State of the Environment Report : Conclusion and References

CONCLUSION
consents issued for site coverage encroachments
between 2000 and 2004;
The Residential Zone site coverage provisions need to
be included within an overall review of the existing bulk
and location provisions contained within the Residential
Zone of the District Plan;
The most significant type of amenity complaint related
to home occupations, residential interface, signage and
untidy property;
The percentage of residents who are satisfied with the
level of safety in public places at night has increased
from 34% in 2000 to 44% in 2004;
It is important that the Council and appropriate agencies
monitor and report on the effectiveness of new crime
prevention initiatives;
Transport
There has been a significant increase in the length of
cycle lanes within the City;
The proportion of people using cycles to travel to work
has decreased;
The use of buses is increasing;
2002 had the highest number of injury crashes recorded
for urban roads and 2003 the highest number recorded
for rural roads;
Land
Average greenfield section site sizes have decreased
and average back section infill site sizes have increased;
The highest level of residential building activity in the
City for fourteen years was recorded in 2004;
High occupancy rates within the Inner Business Zone
indicate the amenity and vibrancy of the CBD is strong;
Pending movements and developments within the
Inner Business Zone means there is likely to be
additional sites available for the establishment of
retailing activities in the CBD in the near future;
Council received an influx of subdivision consents prior
to the adoption of the new Development Contributions
Policy in July 2004. The actual uptake of these lots is
expected to be staged over the next 3-5 years;
The Turitea Reserve of 3,564 hectares and other
reserves and private land in the northern Tararua
Ranges dominate the ecological resource base;
The Kahuterawa and Turitea Streams have high quality
riparian habitat and moderately healthy invertebrate
communities, but less healthy than expected;
There have been no resource consent applications for
the removal or destruction of the 15 areas of significant
indigenous vegetation identified within the District Plan;
35,500 native plants have been planted since 2001 as
part of the Turitea Stream Green Corridors project with
another 8500 plants to be planted in 2005;
Areas of native vegetation on the plains are few and
small. To be sustainable ecologically, they need both
Water
physical protection and also bush corridors linking them
to the large biodiversity reservoir in the hills, to allow
native birds to reach them;
Changes to the RMA 1991 will require Council to
consider the effects of climate change as part of future
Plan Changes to the District Plan;
Horizons Regional Council intends to undertake
extensive work to further identify flood levels to help
landowners determine risks to their properties. The
results of this work will need to be monitored and may
have implications for Council;
Water quality in the Manawatu River is moderate;
The Kahuterawa and Turitea Streams have good riparian
habitat and water quality, and support moderately
healthy invertebrate communities. However, water
quality is not as good as the habitats would suggest;
The Mangaone and other urban streams regularly
exceed certain water quality guidelines;
Heavy metals in sediments are increasing at some sites
and this is cause for concern;
Should the trend in the levels of zinc recorded within
urban streams continue or worsen over the coming
years the specific sites of concern will need to be
further investigated and a strategy put in place to
improve water quality in these streams;
Water capacity is sufficient to meet foreseeable
demands;
PAGE 154 CONCLUSION OUR CITY’S ENVIRNOMENT