Coastal hazards - join the conversation
Coastal hazards like erosion and flooding due to sea level rise are having an increasing impact on coastal communities around Aotearoa New Zealand and the world, including our beautiful Kāpiti Coast.
The costs and social impacts affect all of us, so it’s important our community contributes to discussions on how to respond.
The Takutai Kāpiti Coastal Advisory Panel has been asked to consider options for adapting to these coastal challenges. Informed by a range of experts, surveys, and studies, they will make recommendations on adaptation options to help Council manage coastal issues.
Community involvement in this work is crucial. The panel wants to hear from you about why our coast matters to you and how you think they can best represent your views in our community response.
The panel is providing a range of ways for you to engage with them both in-person and online, with the first of several public information sessions on Saturday 23 July.
Have your say on how our coast matters to you and how the panel can represent you at haveyoursay.kapiticoast.govt.nz/coastal or email the panel at [email protected]
Meet the panel
Our panel are all Kāpiti Coast residents who are passionate about our district and our coast. Six were appointed through a recruitment agency and six positions mandated by iwi, two of which are filled so far.
The make-up and role of the panel was co-designed by a working group of iwi, Coastal Ratepayers United, North Ōtaki Beach Residents’ Group and the Waikanae Estuary Care Group, and local and regional council staff.
The panel’s role
Community input is needed to develop enduring solutions to increasing coastal hazards from sea level rise. The unpalatable alternative is a patchwork of short-term fixes that put council infrastructure and private property at risk. This just pushes the problem onto the next generation of ratepayers and residents.
The Takutai Kāpiti Coastal Advisory Panel is an independent and diverse group of locals supported by Council. They have been asked to listen to and represent the various perspectives of our many and varied Kāpiti Coast communities. This will give Council a rich understanding of the concerns of the community and the potential impacts of future decisions on options for adapting to sea level rise.
The panel hasn’t been appointed to provide technical expertise on coastal hazards. For this, they’ll be assisted by independent experts. The panel has to consider complex operational, policy, cultural, legal, and economic implications for the adaptation options they’re looking at. The expert advisors are guiding them with briefings, technical reports, surveys, and studies presented at monthly workshops. The minutes and presentations are published on the Takutai Kāpiti website.
Read more and sign up to our e-newsletter
Have your say on how our coast matters to you and how the panel can represent you
Talk to the coastal advisory panel
Panel members are attending locations and events around the district in June and July to hear directly from you. To join the online community board meetings email [email protected] for the zoom link.
Paraparaumu
Saturday 11 June: 10am-12noon Paraparaumu Library
Tuesday 5 July: 7pm (online) Paraparaumu-Raumati Community Board
Saturday 9 July: Paraparaumu Beach Market
Waikanae
Tues 21 June: Mahara mid-week market
Tues 21 June: 7pm (online) Waikanae Community Board
Saturday 16 July: Waikanae community market (tbc)
Ōtaki
Sat 18 June: 10am-12noon Ōtaki Library
Sun 19 June: Ōtaki community market
Tues 21 June: 7pm (online) Ōtaki Community Board
Paekākāriki
Tues 28 June: 7pm (online) Paekākāriki Community Board
Sat 2 July: Paekākāriki market
Te Horo
Sun 3 July: Te Horo country market
Kāpiti-wide coastal hazards public information event
Sat 23 July: 11am-2pm, Community Centre, 45 Ocean Road, Paraparaumu Beach