Private Plan Change 15 – Tuumata: further submissions
Private Plan Change 15 – Tuumata was open for submission in April and May this year. A summary of submissions and copies of original submissions were made available in June and July. Further submissions for Private Plan Change 15 reopened in October to allow people to submit on an original submission not included in the summary of submissions.
Tainui Group Holdings (TGH) requested a change to Hamilton’s District Plan to rezone about 68ha in Ruakura to allow for housing. Plans have been made for about 1200 homes.
More than a third of the 68ha site will be set aside as wetlands and swales to manage stormwater. Provision has also been made for a shopping centre and a supermarket. The Tuumata block is located between the Fifth Avenue extension and the AgResearch campus.
The proposed changes to the District Plan include:
Submissions to Plan Change 15 were opened from 18 April to 17 May 2023.
Further submissions to Plan Change 15 were open from 12 June to 10 July 2023 and again between 25 October and 10 November 2023.
We received four submissions and five further submissions. There is now a formal process to follow under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Hearings for Plan Change 15 are due to be held in 2024.
A panel of commissioners will consider all the submissions and make recommendations to Council on the final plan change in 2024.
Keep up-to-date on the plan change here: https://hamilton.govt.nz/property-rates-and-building/district-plan/plan-changes/plan-change-15/
We asked for your thoughts on Council’s Class 4 Gambling Venues Policy and the TAB Venues Policy.
As a council, we’re required to have policies in place around gambling in Hamilton Kirikiriroa. We need to review the policies every three years. These are:
Class 4 Gambling Venues Policy, which outlines the rules and restrictions for venues with gambling machines in Hamilton Kirikiriroa.
TAB Venues Policy, which outlines the rules for venues in Hamilton Kirikiriroa that provide racing betting or sports betting services.
Read policies here: https://hamilton.govt.nz/policies
We proposed to continue both the Class 4 Gambling Venues Policy and the TAB Venues Policy without changes to either policy.
We received a total of 55 submissions. This included 28 from individuals and 27 from organisations, community groups or businesses.
Class 4 Gambling Venues Policy
More respondents disagreed with the proposal to continue the Class 4 Gambling Venues Policy without any changes (27, 50%), than those who agreed (20, 36%) with Council’s proposal. Of the 27 respondents that were opposed to Council’s proposal on the Class 4 Gambling policy to continue the policy without any changes, 12 felt the policy was not strict enough, and 11 felt the current policy was too strict. Individuals were more likely to support Council’s proposal, compared to groups or organisations.
TAB Venues Policy
Most respondents agreed with the proposal to continue the TAB Venues Policy without any changes (46%), and 30% disagreed with Council’s proposal. There was a large proportion (24%) who did not answer this question.
Your feedback was presented to the Community and Natural Environment Committee on 26 October 2023. The committee resolved to continue both policies without changes.
We’re proposed to reclassify the section of Ashurst Park at the entrance from Ashurst Avenue, from Recreation Reserve to Local Purpose (Community Facility) Reserve, under Section 24 of the Reserves Act 1977.
The purpose of the reclassification was to enable a new single-story community facility to be built, and for Council to grant a lease to local community outreach group, Pukete Neighbourhood House - Te Whare Takiwa o Pukete.
Pukete Neighbourhood House - Te Whare Takiwa o Pukete is a community group that provides a range of services, events and initiatives to benefit the local community. They are open from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.
Currently located in Te Rapa Sportsdrome, they have outgrown the space they're in. A new facility would help Pukete Neighbourhood House to better support the community with their wide range of services, as well as freeing up space in Te Rapa Sportsdrome for sports-related groups to use.
In the initial community engagement, we heard a range of feedback from 282 written submissions, with mixed feedback. While more respondents overall supported the reclassification (59%), those who live in the Pukete area or visit the park frequently were more likely to oppose it (56% and 49% respectively).
The feedback indicated that the green space, playground and trees near Ashurst Ave are highly valued by residents.
We then hosted an information session at Te Rapa Sportsdrome, with three options for the location of the new building:
The community was invited to share their views further, and provide feedback on the pros and cons we had listed for each location.
