Long Term Community Plan 2012-2022 - Hurunui District Council

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www.hurunui.govt.nz Activity 3: Compliance and Regulatory Functions Overview The Compliance and Regulatory Functions activity includes the Council’s: • Building Controls • Public Health and Liquor Licencing • Animal Control Current Situation adopted in 2010. This new policy changed the way we address earthquake prone buildings and we now have an active approach to identifying and upgrading EPB’s. We have budgeted $23,000 for each of the first three years of this plan ($69,000 in total) to have independent engineers’ assessments of approximately 90 identified earthquake prone buildings. This does not cover the cost of actual building strengthening work. We consider this to be an important piece of work to prevent the tragedies that occurred after the 22 February 2011 earthquake following the collapse of buildings. We process and issue building consents, and inspect buildings at several stages of their development to ensure that buildings constructed are safe and comply with the New Zealand Building Code. We issue between 400 and 650 building consents annually for private buildings, public buildings, and businesses. In recent years, the number of building consent applications has remained consistent but at a low level with around 400 issued in 2010 and 2011. We expect to see an increase in those numbers in coming years due to the effects of the Canterbury earthquakes since 2010. We also handle complaints made regarding building compliance issues and administer the on going safety features of commercial buildings though the building warrant of fitness regime. Since the earthquakes, we have carried out a number of earthquake assessments (available free to any Hurunui resident concerned about the safety of their building). A number of buildings have consequently been identified as dangerous and/ or needing repairs. We contributed to the “operation suburb” conducted by the Department of Building and Housing shortly after the 22 February 2010 Christchurch Earthquake. Recruiting and retaining experienced building staff is an issue for us (and the rest of New Zealand) due to the extra-ordinary demand of building compliance staff in Christchurch and Canterbury in general, for the ongoing assessments and re-build of Christchurch since the main earthquakes. Our private swimming pools are inspected to check that they comply with the ‘Fencing of Swimming Pools Act’. New Zealand has a history of accidental drownings and the Fencing of Swimming Pools Act is a national initiative to drive down the rate of drownings. Unfortunately, we have also had our share of tragedy, and we need to make sure that private swimming pools are safe and that owners have taken steps to prevent accidental drownings in their pools. We audit one third of registered private swimming pools annually. Plans for the future Building Controls In 2011/12 we did a desk top study of earthquake prone buildings (EPB’s) as per our Earthquake Prone Building Policy We are required to become Building Consent Authorities (BCA) or to contract a BCA to carry out building inspection work on our behalf. Despite us becoming the third accredited BCA in the country in 2007, accreditation has ongoing costs. Our building officers have to be qualified and have quality assurance systems which are used and maintained. Our systems are externally audited every two years to ensure minimum standards are being met on an ongoing basis. We will continue to inspect private swimming pools once every three years as we did encounter a high number of pool safety issues requiring attention in previous pool audits. Public Health & Liquor Licencing Any growth in the district will continue to see an increase in liquor license applications and managers’ certificates. Likewise with health inspections as food premises and bars develop in the area. There will be a new environment for liquor and food safety throughout the District with the Sale of Liquor Act 1989, the Food Act 1981 and the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974 likely to be superseded by new legislation in 2012. The implementation phases of these new pieces of legislation will require close liaison with licensees, managers and food premise operators. The new liquor laws will require changes to the current District Licensing Agency structure. The new food legislation will require food service sector premises, e.g. restaurant, hotels, cafes, takeaways and caterers, to operate under Food Control Plans which are a risk management based approach to food safety. While these are currently voluntary, they have been promoted among local premises with some now registered and operating under these plans. Animal Control We operate our dog control activity as per our dog policy and bylaw. Both need to be reviewed in 2013. We are investigating issuing infringement notices and charging fines to encourage responsible behaviour by the few animal owners who do not comply with the regulations. 122
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022 A small addition to the Pound at Balcairn is proposed in 2012. A greater focus on educating owners about being responsible dog owners is proposed in spring 2012 including an education programme on permitted dog exercise areas. There are no major plans for the future other than ‘business as usual’. Funding Building Controls Operational Costs: • Building consents including inspections 100% user charges. • Building advice and complaint investigation funded via the District rate. • Costs relating to the Building Controls Authority accreditation process will be funded by a separate levy charged on building consents. • Swimming pool inspections - 100% of the costs will be recovered from a targeted rate, one rating unit where it is located. • Swimming pools which remain non-compliant will incur an inspection fee for any inspections. Public Health Operational Costs • User charges meet a portion of the cost with the shortfall to be met from the District Rate. Liquor Licencing Operational Costs • Maximum fees as set out in the Sale of Liquor Act with any short fall from the District Rate. Animal Control Operational Costs • Dog administration costs are funded by the dog registration fee. • Stock control costs are met 100% from the District Rate. Council Owned Assets Building Controls • Vehicles to undertake inspections Public Health& Liquor Licencing • Vehicles to undertake inspections Animal Control • An animal pound in Balcairn Maintenance and Operating Implications Building Controls We intend to continue to undertake the building control activity from our office mainly through our staff and with contractors when demand exceeds our in-house capabilities. We expect to use external contractors during the next year or two depending on the work generated as a result of the earthquakes. We have a shared services agreement with Waimakairi and Selwyn District Councils. Public Health & Liquor Licencings We use our own staff to undertake environmental health and liquor licensing functions. Animal Control This activity is dealt with through a mix of staff and contracted services. The contractor investigates complaints, collects animals and impounds dogs and stock when necessary at any time of the day or night depending on need. Our staff do the administrative tasks such as dog registration and collecting fees. Assumptions and Risks Building Controls We are unsure about the rate of growth we will have in the District in the coming years, but may experience an increase due to the impact of the Christchurch earthquakes. At the time of writing this plan, we had not experienced any real growth. If we do have a surge of new residents wanting to build, this will have an impact on staffing in an already tight market for experienced building personnel. We are not alone regarding this issue, as this is being felt New Zealand wide. We are working closely with our neighbouring Councils to find the best solutions for future collaboration. There is the possibility that the building controls work be centralised and removed from local government to oversee if local solutions cannot be found. 123
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Phone: 03 314 8816 Fax: 03 314 9181
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Long Term Community Plan 2012-2022 - Hurunui District Council

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