Since June 2007 a team at Council have been focusing on protecting the District from Natural Hazards. As part of this Council will change the Franklin District Plan to better manage or mitigate the effects of natural hazards, so that people and property are not put at risk. The first step towards this Plan Change is the Natural Hazards Discussion Document.
Council began working on a Natural Hazards Plan Change as we believe the changes will help keep Franklin safe from natural disasters. We also needed to respond to a directive of the Auckland Regional Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan 2005. This plan directs local authorities like Franklin District Council to initiate changes to our District Plan by December 2007, to strengthen Council’s role in natural hazard management as required by legislation.
The Discussion Document has been prepared with input from key Council staff. The purpose of the document is to set out how Council currently approaches (through the District Plan) natural hazard management, identify key issues, and propose changes to address these issues. The document covers the following key areas:
- Proposed rewording of Part 7: Natural Hazards of the District Plan
Proposed changes to address:
- Development in floodplains
- Development on unstable land
- The deposition of cleanfill
- Management of Earthworks
- Use of Setbacks from Water
- Use of esplanade reserves to manage natural hazards
- Small site management of earthworks and sediment control
Feedback was requested late in 2007 and along with ongoing input from Council staff, your feedback will be used to develop a Draft District Plan Change, which will be notified in early 2008. Please note that the Discussion Document is not statutory – the feedback received is informal at this stage of the process.