Final proposal for representation arrangements for the 2022 local elections

Submissions

On 28 October 2021 the Kāpiti Coast District Council (‘Council’) considered submissions received on its initial proposal regarding representation arrangements for the Council and its community boards to apply for the local elections to be held on 8 October 2022.

The Council received 532 written submissions and 59 oral submissions on its initial proposal. In accordance with section 19N of the Local Electoral Act 2001, the reasons for Council accepting and rejecting submissions are set out as follows:

Treatment	Reason
Accept the majority of submissions who agree with retaining 10 councillors plus the Mayor, and reject the minority of submissions who disagree with this number.	The minority view is rejected in favour of the majority view who see 10 councillors plus the mayor as sufficient to provide for diversity and not spreading councillors too thin, yet small enough to be efficient. The minority view is also rejected in favour of those who believe the current size of Council is working well and as such should not change.
Accept the majority of submissions who favour a mixed model with both ward and district-wide councillors and reject the minority of submissions who prefer either all ward-based or all district-wide councillors.	The minority view preferring either all ward-based or all district-wide councillors is rejected in favour of the majority view that favours a mixed model with both ward and district-wide councillors. The majority view is that the mixed model achieves effective representation for the district as it helps councillors to: stay close to the people at a local level and also see the big picture to do what is best for Kāpiti as a whole focus on those people in the district who are most in-need while doing what is best for the entire district and building barriers to parochialism.
Accept submissions that favour an equal ratio of ward and district-wide councillors (five: five) and reject submissions that favour a different ratio.	The minority view favouring a different ratio (or either all ward or all district-wide councillors) is rejected in favour of the majority view that the ratio of five ward councillors to five district-wide councillors is the right number to balance both local issues and the district-wide perspective. Furthermore, the minority view is rejected in favour of the view that the current ratio is working and doesn’t warrant change.
Accept the majority of submissions who disagree with combining the Waikanae and Paraparaumu wards (and respective boundary changes) and reject the minority view who favour combining these wards.	The minority view that supports combining the Waikanae and Paraparaumu wards is rejected on the basis that this does not provide effective local representation for the district’s distinct communities of interest. In particular, that Waikanae and Paraparaumu are distinct and warrant separate representation at a ward level.
Accept the majority of submissions who disagree with abolishing the district’s current community boards and reject the minority of submissions who agree with abolishing the current boards.	The minority view that supports the removal of existing community boards is rejected in favour of the majority view that: community boards are a key tool to ensure effective local representation at Council and to hold Council accountable they should not only be retained but strengthened to ensure their effectiveness.
Accept submissions that advocate for a new, separate Raumati Community Board.	Reject submissions that advocate for retaining the current community boards as they currently stand, with no changes.
Reject submissions who disagree with the boundary change between Ōtaki and Waikanae wards, which moves the boundary south of Te Hapua Road to include three additional meshblocks 1883901, 1883902 and 4011904 with the effect that most of Te Horo becomes part of the Ōtaki ward.	Reject submissions who disagree with the boundary shift between the Ōtaki and Waikanae wards to move the boundary south of Te Hapua Road on the basis that this boundary change: moves Te Horo into the Ōtaki ward which more appropriately groups similar communities of interest addresses Local Government Commission direction from the 2015 representation review to review the three roads dissected by the current boundary.
Accept submissions that support retaining the current names of geographic hubs for both wards and community boards.	Reject submissions who prefer different names such as those proposed in Council’s initial proposal on the basis of submissions that see retaining the current names as appropriate to the respective geographic hubs.

Final proposal

Having considered all of the submissions, on Thursday 11 November 2021 Council resolved to reject its initial proposal and adopt a new proposal as the final proposal for the Kāpiti Coast District Council and its community boards for the 2022 local authority elections. The final proposal is to retain the existing representation arrangements for Kāpiti Coast District Council with minor boundary changes and five community boards, including separate community boards for both Paraparaumu and Raumati. The proposal is set out in detail as follows:

Council Representation

It is proposed that the Kāpiti Coast District Council comprise 10 councillors, five elected on a district-wide basis and five elected from four wards, plus the mayor. The four wards reflect the following identified communities of interest:

