THE POLICY ON DOGS 2014 - STATEMENT OF PROPOSAL Proposed Amendments to the Consolidated Bylaw

STATEMENT OF PROPOSAL
  Proposed Amendments to the
     Tasman District Council

 Consolidated Bylaw Chapter 2:
DOG CONTROL BYLAW 2014 and
  THE POLICY ON DOGS 2014
         In Golden Bay

      Date: 20 July 2020

INTRODUCTION

The Dog Control Act 1996 (The Act) allows us to make Bylaws to control local issues
relating to dog control, the Act also requires us to have a Dog Control Policy (DCP).

Our current bylaw was last reviewed in 2014 and is not due a review until 2024.
Council have had a request from the Golden Bay Community Board (GBCB) to
review two elements of the bylaw early.

It is a legal requirement that we consult with the public when making, reviewing or
changing bylaws or DCPs. The purpose of this Consultation Document (Statement of
Proposal) is to enable public participation in the decision-making process relating to
a proposed amendment of the existing Dog Control Bylaw and DCP. Council’s
proposal is to make two changes to the existing Bylaw in Golden Bay, however, this
is not confirmed and its decision to proceed or otherwise will be influenced by
what the community has to say. Any amendments would be duplicated in the
DCP.

Greyed out text in the document below is part of the existing Bylaw which is not up
for consideration, but is kept in place to give context to the document. Proposed
deletions in the existing bylaw are shown struck out, proposed new text is shown in
red.

WHAT ARE WE CONSULTING ON?

We are consulting on a proposal that has been put forward to make two
amendments to the Dog Control Bylaw in Golden Bay. The existing Dog Control
Bylaw was last reviewed in 2014 and is next due a complete review in 2024, it is not
intended to conduct a full review before then.

Appeals from various groups and individuals led the Golden Bay Community Board
to make a resolution in their August 2019 meeting requesting amendments to the
Bylaw, the resolution is shown below:
Moved Chair Langford/Deputy Chair Knowles
GBCB19-08-1

That the Golden Bay Community Board recommends to the Environment and
Planning Committee that it introduce amendments to the Dog Control Bylaw early in
the term of the next Council:-

Allowing dogs under leash control to come back into Commercial Street, Takaka; and
Allowing dogs back onto Tata Beach all year round except one hour before and after
sunrise and sunset.

A report was presented to the Council on 12 March 2020 relating to these proposed
amendments and the following resolution was made by Council:
4)   requests staff to report on

a. a targeted amendment to the Dog Control Bylaw relating to dogs in Commercial
Street, Takaka and Tata Beach and delegates to the Golden Bay Community Board the
powers to do all that is necessary up to the adoption of the Bylaw,

WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR?
Bylaw History
We have had a Dog Control Bylaw under the Dog Control Act 1996 (The Act) since
1997, and many of the provisions in the current bylaw have changed little in that
time.
The current Bylaw has the following provisions:
     SCHEDULE 3 - DOG PROHIBITED AREAS- Dogs are prohibited on all Council sports
     fields and complexes, and within 10 metres of playground equipment and picnic tables
     and in the following areas:
     Golden Bay
     Collingwood Camping Ground – summer months
     Takaka Central Business Area – between the hours of 9am to 5pm. The Takaka
     Central Business Area is defined as:
     • Commercial Street from the southern point of the junction of Commercial and
     Reilly Streets to the northern point of the junction of Commercial and Junction
     Streets. and
     • the library car park.
     Takaka Township – the Village Green, Pioneer Park, the old library site and
     adjacent playground.
     Tata Beach – During the period of New Zealand Daylight Saving Time, and for
     the remainder of the year from one hour prior to sunrise until one hour after
     sunrise
The Commercial Street ban has always been contentious and led to a very split
community during the last Bylaw review. A survey resulted in a very close call, with a
small majority in favour of retaining the ban.
The restriction at Tata Beach was initially instigated to protect a spotted shag colony
that frequented the area and also to have a beach that people could use without the
presence of dogs. More recently populations of Little Blue Penguins have been
discovered throughout the Tata Beach area and this has encouraged Forest & Bird
to request changes.
Status of both areas in past Bylaws:

 Bylaw Year    Area                Status
 1997          Commercial Street   Prohibited
               Tata Beach          Prohibited 1 Dec to 1 Mar except between 5am and 8am

2004         Commercial Street    Prohibited between 9am and 5pm
              Tata Beach           Prohibited 1 Dec to 1 Mar except between 7am and 9am

 2009         Commercial Street    Prohibited between 9am and 5pm
              Tata Beach           Prohibited during the period of New Zealand Daylight Saving
                                   Time, and for the remainder of the year from one hour prior to
                                   sunrise until one hour after sunrise

 2014         Commercial Street    Prohibited between 9am and 5pm
              Tata Beach           Prohibited during the period of New Zealand Daylight
                                   Saving Time, and for the remainder of the year from one
                                   hour prior to sunrise until one hour after sunrise.

