Posts Tagged ‘Wetland’

Orakei Local Board Comments to November 2019 Monthly Meeting

26 November 2019

We were fortunate to have the newly elected Chairperson of the Orakei Local Board (OLB) Scott Milne speak at our November 2019 monthly meeting, as well as Troy Churton, Troy Elliot and Margaret Voyce also in attendance. We were keen to hear their thoughts on priorities for Orakei Ward over the three year team ahead. Below is a brief summary of the discussion.

The OLB is in good health with a mix of incumbents and newly elected members. They are in the process of getting up to speed and understanding council systems, relationships and processes.

Some priorities that the OLB outlined for our area:

Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive shared path – this is possibly the toughest job that the OLB faces. They emphasised that it is important that stage 2 is built and not be dependent on stage 4 also being constructed. The Auckland Transport (AT) board has changed with new people in place. Scott emphasised that the OLB needs to continue building a constructive relationship with AT to work together to improve progress. He noted that our successful One Local Initiative (OLI) in the long term plan of the Gowing Dr and John Rymer Place links to the shared path that would connect both sides of Pourewa Valley (and connect kids with their schools) are dependent on the shared path being built. Scott said “The new board is determined not to let go of the bone” referring to the success of securing funding for the links.
Meadowbank Community Centre – the community centre redevelopment is being funded by selling the Victoria Ave old CAB building. This has been completed successfully. The Tahapa Hall will also be sold to fund the redevelopment, but only once the redevelopment has been completed as to provide a venue for groups to use while the construction takes place. Detailed designs are not yet available.
Waiatarua Wetland Reserve – the OLB is keen to complete the Waiatarua Reserve Enhancement Plan and have a clear pathway for future investment in the wetland reserve. They are keen to ensure that it continues functioning as a wetland and that the reserve is used appropriately e.g. that dogs stay out of the wetland areas and that the sediment removal systems do their job. Scott said that there is a lot of space in the reserve and that good, fair and balanced solutions are definitely possible for all those who wish to use the reserve.

Mayor Phil Goff will be visiting the OLB area in late January 2020 to visit the major project sites including the shared path site and the Gowing Drive and John Rymer Place connection sites (funding secured in the OLI) to understand the area and the benefits these projects will bring to the community.

Our youngest residents association member (aged 10) asked a question from the floor about what the OLB intends to do to tackle climate change. Scott noted that the shared path and local links to it would contribute to fewer car trips and also encourage people to take alternative and more active methods of transport. He also emphasised that there is a long list of little things that collectively add up that we can all do to change the way we think and consider more climate friendly options.

Provide Your Feedback on Draft Waiatarua Reserve Enhancement Plan

30 July 2019

Summary of MBSJRA’s Opinion on the Draft Waiatarua Reserve Enhancement Plan

Waiatarua Reserve currently provides great off-leash dog recreation, but the presence of off-leash dogs has meant that other recreation activities that could take place in the reserve have not been developed, especially recreation opportunities for our children. We believe that at 41 hectares with 16 hectares of grassland and paths, that the reserve is big enough for many recreation uses without impacting on off-leash dog activities. With an estimated 84% of households in Auckland not being dog owners, and an estimated 89% of households in Meadowbank and St Johns not owning dogs we believe that this justifies alternate recreation areas in the Reserve.

According the Auckland Council’s Policy on Dogs 2012 Waiatarua Reserve is an off-leash dog area: “a place where dogs may be off-leash but still must be under control. A place shared with other users.” While we agree that the vast majority of dogs owners do a good job at controlling their dogs in the reserve, the natural exuberance of dogs enjoying off-leash play it is not always compatible with recreation such as kicking a ball with kids. Feedback from residents and examples of poorly controlled dogs interacting with families means we believe that a on-leash dog area is needed in the reserve.

The draft Waiatarua Reserve Enhancement Plan goes a long way to addressing the environmental improvements that we have sought, but we believe that recreation areas suitable for picnics, ball games and outdoor play are vital to ensure that our children grow up with a connection to the environment and grow up to value it, and that they gain an understanding of the importance of maintaining our environment into the future. We propose a small area of the Reserve be designated on-leash and that this area be used for outdoor recreation and play. Simple fencing similar to that at the playground at the western end of the reserve would be perfect. Click here to download the draft enhancement plan and submit your feedback.