Ward	Communities of interest
Ōtaki	A separate geographic community of interest with the northern boundary north of Forest Lakes Road and the southern boundary heading inland south of Te Hapua Road. Includes Ōtaki, Ōtaki Beach, Te Horo and Te Horo Beach.
Waikanae	A separate geographic community of interest with the northern boundary heading inland north of Te Kowhai Road and the Waikanae River forming part of the southern boundary. Includes all of Huia Street, Reikorangi, Waikanae, Waikanae Beach and Waikanae Downs.
Paraparaumu	The most densely populated central community of interest with the northern boundary following the Waikanae River inland and the southern boundary starting at the corner of Marine Parade and Wharemauku Road and heading inland along Ihakara Street. Includes Paraparaumu and Paraparaumu Beach.
Paekākāriki-Raumati	A community of interest comprising Raumati and the separate village of Paekākāriki with the northern boundary starting at the corner of Marine Parade and Wharemauku Road and heading inland along Ihakara Street, and the southern boundary to the south of Paekākāriki Village.

The population that each councillor will represent is as follows:

Ward	Population (as at 30 June 2020)	Councillors	Population per councillor	% Variation
Ōtaki	10,050	1	10,050	-12.00%
Waikanae	14,250	1	14,250	24.78%
Paraparaumu	21,300	2	10,650	-6.74%
Paekākāriki-Raumati	11,500	1	11,500	0.70%
Total	57,100	5	11,420

In accordance with section 19V(2), Local Electoral Act 2001 the population that each councillor represents must be within the range of 11,420 +/- 10% (between 10,278 and 12,562), unless particular community of interest considerations justify otherwise.

The representation of the Ōtaki and Waikanae Wards falls outside the stipulated range. The Council considers that the Ōtaki and Waikanae Wards each warrant a single member for the following reason:

compliance with section 19V(2) would limit effective representation of communities of interest by dividing a community of interest between wards or subdivisions based on the considerations set out in section 19V(3)(ii), Local Electoral Act 2001.

Community Board Representation

It is proposed that the Kāpiti Coast District Council be divided into five community boards, retaining Council’s existing community boards for Ōtaki, Waikanae and Paekākāriki and establishing separate community boards for Paraparaumu and Raumati. The community boards are set out as follows:

Community Board	Area of Community
Ōtaki Community Board	Rural and urban area including Ōtaki Beach, Ōtaki township, the railway area, Te Horo and Te Horo Beach, with the same boundaries as the Ōtaki Ward.
Waikanae Community Board	Urban area including Waikanae Beach, Waikanae township, all of Huia Street, Reikorangi and Waikanae Downs with the same boundaries as the Waikanae Ward.
Paraparaumu Community Board	Urban area including Paraparaumu Beach and Paraparaumu township with the same boundaries as the Paraparaumu Ward.
Raumati Community Board	Urban area Raumati, Raumati Beach, Raumati South with the northern boundary the same as the Paekākāriki-Raumati Ward and the southern boundary at Waterfall Road/Queen Elizabeth Park.
Paekākāriki Community Board	Village area with northern boundary at Waterfall Road/Queen Elizabeth Park and southern boundary the same as the Paekākāriki-Raumati Ward.

Ōtaki, Waikanae, Paraparaumu, Raumati and Paekākāriki Community Boards

The Ōtaki, Waikanae, Paraparaumu, Raumati and Paekākāriki Community Boards will each elect four members. They will not be subdivided for electoral purposes. They will each have appointed members as follows:

Community Board	Number of members from which ward
Ōtaki Community Board	1 member appointed from Council being the ward councillor elected to represent the Ōtaki Ward
Waikanae Community Board	1 member appointed from Council being the ward councillor elected to represent the Waikanae Ward
Paraparaumu Community Board	2 members appointed from Council being both ward councillors elected to represent the Paraparaumu Ward
Raumati Community Board	1 member appointed from Council being the ward councillor elected to represent the Paekākāriki-Raumati Ward
Paekākāriki Community Board	1 member appointed from Council being the ward councillor elected to represent the Paekākāriki-Raumati Ward

Appeals and objections

Any person or organisation (including a community board) who made a submission on the Council’s initial proposal may lodge an appeal against the Council’s decision. An appeal must relate to the matters raised in that person's submission.

Any interested person or organisation (including a community board) may lodge an objection to the Council’s final proposal. Any objection must identify the matters to which the objection relates.

Appeals and objections must be made in writing and must be received by Council no later than 5:00pm on Monday 13 December 2021.

Appeals and objections are to be forwarded to:

Attention – Sarah Wattie

Physical address – Civic Administration Building, 175 Rimu Road, Paraparaumu 5254
Email – [email protected]

Further information

Direct any queries regarding the Council’s decision to Sarah Wattie (contact details above).

Wayne Maxwell

Chief Executive

13 November 2021