Tag: Bob Dey

Changing of the Guard at Council? Transformation Time

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Could we see the eventual change of the guard with Auckland Council?

 

Prominent writer Bob Dey has penned together a rather thought-provoking post about a transformation a Council. Tomorrow he will post part two of this upcoming transformation but below is an excerpt of part one.

From The Property Report

Council transformation begins with a must-change moment

on Monday 25 August 2014
At what point does transformation begin? It’s most often a gradual process with occasional reference points where significant change occurs or is agreed.I saw transformation at Auckland Council last week. It’s by no means complete, though many battles have been waged to get the council to the point it reached by Thursday.

What’s different is that the council must change.

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In short, I see change coming:

  • New councillors who are pragmatic, with an understanding of how businesses should be asked to operate, raising their profiles
  • The governing body working hard to establish smoother funding lines to the local boards
  • The governing body putting proposals to its commercial arms on how they should operate and what they should be targeting, not just waiting for the CCOs to put proposal to which the answer is yea or think again
  • More co-operation between council & Government, led by a council push to state its objectives forcefully, ending the era of lurching, politically motivated decision-making and also ending the era of central government dropping unfunded costs & tasks on local government.

Is this mere imagination? No, I think the moment of change has arrived. I’ll write in more detail about this tomorrow.

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Full post (and source) can be seen here: http://www.propbd.co.nz/council-transformation-begins-must-change-moment/

 

“New councillors who are pragmatic, with an understanding of how businesses should be asked to operate, raising their profiles”

Could we see a changing of the guard in 2016 (next Local Government Elections) with the Legacy Era finally and phasing out new Councillors (new blood who have never been an elected representative prior to the Super City being formed in 2010) coming in? We will soon see I suppose

 

Unitary Plan Huh?

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Interesting Provision for Planning Officers during the Unitary Plan Hearings

 

I have a lot of time for Bob Dey who is a veteran writer on Auckland issues (as well as other matters). Bob is often on the media table alongside me and others when we are “doing our thing” on reporting on these Auckland issues. I can safely say Bob does not have much time for “bollocks” that can go on, something I have little time for either.

I picked up on one of Bob’s own blog posts proceedings at the most recent Unitary Plan Committee meeting (the Committee that provides directions to planning officers while the Unitary Plan Independent Hearings happen) something that I found odd and Bob most certainly did. Might get an email flicked to Council seeking clarification.

From Bob Dey’s Property Report

Key unitary plan issues listed

on Sunday 6 July 2014 in Land use, Planning, Sectors, Spatial plan 0
Auckland Council plan development manager JohnDuguid has set out a list of key unitary plan issues – from the council perspective – based on initial submissions. It might change once the period for further submissions closes on 22 July.Biggest topic is zoning, particularly residential zoning.

9400 submitters have raised almost 100,000 submission points. Mr Duguid says in a report for the council’s unitary plan committee on Tuesday as many as 700 topics might require a hearing.

The council is in a different position from usual at the unitary plan hearings, which will be before an independent panel, will involve prehearing meetings & mediation and will see the council staff not as advisors to the panel but as submitters.

Estimates are that prehearing meetings will start in September and the hearings will start in November, ending in April 2016.

Just to keep the process rolling, the council’s unitary plan committee has to agree to positions to be adopted at prehearings, mediation and during the formal hearings. Submitting parties will have to do the same, or the process won’t be completed within the 2016 deadline for hearings to be completed.

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One unusual admission in Mr Duguid’s report – on which he didn’t elaborate – is that “there may be situations where council staff are unable to support the council’s position (as directed by the unitary plan committee). Should this occur, attempts will be made to find a consultant who is able to support the council’s position. The committee does, however, need to be aware that such a situation could result in the council’s position being set out at the hearings without any supporting expert evidence.”

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Source: http://www.propbd.co.nz/key-unitary-plan-issues-listed/

 

The Committee Paper has it here: 9 Unitary plan, update [point 17]

Okay can someone in Council explain what this means please as this seem perplexing.