How Do I Provide Feedback?

The Waiatarua Reserve Enhancement Plan is now available and your feedback is requested, closing 12 August 2019. Auckland Council is seeking your input on:

– what you use the reserve for
– when you visit the reserve
– what recreation facilities you’d like to have available
– your environmental priorities.
There will also be a drop-in event at the Menz Shed (in the Abbotts Way car park) 10am – 12noon on Saturday 3 August 2019.

What Is the Background to This Plan?

Waiatarua Reserve covers 41 hectares with 16 hectares of open meadows and paths suitable for recreation. The reserve is a unique area of open space in our suburbs and has many opportunities for environmental and recreation improvements. The purpose of the Waiatarua Reserve Enhancement Plan is to ensure that developments are consistent with the themes of the reserve, protect the natural values and prevent it from being cluttered with ad-hoc developments. It is one of over 2500 beaches, parks and reserves listed as off-leash dog walking areas in Auckland.

What Does MBSJRA Think of the Plan?

We have reviewed the draft Waiatarua Reserve Enhancement Plan and believe that it covers the much needed environmental improvements that we sought to ensure that the wetland health is improved. The plan also outlines the need for increased pest management for animals, fish and plants deemed pests. We like the improved links with the neighbouring golf course too and improved amenities such as seating and rubbish bins.

However, we believe that with 16 hectares of open space, and with suburban backyards increasingly shrinking, that there is also scope to further improve the recreation amenity in the Reserve. While well utilised as an off-leash dog walking area, the presence of off-leash dogs precludes other recreation activities such as causal backyard style cricket or soccer games with friends. Discussions with residents with children show that the reserve is not especially well used by that group due to the presence of dogs, and examples of dogs intimidating children and interfering with their play are many. There is a small playground area at the far western end of the park, but this playground area is not large enough for anything other than playing on the provided play equipment. The popularity of this playground demonstrates that people want to get outside with their children and that people think that Waiatarua Reserve is a great place to do this.

Waiatarua Reserve is a huge green area with more than enough space for everyone that wants to use it, and increasingly in this day and age we need to find ways to increase the amount of time our children spend outside, eating outside, active outside and feeling a connection to our environment and ownership of the importance of maintaining it into the future. Studies also show time and again that for improved physical and mental health we need to get our kids (as well us adults too) outside and active, so why not make use of the biggest green space in the suburb? Notwithstanding that Waiatarua is a regional facility as well and hugely popular with dog owners generally we believe it is too valuable a green space to be solely dedicated to our four-legged friends.

Where Could These Recreation Areas Be?

To be clear, this proposal would have little if any impact on dog walking in the Reserve. The area to the left of the entrance way at 139/141 Grand Drive is the prime location for a recreation area with dogs on-leash. As shown by this flood zone map on page 11 of the plan, the area is not flood prone and observations show that the area is impressively dry even after heavy rain. It’s also accessible via a separate bridge close to the boundary with 147 Grand Drive. It is adjacent to the golf course and a planned path connecting the two areas, and is already planted with mature exotic trees, and of course is the closest point to the Meadowbank town centre. This area is identified in the plan as an area suitable to “provide opportunities to connect with nature and lean about natural and cultural aspects of the reserve” (page 29) and suitable for high infrastructure intensity.

The main feature that a recreation area with dogs on-leash needs is a very basic fence to delineate the area on all sides. This could be similar to the basic fence surrounding the play area in the south-western corner of the park. We would like to see closer cropped grass if possible, picnic tables under the trees, and assuming it’s far enough away from the houses (which are elevated and screened by hedges and trees) some play equipment for kids would be ideal. These could even be more nature based e.g. tree trunk stepping stone type play equipment and other natural material based Māori traditional play (māra hūpara) as have been installed in playgrounds elsewhere in Auckland. We would prefer to see this clustered in one area where children can play without dogs around.

Trees provide the perfect obstacle course.