Feedback from the information session was incorporated into a final report, which was presented at the Council meeting on 14 December 2023.
At this meeting, Elected Members unanimously voted for option 2a as the preferred location.
A reclassification is now needed for the area adjacent to Te Rapa Sportsdrome, to enable the proposed new centre to be leased to Pukete Neighbourhood House. Community engagement on the reclassification is expected to happen in early 2024.
Tainui Group Holdings (TGH) requested a change to Hamilton’s District Plan to rezone about 68ha in Ruakura to allow for housing. Plans have been made for about 1200 homes.
More than a third of the 68ha site will be set aside as wetlands and swales to manage stormwater. Provision has also been made for a shopping centre and a supermarket. The Tuumata block is located between the Fifth Avenue extension and the AgResearch campus.
The proposed changes to the District Plan include:
Submissions to Plan Change 15 were opened from 18 April to 17 May 2023.
Further submissions to Plan Change 15 were open from 12 June to 10 July 2023.
We received 4 submissions and four further submissions. There is now a formal process to follow under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Hearings for Plan Change 15 are due to be held in 2024.
A panel of commissioners will consider all the submissions and make recommendations to Council on the final plan change in 2024.
Keep up-to-date on the plan change here: https://hamilton.govt.nz/property-rates-and-building/district-plan/plan-changes/plan-change-15/
We proposed minor changes to the current 2022 Hamilton Speed Management Plan to ensure it provides the direction needed to inform forward planning for 2024-27.
The plan covers all roads (excluding state highways) in Hamilton City Council’s district. Waka Kotahi controls the setting of speed limits on state highways.
The changes to the plan included:
- Council’s commitment to Vision Zero
- Access Hamilton - Ara Kootuitui Kirikiriroa
- Our Climate Future - Te Pae Tawhiti o Kirikiriroa
- Waka Kotahi’s Hamilton-Waikato Metro Area mode-shift plan.
We sought feedback on the review of the plan from anyone who may be affected by or has an interest in how we manage speeds in our city.
We received 113 responses on the proposal. Of these 43% were in support of the proposal and 52% were not in support, while 5% did not indicate their preference.
The primary reasons given for supporting the proposal were:
Feedback from residents not supportive of the proposal noted:
Your thoughts and comments were considered at the 8 August 2023 meeting of the Traffic, Speed Limit and Road Closures Panel alongside verbal submissions from individuals and organisation representatives.
The 21 September 2023 meeting of the Infrastructure and Transport Committee then recommended that the full Council approve the plan without any changes and this occurred at the 12 October 2023 meeting.
We conducted an online survey, distributed brochures and held community meetings on a proposal to make two changes at the intersection of Jellicoe Drive and Plunket Terrace at Hayes Paddock, as part of the Transport Choices programme.
The brochure had a tear-off slip people could provide feedback on and put into a box at Hayes Common cafe for Council staff to collect.
The survey was followed up with a drop-in session at Hayes Common Cafe, and two informal pop-up conversation meetings by the bus stop at Hayes Paddock, in June 2023. There were also focus group meetings, to gather further feedback on the proposed changes, also held in June.
The changes would make the intersection safer and help promote the Hayes Paddock community as Hamilton’s best walkable and recreational neighbourhood destination.
Change one – intersection layout
We asked for feedback on proposed changes to the layout of the Jellicoe Drive and Plunket Terrace intersection. Our research shows the current Y-intersection has safety and accessibility issues:
We provided two options:
Option one: cul-de-sac option
Option two: one way exit option
Change two - new community space
We asked people about creating a new community space outside Hayes Common Cafe. The community space could be either 300m2 (if the cul-de-sac option is preferred) or 220m2 (if the one-way exit option is preferred). The space would belong to the entire community and not for exclusive use by any one group or business and will link to the Wellington St Beach and River walkway via a pedestrian crossing. The space might have furniture, planter boxes, native trees/plants, fun things to do – the ideas will be coming from the people so please tell us what you would like to see there.
We recorded 233 submissions on the intersection layout options and analysed commentary recorded for community space ideas.
