Updated bylaw signed and sealed

Published 20 Jul 2017

Public Places Bylaw and the Trading in Public Places Policy updated

Earlier this year we invited the community to have a say on the district’s draft 2017 Public Places Bylaw and Trading in Public Places Policy. After community consultation, the updated bylaw and policy have now been approved by Council and came into effect on 12 July 2017.

The Public Places Bylaw sets out rules to help ensure people’s well-being and enjoyment in our public places. The Trading in Public Places Policy supports the implementation of the bylaw. The policy's aim is: to ensure trading activities are carried out safely, appropriately and with minimum nuisance to the general public.

This means it guides our decisions on granting licences for trading in public places and the type of trading allowed. It also sets out conditions for health and safety, pedestrian access and traffic flow and consideration of established businesses when granting licences.

Some of the main changes to the 2010 bylaw are listed below.

Updates we have made

1	A new clause 18 has been added. This covers any damage to Council property and brings all aspects of the bylaw on this topic under a single clause. It includes things like: dumping rubbish damaging plants interfering with wildlife or damaging structures like buildings, fences or lighting.
2	Council may now also require a ‘damage deposit’ for certain resource consent applications or requests for written approval for temporary events. This will depend on the type of event involved and its venue and will consider the potential for damage to infrastructure – for example, irrigation systems.
3	The range of low powered vehicles and devices covered in the bylaw has been expanded, bringing it up to date with the variety of options now available to people wishing to use footpaths and walkways. This includes guidelines for electric bicycles and skateboards as well as segways. It doesn’t alter the bylaw’s ‘pedestrian first’ policy. Definitions for ‘mobility device’ and ‘vehicle’ have been added to Clause 4 as part of this.
4	Licence waivers in certain cases – where a resource consent is required for a particular activity, Council may allow the applicant to have any separate licence requirement waived if it is covered by the consent process. This will avoid the applicant facing two processes that tend to duplicate each other.
5	The wording and a number of definitions have been clarified in Clause 4, including: public car park public place trading hoarding