification of rural living in targeted locations, we agree that clustering of small lots to preserve natural features and soil productivity is a useful approach and that this will also contribute to infrastructure efficiencies. This discussion document seeks limits to development where infrastructure is constrained or where natural hazards exist. This should also include the intensification of development in areas behind stopbanks . Of the various new concepts proposed for inclusion in the District Plan to improve the way that 'smart growth' is implemented, the following ideas in particular are strongly supported: • Increase the use of spatial planning and structure planning • Integrate existing design guides into the District Plan where appropriate • Improve and continue to target intensification around current and future transport nodes • Replicate the urban edge approach in areas other than Waikanae North • Respond to development pressures and opportunities created by the proposed Expressway • Review the current District Plan road hierarchy for consistency with the network hierarchy in Council's Sustainable Transport Strategy • Review parking requirements Consider the introduction of maximum parking standards for new higher density or mixed use developments close to nodes of public transport and local facilities. Support requirements for cycle parking being included in the District Plan. • Prevent frustration of pedestrian and cycle connections Supports increased promotion of travel planning and travel demand management initiatives as proposed. We would encourage KCDC to consider provisions in the District Plan that support discretion around the amount of car parking required for a development