Workshop and Discussion
On 29 April an online workshop was held with the Golden Bay Community Board
(GBCB) members, local Councillors, and staff with a responsibility for dog control.
The fact that this is a very divisive piece of legislation and that any amendment
would attract significant comment was discussed at length. The need for amendment
at all was also discussed, as the staff felt the existing rules had been effective in
limiting dog control issues at both Tata Beach and Commercial Street. Reports of
deaths - particularly to little blue penguins/korora, have not been corroborated and
enquiries to the Department of Conservation have not revealed any significant
concerns. Staff also emphasised that dogs must be kept under adequate control
under the Dog Control Act anyway and in their opinion the proposed changes to the
Bylaw would not improve safety or reduce levels of nuisance.
The existing ban on dogs in Commercial Street Takaka has been subject to much
scrutiny by ratepayers for many years. When reviewing the Bylaw in 2014, a survey
was conducted by the Golden Bay Community Board (GBCB) which showed
ratepayers relatively evenly split between allowing or banning dogs in Commercial
Street. At that time the GBCB requested that Council retain the ban on dogs on
Commercial Street from 9am-5pm weekdays. More recently the GBCB has become
aware of a growing sentiment towards allowing dogs there at all times under leash
control.
The main change effected by the proposed amendments would be that dogs would
have more access to some areas more often.
Following the workshop the Board direct staff to proceed with the proposed
amendments as indicated below.

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
These are as follows:
Tata Beach     With regards to Tata Beach, the Board favoured using the proposed
amendments suggested to them previously by the local Forest & Bird and Mohua
(Golden Bay) Blue Penguin Trust, that is:
by having dogs prohibited from Tata beach between the hours of sunset and
8.30am all year round.
The times are set in this way as by 8.30am the spotted shag colony will have left the
beach and will not be threatened by dogs.
Additional suggestions from Forest & Bird relating to the Tata headland and estuary
were not included in the discussion, as this was out of scope of what was to be
considered for amendment.
The staff view was that the proposed easing of restrictions at Tata Beach presented
a risk of challenge as many beach users do not appreciate the presence of dogs,
and the existing rules were not purely to protect birds.
Commercial Street          The Board decided that the proposal for Commercial Street
should be to remove the current time restriction and allow dogs under leash control
at all times. In this way dogs would still be controlled and visitors would not have to
leave dogs in vehicles while they shopped.

Staff see no issues with the change to leash control in Commercial Street.

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS

The vast majority of the existing bylaw would be carried over, however, as indicated
above, two new provisions have been proposed in response to issues raised with
council. Text shown below in light grey is part of the Bylaw and would remain, but it is
not directly relevant to these proposals, it is provided to show context in the Bylaw
document. Proposed new text in the bylaw is shown in red.

The proposed changes to the existing Dog Control Bylaw 2014 following the Council
workshop are:

Commercial Street

Proposed Change: The ban on dogs on Commercial Street in Takaka as shown in
Schedule 3 of the existing bylaw on Page 27(shown below) would be removed along
with the associated map on page 30 (also shown below).

        SCHEDULE 3
        DOG PROHIBITED AREAS-

Dogs are prohibited on all Council sports fields and complexes, and within 10
       metres of playground equipment and picnic tables and in the following areas:

       Golden Bay
       Collingwood Camping Ground – summer months
       Takaka Central Business Area – between the hours of 9am to 5pm. The Takaka
       Central Business Area is defined as:
       • Commercial Street from the southern point of the junction of Commercial and
       Reilly Streets to the northern point of the junction of Commercial and Junction
       Streets.

A new sentence will be inserted in Schedule 1 of the existing Bylaw on page 7 as
shown below and a map will be added to Schedule 1 Leash Control Areas on a new
Page 10A:

       SCHEDULE 1
       LEASH CONTROL AREAS
       Every dog shall be kept under continuous control by means of a leash which
       is secured or held by a person capable of restraining the dog so that the dog
       cannot break loose:

       1.       In an urban area or cemetery,
       2.       In Faulkner Bush Reserve picnic area (see attached map) and
       3.       On Jimmy Lee Creek walkway from Hill Street (northern) entrance to the
       gate adjacent to Cushendall Rise. (see attached map).
       4.       Awaroa Vehicle Access Point,
       5.       Commercial Street Takaka, from the southern point of the junction of
       Commercial and Reilly Streets to the northern point of the junction of Commercial
       and Junction Streets.