If the Grand Drive entrance area of the reserve is not deemed suitable, then pushing out the fenced area at the current playground into the large, flat, open space there (noted as 13a on page 27 of the plan and pictured above) to enable some balls/frisbees/picnic sitting on the ground, meeting other families etc without having to worry about kids and picnics vs. off-leash dogs, or indeed a space for older children to be able to go down with their friend, be somewhat independent and having a good time out of the house. The path currently used by dog walkers could be re-routed to the east of this proposed area.

Photo credit: Theo Leach

This area only needs to be about the size of Meadowbank School’s field, which is an extremely small percentage of the reserve – compare these two maps to get an idea of the size of the area we are suggesting:

How Many Auckland Households Own Dogs? How Many Households Own Dogs in Meadowbank and St Johns?

According to Auckland Council an estimated 15% of Auckland households are registered dog owners, with slightly lower ownership rates in Meadowbank and St Johns. This means that 85% or more of households don’t own dogs. We believe this supports a more varied use of Waiatarua Reserve, and its size, geography and the route that dog owners generally walk their dogs would easily adapt to more varied recreational uses.

Auckland Council Policy on Dogs 2012

The Auckland Council Policy on Dogs 2012 notes that Waiatarua Reserve is designated as “an off-leash area – a place where dogs may be off a leash but must still be under control. A place shared with other users.” This Policy on Dogs also notes that being a responsible dog owner means (among other things) being particularly vigilant near children and closely supervise interaction, respect other people’s personal space and to remember that public spaces are for everyone’s enjoyment and not everyone is fond of dogs. While we agree that the vast majority of dogs owners do a good job at controlling their dogs in the reserve, due to feedback from residents and examples of poorly controlled dogs we believe that a recreation area where dogs need to be on-leash is needed in the reserve. Our preference is for all dogs in Waiatarua Reserve to be well controlled as per the Dog Policy so that a separate recreation area is not needed, but unfortunately this is not the current situation.

Our Presentation to Orakei Local Board in September 2019

In September 2019 we presented to the Orakei Local Board at their monthly meeting on what we would like to see as part of the Waiatarua Reserve Enhancement Plan. You can read the content of the presentation here and the powerpoint presentation here. The Orakei Local board passed a resolution to explore an additional designated on-leash dog area. We thank the Orakei Local Board for the opportunity to present to them and for considering our request.

Concerns with Effects of Golf Club Lights

5 March 2019

Photo taken from the public path inside Waiatarua Reserve showing visual effect of floodlight towers.

Some Meadowbank residents have expressed surprise and a strong dissatisfaction with the floodlights that were recently installed in the Remuera Golf Club at the eastern boundary with the Waiatarua Reserve. These lights are large, tall and (some might say ugly) industrial metal structures that intrude on both the day and night views of residents who live near the golf club and Waiatarua Reserve, as well as the many people who walk, jog and cycle in the reserve. There have been some comments that the lights are more suited to a stadium such as Eden Park rather than a suburban golf course adjacent to an ecological reserve.

The Waiatarua Reserve is an area of ecological standing in Auckland and is equivalent to a conservation area. It is one the few places where native bush has been planted for many years to create a small native forest habitat and food sources for our native wildlife, and is a much valued green space for city dwellers within the central city. These artificial floodlights disturb the habitat for birds and have adverse effects on the development of trees. The Unitary Plan requires under Section E24 Lighting, that lighting in a conservation zone should be Lighting Category 1 (intrinsically dark). An un-notified resource consent was granted for these lights in 2013 and we note that the consent acknowledges that the land at Waiatarua Reserve is in a Significant Ecological Area and a Flow 2 Volcanic View shaft and Height Sensitive Area. Troy Churton, the Planning and Consents Porfolio Lead for Orakei Local Board (OLB) over the last few terms, recalls commenting against the effects of light spill.

