Council Tuesday 21 May 2019 at 10.30am

Council Meeting

21 May 2019

Northland Regional Council Tabled Agenda

Meeting to be held in the Council Chamber

36 Water Street, Whangārei

on Tuesday 21 May 2019, commencing at 10.30am

Recommendations contained in the council agenda are NOT council decisions. Please refer to council minutes for resolutions.

Item                                                                                                                                                                                   Page

2.0A    Receipt of Tabled Item

7.0       Decision Making Matters

7.4       Amendment to Northland Regional Council Delegations Manual                                             4

Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                       ITEM: 2.0A

21 May 2019

TITLE:	Receipt of Tabled Report
ID:	A1194776
From:	Christine Taylor, Governance Support Manager

Executive summary

Since notification of the Proposed Regional Plan – Decisions Version on 4 May 2019, staff have become aware of a number of minor errors and/or omissions from the Plan.  Legal advice was sought regarding the scope of our (staff) ability to make changes to the Plan to fix these minor errors without formality (Clause 16, Schedule 1, RMA).  Legal advice was received on Monday 20 May 2019 (the day prior to the May council meeting).  It highlighted that the current delegation to staff (Delegations Manual) is worded in a way that it only covers changes to text – one of the minor changes that staff wish to correct is a mapping change.

Staff would like to make these minor amendments before the conclusion of the appeal period (17 June 2019) as it would minimise potential risk to council and give submitters time to lodge appeals.  The next ordinary council meeting is on 18 June 2019; hence why this report is being introduced as a tabled item

State clearly why the information was not included in the main agenda.  For example:

A “placeholder” was included in the council agenda indicating that supplementary information was required before presenting the full report to council.

Or

The report was unable to be completed in time for circulation with the council agenda due to further discussion required at the council workshop on <<enter dd Month 2099>>

Or

The report was unable to be completed in time for circulation with the council agenda due to ongoing negotiations.

Or

The report was unable to be completed in time for circulation with the council agenda due to comment still being outstanding from <<enter name of organisation>>

Or

Subsequent to the collation of the council agenda, the Chairman received a formal invitation. A response is required before the next ordinary meeting of council. Hence council is requested to consider the report.

Or

The purpose of this report is to place before the council a tabled item for inclusion in the council meeting agenda. The report includes the recommendation that the tabled item be received.

Recommendation

That as permitted under section 46A(7) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 the following tabled report be received:

· Amendment to Northland Regional Council Delegations Manual

Authorised by Group Manager

Name:	Jonathan Gibbard
Title:	GM Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Date:	21 May 2019

Council Meeting item: 7.4

21 May 2019

TITLE:	Amendment to Northland Regional Council Delegations Manual
ID:	A1194489
From:	Michael Day, Natural Resources Policy Manager

Executive Summary / Whakarāpopototanga

The Proposed Regional Plan for Northland – Decisions Version (the Plan) was publicly notified on 4 May 2019.  Following notification, staff have identified a number or minor errors and omissions from the Plan.

Under the Northland Regional Council Delegations Manual, staff have delegated authority to make minor amendments to regional plans, pursuant to Clause 16 of Schedule 1 of the Resource Management Act 1991.  However, legal advice has highlighted that this delegation is worded in such a way that it only covers changes to text – one of the minor changes that staff wish to correct is a mapping change.

The report therefore recommends an amendment to Northland Regional Council’s Delegations Manual (specifically to alter the wording with regards to Clause 16, Schedule 1 of the Resource Management Act 1991).

Recommendations

1.         That the report ‘Amendment to Northland Regional Council Delegations Manual’ by Michael Day, Natural Resources Policy Manager and dated 20 May 2019, be received.

2.         That the Northland Regional Council’s Delegations Manual is amended as set out in Appendix 1.

Background/Tuhinga

The Decisions Version of the Proposed Regional Plan for Northland (the Plan) was publicly notified on 4 May 2019.  Following public notification of the decision, staff have identified a number of minor errors or omissions from the Plan.  Most of these are minor typing and/or grammatical errors but one error is an amendment to a map overlay.

Under the Northland Regional Council Delegations Manual, staff have delegated authority to make minor amendments to regional plans, pursuant to Clause 16 of Schedule 1 of the Resource Management Act 1991.  However, legal advice has highlighted that this delegation is worded in such a way that it only covers changes to text – one of the minor changes that staff wish to correct is a mapping change (and, therefore, is technically not within the scope of staff’s delegation).

The scope for RMA Schedule 1, Clause 16 amendments is essentially whether an error is a mistake or inaccuracy that has crept into a plan.  The proposed amendment to the mapping overlay was recommended to the Hearings Panel by Council staff at the Hearing and was simply omitted (inadvertently) in the Decisions Version Map.

As the Plan is currently within the Environment Court appeals phase (until 17 June 2019), staff consider it beneficial to amend the Plan (including the Plan Maps) as soon as possible to correct the identified minor errors.  This would ensure that submitters have the ability to see the minor amendments and, therefore, have the ability to appeal the amendments to the Environment Court.

Considerations

1.         Options

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Amend the RMA Schedule 1, Clause 16 delegation ability in the Delegations Manual	Staff will be able to amend all identified minor errors that fall within the scope of a Clause 16 amendment. The Plan can therefore be quickly updated to reflect all amendments. Transparency – submitters know what is being amended and have sufficient time to lodge appeals. Futureproofing – will ensure that if a similar example arises in the future, staff are able to efficiently and effectively carry out all required amendments.	None identified.
2	Do not amend RMA Schedule 1, Clause 16 in the NRC Delegations Manual	None identified.	One identified minor mapping error would not be able to be ‘signed off’ by staff. The submitter would have to lodge an Appeal to the Environment Court to get the map error fixed.  This will have financial implications for them. Without amending the Delegations Manual, there is a risk that a similar situation will occur in the future.

Staff recommend option 1.

2.         Significance and engagement

In relation to section 79 of the Local Government Act 2002, this decision is considered to be of

low significance when assessed against council’s Significance and Engagement Policy, because

it has previously been consulted on, is provided for in council’s Long Term Plan and is part of

council’s day-to-day activities. As the Proposed Regional Plan has been prepared under the

Resource Management Act 1991, it is subject to the Schedule 1 process, which involves a

robust and thorough public consultative process.

Being of low significance under council’s Significance and Engagement Policy does not mean that this matter is not of significance to tangata whenua and/or individual communities, but that council is able to make decisions relating to this matter without undertaking further

consultation or engagement.

3.         Policy, risk management and legislative compliance

The preparation and notification of the Proposed Regional Plan was subject to various sections of the Resource Management Act 1991, including sections 30, 32, 34A, 39B, 63–70 and Schedule 1. The decisions being recommended are consistent with the relevant sections of the Resource Management Act, specifically Clause 16 of Schedule 1.

Being a purely administrative matter, Community views, Māori impact statement, Financial

implications and Implementation issues are not applicable.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: Proposed Amendment to Delegations Manual ⇩

Authorised by Group Manager

Name:	Jonathan Gibbard
Title:	Group Manager - Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Date:	20 May 2019

Council Meeting ITEM: 7.4

21 May 2019Attachment 1