Intersection layout: Of the 233 submissions, 42 percent preferred option one, the cul-de-sac; 28 per cent preferred option two, the one-way exit; 27 per cent opposed any change and 3 per cent had no preference.
Community space: Most people said there was a need for seating and shelter for people to move out of the rain or sun. Many people wanted feature trees to provide shade. There was interest in fruit trees, or edible gardens as well as bike racks and a bike repair station. There was support for game play activities like hopscotch or chess, rather than a playground. Others preferred a space for art, a sculpture was suggested, so was a performance space and a space for pop-up events. The strongest functional element which came through was having drinking water at the community space.
The feedback was provided to the Council’s Infrastructure and Transport Committee to consider, and make decisions, at its meeting on 20 July 2023. Verbal public submissions on the Hayes Paddock project and others in the Transport Choices programme were also heard by elected members.
Decisions on the intersection layout
Staff initially recommended option two, a one-way exit. A “revised option two” was created by councillors with advice from staff, in response to written and verbal submissions.
The revised option provided a two-way exit from Plunkett Terrace onto Jellicoe Drive. Councillors voted 7-5 in favour of the revised option two. This is the option which will be used to make changes to the intersection, should the project move to construction phase.
Decisions on the new community space
Staff provided elected members with the feedback received on the community space. We will be in touch again with the community when a decision has been made.
We recently reviewed our Dangerous and Insanitary Buildings Policy. The policy is focused on making sure people can live and work in buildings without compromising their health and safety.
We review our policy every five years in response to any issues that arise or as a result of legislative changes, whichever comes first.
We recommended minimal changes to the policy as there have been no changes to legislation since the policy was first adopted, in 2018, that influence what requirements the policy needs to address.
Public consultation ran from 15 May to 12 June 2023.
We received two written submissions from individuals and one on behalf of an organisation. Both individuals agreed with the proposed changes to the policy. A submission from Fire and Emergency New Zealand requested its name be updated in the policy.
There were no requests for verbal submissions.
Our proposed changes to the Dangerous and Insanitary Buildings Policy were adopted on 3 August 2023. These included updating the scope of the policy and referencing the relevant sections under the Building Act.
As part of our ongoing focus to make our streets safer for everyone, we proposed changing the speed limit from 50kph to 40kph on all residential streets within the Mears Road area (in St Andrews).
We asked if the public had any road safety concerns relating to this area to ensure that any changes made would help to address these.
We received 19 responses on the proposal, with 57.90% (11 of 19 respondents) expressing their support.
Feedback from residents supporting the proposal noted:
Feedback from residents not supportive of the proposal noted:
vehicles would continue to overspeed unless speed limits are enforced by NZ Police.
Your feedback was presented to Council’s Traffic, Speed Limits and Road Closures Hearings panel on 8 August 2023, with the panel approving the change of speed limit on Mears Road from 50kph to 40kph.
We’re upgrading the skatepark in Fairfield Park and we asked for your thoughts and ideas on the design and what you want to change or update.
We received a total of 144 responses. 70% of respondents reported they use Fairfield Park for skating or biking.
The top three features respondents liked about the current skatepark were the:
The least liked features of the current park are:
The feedback has informed our concept design.
We’ll be keeping features you liked and replacing some features with more modern features to enhance the flow.
We’ll grind and re-surface the existing skatepark, so it rides like new. We will also extend the skatepark to provide more opportunities for a range of new features and riders of all abilities to enjoy.
We'll add more seating around the skatepark and community house so you families and friends can enjoy watching as well. We will also be adding new drinking fountain, rubbish bins and improved footpath to and around the skate park. and providing shade to the area.
We’ll be shifting and building a new half-court basketball court and provide new lighting to improve safety and security to enable more use of the facility by the community.
Construction is expected to take place in March 2024.
Bolmuir Park playground is being renewed as part of Council's 2021-2031 Long-Term Plan, and we wanted to hear your thoughts and feedback on the concept design.
We asked how frequently respondents used Bolmuir Park and if they have a child at Forest Lake School.
We received a total of 18 responses. 62% of respondents visited Bolmuir Park on at least a weekly basis.
