| Open Consultations | Date Closes |
|---|---|
| Development Contributions Policy Update | 29 Apr 2019 |
| Melville Skate and Play Space Upgrade Survey | 2 May 2019 |
| Hamilton Speed Management Plan | 8 May 2019 |
| Making the District Plan more enabling (Plan Change 6) | 10 May 2019 |
| Hamilton Gardens Draft Management Plan | 7 Jun 2019 |
| See All Open Consultations | |
| Closed Consultations | Date Closed |
|---|---|
| Hamilton City Prostitution Bylaw | 18 Apr 2019 |
| Special Housing Area proposal – Quentin Dr (enlarged) | 12 Apr 2019 |
| Your Rototuna | 5 Apr 2019 |
| New Fenced Dog Exercise Area | 3 Apr 2019 |
| How Welcoming or Inclusive is Hamilton? | 29 Mar 2019 |
| See All Closed Consultations | |
Here are some of the issues we have consulted on and their outcomes. See all outcomes
In March, we ran a three-week public engagement process to determine where the next fenced dog exercise area should be constructed in Hamilton.
This project is part of our Pooches in Parks plan, which also outlines where dog owners can exercise their pets off-lead in specified parks around our city. The new fenced dog area is an outcome of the 2018-2018 10-Year Plan.
We ran a simple public consultation process, giving the community an opportunity to nominate which of three parks was the preference for this new asset.
The parks were:
The consultation ran for three weeks, and included a direct invitation to registered dog owners and dog clubs to provide comment.
We had more than 1320 responses to our online and postal engagement survey for this project.
Innes Common emerged as the clear favourite, preferred by more than 650 people who responded. Tauhara Park was selected by 454 respondents, with Resthills Park the least preferred with just 183 responses.
Respondents who preferred Innes Common noted its central location and the fact it is already a popular park for people who want to exercise their dogs. Safety, popularity and ease of access were also cited as reasons this park was preferred.
Our staff will now begin project planning for the construction of a fenced dog exercise area at Innes Common. The specific site is on the southwestern side of the park, behind the Hamilton Yacht Club complex.
This project will be completed by the end of the 2018/19 financial year.
We asked the public about their views on the Council’s preference to retain the existing two-ward system for the 2019 election (its initial proposal for representation). The public had one month to make a submission as part of this process, ending on 24 September. It should be noted that this formal consultation process was preceded by robust pre-consultation during which multiple representation options were canvassed with the public.
37 people completed a submission and 8 (22%) were in support of the initial proposal and 29 (78%) were opposed. Those who were opposed sought alternative arrangements, including:
On 1 November 2018, following the mixed and contradictory feedback received through formal consultation, and the lack of a single, prevailing view about what the fairest and most effective representation arrangements for Hamilton are, the Council decided to adopt its initial proposal as its final proposal, that is, to retain the existing two-ward structure for the 2019 election. To find out more, please refer to the 1 November 2018 Council Report which is available online here. The next steps in the Representation Review process are outlined in the timeline on our website here. The Council will know for certain what its representation arrangements are for 2019 on or before 11 April 2019.
We asked the public for feedback on multiple options for representation arrangements for Hamilton back in June 2018. This was part of the pre-consultation phase of the Representation Review for the 2019 Elections, a process every council around New Zealand is required to undertake at least every six years. The Representation Review considers things like the number of wards (if any) that is best for our city, how many councillors we have and whether we should have community boards.
Prior to the online pre-consultation survey, 1665 people responded to our Community Profile Survey which ran from 15 February to 30 April 2018. This survey included a question about the current representation arrangements for the city. 36% of the respondents to this survey thought the current representation arrangements for the city were adequate, 47% did not know and 17% did not think the current arrangements were adequate.
In June 2018, 420 people completed our online pre-consultation survey which asked for feedback about four possible representation options for our city (‘at large’ (no wards), status quo, more wards and a mix of ‘at large’/wards). The survey also included questions about how many councillors we have and whether or not we need community boards. 38% of the people who completed the survey cited a preference for an ‘at large’ system and 41% preferred wards (either two wards or more than two wards). Full results of this survey can be found in the Council Report from 16 August 2018 here (points 54-102).
Further feedback from the public was also sought during pre-consultation, via a phone survey (500 respondents) and focus groups (25 participants). The survey and the focus groups focused on more specific questions to gain further clarity on feedback received via the online survey.
The overall results from pre-consultation take into account multiple datasets, but a full summary of findings is available in points 93-102 of the 16 August Council Report online here.
The Council considered all the feedback received during pre-consultation, alongside the broader research, and decided that the existing two-ward system remains the best fit for Hamilton for at least the 2019 election. The status quo (the existing two-ward system with a Mayor elected across the whole city and no community boards) then became the Council’s initial proposal and was followed by a month-long formal consultation process, during which the public were again invited to submit feedback.