Councillors Lee and Leoni have written a letter to the Chief Executive of Auckland Council complaining that they consider the process which replaced their notice of motion, with a substitute motion, as being in breach standing orders and democratic process, and thus illegitimate; indeed a procedural ambush.
They are demanding that the original Notice of Motion be recommitted to the next agenda of the Policy and Planning Committee and the minutes of the 24 July meeting be corrected.
Their original notice of motion proposed to make helipads a prohibited activity in residential areas under the Auckland Unitary Plan.
(NB this is a different notice of motion to the one which proposed to make helipads a prohibited activity in residential areas under the Hauraki Gulf Islands District Plan).
The replacement notice of motion, which was carried, was as follows:
That the Policy and Planning Committee:
a) tuhi tīpoka / note that there have been recent Government announcements suggesting that Council-initiated plan changes will be limited to addressing housing and natural hazards, unless approved by the minister under changes to the RMA.
b) tuhi tīpoka / note the advice from independent experts presented in the December 2023 memo, that it would be difficult or impossible to establish that helicopter landing areas in all residential areas should be a prohibited activity.
c) whakaae / agree to direct staff to seek an urgent determination from the Environment Court through the resource consent appeal process or a declaration from the Environment Court on the activity status of private helipads and non-emergency helicopter take-offs and landings in residential zones in the Auckland Unitary Plan as referred to in agenda item 11.
d) whakaae / agree that notwithstanding clauses a) and c), tono / request staff to commence work on a draft plan change to the Auckland Unitary Plan to make it explicitly clear that private helipads and non-emergency helicopter take-offs and landings in residential zones are non-complying activities in general with the targeted use of prohibited activity status
e) tuhi tīpoka / note that staff will report back to the committee once the Environment Court has made a determination on activity status through the resource consent appeal or a declaration has been issued and its impact on the necessity for a plan change is known.
See also:
Quiet Sky Waiheke 