11% of respondents support the proposed design, 50% support the proposed design but had suggestions, and 39% of respondents opposed the proposed design.
The feedback from the engagement period was provided to the designers and we are currently working on updating the design with some of the suggestions.
Construction will take place in early 2024.
Tainui Group Holdings (TGH) requested a change to Hamilton’s District Plan to rezone about 68ha in Ruakura to allow for housing. Plans have been made for about 1200 homes.
More than a third of the 68ha site will be set aside as wetlands and swales to manage stormwater. Provision has also been made for a shopping centre and a supermarket. The Tuumata block is located between the Fifth Avenue extension and the AgResearch campus.
The proposed changes to the District Plan include:
Submissions to Plan Change 15 were opened from 18 April to 17 May 2023.
Further submissions to Plan Change 15 were open from 12 June to 10 July 2023.
We received 12 submissions and four further submissions. There is now a formal process to follow under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Hearings for Plan Change 15 are due to be held in 2024.
A panel of commissioners will consider all the submissions and make recommendations to Council on the final plan change in 2024.
Keep up-to-date on the plan change here: https://hamilton.govt.nz/property-rates-and-building/district-plan/plan-changes/plan-change-15/
We asked the community to share their voice on:
We received a total of 1841 responses:
Hamilton Gardens
Council has opted to set the fee to the enclosed gardens at Hamilton Gardens at $20 from February 2024. Hamiltonians, and those under 16, will continue to be able to enter all areas of the Gardens free of charge.
Revenue from the entry fee will go towards the significant and increasing costs to maintain Hamilton’s most-popular visitor attraction, and continuing to provide the world-class experience it is known for.
Staff are still working through the details but at this stage Hamiltonians will need to show proof of current physical address e.g. from local or central government departments, banks or utility companies (e.g. power, phone, gas). They’ll then be provided with a membership card or similar which means they can scan straight in on subsequent visits to the gardens.
There will also be a range of concession rates for students, Community Services Card and SuperGold Card holders as well as annual passes.
Everyone, no matter where they live, will continue to have free access to the wider gardens which include the Rogers Rose Garden, the Rhododendron Lawn, the Hammond Camellia Garden, the children’s playground, Turtle Lake and Hamilton Gardens Café.
Our financial situation
Councillors opted not to increase rates beyond the 4.9% average that has been signalled for a long time.
Cost savings of around $9 million were found through the Annual Plan process, alongside a further $1.3 million in revenue to help address the balancing the books figure.
In this Annual Plan, our debt-to-revenue ratio will be 199%, meaning we’ll be borrowing $1.99 for every $1 we bring in in revenue. Our net debt will be $843 million.
Delay work on a cover for the Lido Pool
Council voted to delay the work by a year. This will deliver savings of $200,000 in 2023/24.
Other key projects
Councillors also opted in include in the draft Annual Plan:
All up, Council is investing in a capital programme of $352.1 million worth of key projects for 2023-24. Council’s operating expenditure budget will be $388.4 million.
Waikato Racing Club Incorporated requested a change to Hamilton’s District Plan to rezone around 6ha of the Te Rapa Racecourse to allow for housing. The land is no longer required to operate the Club and provides an opportunity to contribute more housing to the city.
The key changes include:
Submissions to Private Plan Change 13 were open from 15 February to 15 March 2023.
Further submissions were open from 13 April to 28 April 2023.
We received 3 further submissions to Private Plan Change 13. There is now a formal process to follow under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Hearings took place from 23 August to 25 August 2023. This is when anyone who chose to speak to their submission in person can present their evidence to commissioners.
A panel of commissioners will consider all the submissions and make recommendations to Council on the final plan change in early 2024.
Keep up-to-date on the plan change here.
We asked the community about their likes and dislikes about our open spaces which include:
We asked what respondents want to see in the future at Hamilton’s parks, their perception of our open spaces and when and how often they use them.
We received a total of 505 responses and one email which was an addition to a respondent's response. 92% of our respondents are from Hamilton and 55% of our respondents are from households with dependents (i.e. children /other family).