The lights are much taller than nearby trees and are not in keeping with the natural environment of the Waiatarua Reserve nor the golf course itself. Nearby residents (including the members of the nearby rest home in Gerard Way as we heard at our February monthly meeting) are disturbed by the lighting at night. There is light spill into the Reserve, so extensive that you can see the reflection of the lights in the open area of water near the Towle Place entrance and shadows are created within the reserve. According to the resource consent giving approval to install the lights in 2013:

the light spill will be less than minor;
light will only be spread towards the golf course driving range;
there will be no adverse effects on the streetscape;
the height and scale of the lighting poles will not be visually obtrusive;
there will be less than minor adverse effects in terms of outlook or visual amenity;
the floodlights will have less than minor effects on the reserve; and
within two months of commencing operation of the floodlights the Golf Club is obliged to undertake lighting measurements and provide a validation report to Auckland Council.

Thanks to Troy Churton from the OLB for providing the resource consent documents and background to the floodlight’s construction, as well as ensuring that Council has been alerted to the need to monitor the resource consent conditions. “I expect to have the results of monitoring of resource consent conditions in the next few days” says Troy, “and I will be vigilant in getting that information and scrutinising it with my fellow portfolio deputies Colin Davis and David Wong”.

Via Troy we have ascertained that:

The Golf Club acted to get the land owner approval just within the five year grant of consent, a necessary further step as the floodlights are on Council land.
Landowner approval was given for two years.
The OLB raised various concerns about light spill etc when landowner consent was sought but there was little that could be done to argue against granting land owner approval given the existence of the resource consent and advice received about broader compliance under the unitary plan.

Our questions are:

Are the lights that have been installed what was expected when the consent was granted? Is Council satisfied that these lights meet the resource consent criteria?
Given the significant impact of the light structures in the daytime and lighting at night, should this consent have been publicly notified?
Why are such tall intrusive lights required? Is this appropriate for a green space golf course? If so (and we strongly contest this) could the golf course not have installed lights closer to the ground that do not intrude of the views from the Reserve and other neighbours, and do not disturb the ecological habitat of the Reserve?

We also look forward to seeing the results of the lighting measurement report due by late March 2019. Troy has undertaken to share these with us as soon as he can. Have a look at the picture below taken in the reserve and you can clearly see the shadows cast by the flax and the dog on the ground from the golf club floodlights. In our opinion this is not good enough and we will be following this issue closely. If you think the effects of these floodlights are not OK please contact us with your thoughts and feel free to also email the Remuera Golf Club

These shadows do not show less than minor light spill

Spotlight on Waiatarua Reserve

15 May 2018

To get a better understanding of the management of Waiatarua Reserve, Orakei Local Board member Carmel Claridge organized a meeting at the reserve with OLB Board members, staff from Auckland Council’s Healthy Waters team and the contractors responsible for maintaining the storm water infrastructure and waterways in the Waiatarua Reserve.

These areas of maintenance for the Reserve are separate to mowing, edging, and pathway maintenance which fall under the remit of Community Facilities – a different arm of Council with associated work on those tasks being carried out by Ventia contractors. In simple terms everything to do with the water and within the waterways – including the weirs, culverts and silt traps is looked after by Healthy Waters and anything else is covered by Community Facilities.

The Board received assurances that the Wetlands are functioning as they should be as a natural storm water catchment and treatment facility. The silt traps are being inspected and cleared on a weekly basis by contractor staff. The canals that run through the Reserve from near the entrance at Grand Drive to the mid-section of the wetlands were cleared of debris and silt last year. This is a major exercise requiring the silt to be moved offsite, treated, and then discharged to land fill. A number of trees that have fallen into perimeter waterways during the recent storm events are scheduled for removal, and this work will be completed in due course taking into consideration that there is a considerable back log of fallen trees for clearing Auckland wide. Spot treatment of noxious weed species in the waterways is being carried out rather than blanket spraying as is done besides pathways. This is to ensure planting necessary to retain stream embankments and contribute to the organic filtration system. There are species of fish and eels visible in the waterways indicating a healthy ecosystem.

With the assistance of staff Orakei Local Board members identified some specific areas within the Reserve that would benefit from some additional planting in the future to further enhance the protection of the waterways. According to Carmel, the site visit and walkover was a valuable exercise, and a good opportunity for OLB members to be able to discuss concerns directly with contractor staff.