Existing map to be removed:

A new Map would be inserted in Schedule 1 and Schedule 3 showing both leash
control and prohibited areas in Takaka Township.

Tata Beach

A number of approaches have been made to GBCB members by Forest & Bird
(F&B) and people living and/or working in Tata Beach, asking for the existing Bylaw
to be changed. F&B believe birds will be better protected by having dogs banned
from the beach overnight, and some residents want unfettered access during the day
year round.
Proposed Change: The GBCB decided at the workshop that they would support the
proposal from F&B to prohibit dogs on Tata Beach from sunset to 0830am year round,
thus allowing dogs access to the beach more often. The existing information on page
27 will be changed:
DOG PROHIBITED AREAS-
Dogs are prohibited on all Council sports fields and complexes, and within 10 metres
of playground equipment and picnic tables and in the following areas:
Golden Bay
Collingwood Camping Ground – summer months
Takaka Central Business Area – between the hours of 9am to 5pm. The Takaka Central
Business Area is defined as:
• Commercial Street from the southern point of the junction of Commercial and Reilly Streets
to the northern point of the junction of Commercial and Junction Streets, and

• the library car park.

Takaka Township – the Village Green, Pioneer Park, the old library site and adjacent
playground.
Ligar Bay Beach – summer months, except between the hours of 5.00am and 9.00am
Onekaka Estuary
Pakawau Beach (camp frontage) – summer months
Parapara Inlet
Patons Rock Beach in front of the settlement – summer months
Pohara Beach from the sign at the western end of the golf course to the mouth of the
Motupipi Estuary
Pohara Beach from eastern camp boundary to Selwyn Street Reserve – summer months
Pohara Beach Top 10 Holiday Park
Rototai to Waitapu Estuary foreshore (excluding Controlled Dog Exercise area adjacent to
Rototai Recreation Reserve
Ruataniwha Inlet
Tata Beach – During the period of New Zealand Daylight Saving Time, and for the remainder
of the year from one hour prior to sunrise until one hour after sunrise All year from sunset until
8.30am the following day.
The associated map and information on Page 41 of the bylaw (shown below) will be
altered to reflect this change.

WHERE CAN YOU GET MORE INFORMATION?

Copies of the existing Bylaw are available here https://www.tasman.govt.nz/bylaws
or at any of the Council offices listed below. Copies of this Statement of Proposal
and the Summary of Information relating to this review are also available at these
offices or on the website here: https://www.tasman.govt.nz/my-council/public-
consultation/ .

This consultation is an opportunity for the Council to consider your views before the
decisions are made. There will be no right to appeal once the decisions have been
made.

Submissions can be made online or by using the form below, if you do not wish to
use this form we ask that you provide enough detail to allow us to understand the
specific elements of the submission. All submissions will be made public and are
available on the submissions database.

The submission period begins at 8.00 am on 20 July 2020. Please note that written
submissions are to be received by Tasman District Council by 4:30pm on
Wednesday 19 August 2020.

Submissions can be:

 Posted to:      Dog Control Bylaw Consultation GB
                 Tasman District Council
                 Private Bag 4
                 Richmond 7050

 Faxed to:       03 543 9524 Attn: Dog Control Bylaw Consultation GB

                 Tasman District Council Attn: Dog Control Bylaw Consultation GB
 Delivered to:
                 189 Queen Street, Richmond, or
                 92 Fairfax Street, Murchison, or
                 7 Hickmott Place, Motueka, or
                 78 Commercial Street, Takaka

 Emailed to:     info@tasman.govt.nz

Submission on the Draft Proposed Amendments to
  Tasman District Council Consolidated Bylaw, Chapter 2:
                  Dog Control Bylaw 2014
Closing date: 4:30pm on Wednesday 19 August 2020

To:      Dog Control Bylaw Consultation GB                        OR
         info@tasman.govt.nz
         Tasman District Council                                  Subject: Dog Control Bylaw
         Private Bag 4
         Richmond 7050

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Provision /                   Support /                Submission                              Decision Sought
Clause                        Oppose
Please refer to Area          Clearly indicate         State in summary the nature of your     State clearly the decision and
affected i.e. Tata beach or   whether you support      submission and the reasons for it. If   or suggested changes you
Commercial Street             or oppose the specific   suggesting a change to a map, please    want Council to make in
                              provision                append a copy marked up with your       respect of the provision
                                                       proposed changes