68% of the respondents are happy/very happy with our city's parks.
The top three things important to our respondents about a park are:
The feedback from this survey is used to:
Inform the Open Space Provision Policy.
Inform the Nature in the City work programme.
To populate two measures in the Long-Term Plan/Annual Report which are:
To populate three measures in the Open Spaces Strategy which are:
Hamilton City Council asked for feedback on proposed changes to its Trade Waste and Wastewater Bylaw (the Bylaw). This consultation was held between 17 January – 17 March 2023.
The Bylaw, developed in 2016, aims to better protect the city’s wastewater network, prevent overflows and protect our important wastewater treatment process.
As part of the review, we asked for feedback from trade waste consent holders and tanker waste operators, as well as Regional Council and iwi, to ensure the Bylaw is fit for purpose and protects and respects our waterways.
The feedback identified a few minor issues which could be managed within the Bylaw as it is, or through other processes. As a result of the review, we proposed to only make minor changes, to ensure the Bylaw meets legislative changes that have occurred since 2016.
Council bylaws relating to management and provision of water services could be managed differently under the entity structure.
The minor changes included:
Council received 16 responses during the two month consultation period. One response was a duplication, and therefore removed, meaning that 15 responses were analysed.
Of the 15 responses, 13 came from individuals and two responses came from organisations, businesses or groups.
Of those who responded, 77% agreed to amend the current Bylaw with minor changes, 15% asked we retain the Bylaw with no changes, and 8% did not answer.
Five comments from respondents who agreed to amend the current Bylaw with minor changes felt the changes ‘made sense’ and reflected making the current Bylaw up to date while keeping the intended purpose.
Two respondents felt the Bylaw should highlight the significance of waterways to Maaori; these respondents encouraged amending the Bylaw to better reflect Council’s partnership of kaitiakitanga with Waikato-Tainui in protecting waterways.
One respondent felt changes to the Bylaw were necessary but more substantial changes were needed to the Trade Waste and Wastewater Bylaw.
At the Infrastructure and Transport Committee held on 29 May 2023, members recommended the revised Trade Waste and Wastewater Bylaw be adopted by Council, before 1 July 2023.
Further amendments to the bylaw were made as a result of submissions made by the public. These included:
Council is planning to review how mortuary waste is managed in our city. This review responds to concerns raised by Mana Whenua as part of the review of the Bylaw.
Waikato Racing Club Incorporated requested a change to Hamilton’s District Plan to rezone around 6ha of the Te Rapa Racecourse to allow for housing. The land is no longer required to operate the Club and provides an opportunity to contribute more housing to the city.
The key changes include:
Submissions to Private Plan Change 13 were open from 15 February to 15 March 2023.
We received 26 submissions to Private Plan Change 13. There is now a formal process to follow under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Further submissions were open from 13 April to 28 April 2023.
The hearings for Plan Change 13 took place from 23 August to 25 August 2023. This is when anyone who chose to speak to their submission in person can present their evidence to commissioners.
A panel of commissioners will consider all the submissions and make recommendations to Council on the final plan change in early 2024.
Keep up-to-date on the plan change here.
Since 2020 central government reset the rules for how big cities can grow. They did this by introducing the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) and the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021.
These new rules direct big cities like Hamilton to increase the number of multi-storey homes across our city. They don’t give Council much ability to control things like how they will look, how much backyard they have, the impact on our city’s roads and pipes, and how they affect neighbouring properties.
In response to this, we proposed Plan Change 12. This will change Hamilton’s District Plan to provide more housing, and different types of housing, within the city. However, it doesn’t go as far as the Government wants us to.
Our research shows housing intensification will impact our environment, particularly the Waikato River. So, what we proposed will provide housing in a way that protects the health and wellbeing of the river as we grow. This means housing development will be restricted in some areas based on the infrastructure we need to support more homes, and more requirements will be put in place to support our environment.
Submissions to Plan Change 12 were open from 19 August to 30 September 2022.
Further submissions to Plan Change 12 were open from 28 November to 12 December 2022.
We received 350 submissions and 36 further submissions to Plan Change 12 on a range of topics. There is now a formal process to follow under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Hearings to Plan Change 12 opened in February 2023, joint with similar plan changes in Waikato and Waipaa districts. This is when anyone who chose to speak to their submission in person can present their evidence to commissioners.
The rest of the hearings will be held from 4 September to 22 September 2023.
A panel of commissioners will consider all the submissions and make recommendations to Council on the final plan change in early 2024.
Keep up-to-date on the plan change here.
The Hamilton Urban Growth Strategy guides where, when and how Hamilton Kirikiriroa will grow over the next 50 years. The previous strategy was more than 10 years old and since then a lot had changed.
The draft strategy proposed three outcomes to respond to those changes and achieve our vision that Hamilton Kirikiriroa is the best place to live and work with connected, vibrant and prosperous communities.
Public consultation on the draft strategy took place from 18 October to 20 November 2022.
We received 91 responses, 60 from individuals (66% of submissions) and 31 from organisations, groups, or businesses (34% of submissions).
A majority of the 31 organisations and groups were supportive of the strategy though would like amendments to be made. The most common themes were:
Of the 60 responses received from individuals, most people supported the outcomes proposed by the draft strategy. The most common themes were:
We made some changes to the draft Hamilton Urban Growth Strategy based on feedback from submissions. This included adding a new key consideration ‘People at the heart’ and making some changes to Outcome 1: Grow up and out from the central city.
The final strategy was adopted at the Strategic Growth and District Plan Committee on 20 April 2023. You can read it here (PDF, KB or head to our strategies page here.
The strategy will inform the 2024-34 Long Term Plan alongside other key Council strategies such as Access Hamilton, Our Climate Future and Nature in the City.
Council plays a critical role in identifying and protecting Hamilton's heritage and natural environment, in all its forms.
Through Plan Change 9 we’re proposing changes to our District Plan, and the rules in it, that’ll enable growth in Hamilton while protecting our unique historic heritage and natural environments, namely:
The proposed changes outline how these heritage and natural elements are identified, set out how they’re protected and guide how development can happen in or around them.
Submissions to Plan Change 9 were open from 22 July to 2 September 2022.
Further submissions to Plan Change 9 were open from 28 October to 18 November 2022.
We received 468 submissions and 345 further submissions to Plan Change 9 on a range of topics. There is now a formal process to follow under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Hearings to Plan Change 9 will open in May 2023 and go through to November 2023. This is when anyone who chose to speak to their submission in person can present their evidence to commissioners.
A panel of commissioners will consider all the submissions and make recommendations to Council on the final plan change in mid-2024.
Keep up-to-date on the plan change here.
Since 2020 central government reset the rules for how big cities can grow. They did this by introducing the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) and the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021.
These new rules direct big cities like Hamilton to increase the number of multi-storey homes across our city. They don’t give Council much ability to control things like how they will look, how much backyard they have, the impact on our city’s roads and pipes, and how they affect neighbouring properties.
In response to this, we proposed Plan Change 12. This will change Hamilton’s District Plan to provide more housing, and different types of housing, within the city. However, it doesn’t go as far as the Government wants us to.
Our research shows housing intensification will impact our environment, particularly the Waikato River. So, what we proposed will provide housing in a way that protects the health and wellbeing of the river as we grow. This means housing development will be restricted in some areas based on the infrastructure we need to support more homes, and more requirements will be put in place to support our environment.
Submissions to Plan Change 12 were open from 19 August to 30 September 2022.
We received 350 submissions to Plan Change 12 on a range of topics. There is now a formal process to follow under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Further submissions to Plan Change 12 were open from 28 November to 12 December 2022. At this point people could either support or oppose any of the submissions received.
Hearings to Plan Change 12 opened in February 2023, joint with similar plan changes in Waikato and Waipaa districts. This is when anyone who chose to speak to their submission in person can present their evidence to commissioners.
The rest of the hearings will be held from 4 September to 22 September 2023.
A panel of commissioners will consider all the submissions and make recommendations to Council on the final plan change in early 2024.
Keep up-to-date on the plan change here.