State of the Environment Report : Conclusion and References

CONCLUSION

PAGE 152 CONCLUSION OUR CITY’S ENVIRNOMENT

Our City’s Environment 2005 is intended to build on Our City’sEnvironment 2000 and represents the culmination of a fiveWhen the various outcomes from the monitoring indicatorsare considered together, there has emerged a picture aboutAmenityyear monitoring and reporting programme undertaken by thePalmerston North City Council.The broad topic areas covered in the report includeinformation on:People (Section 1)Amenity (Section 2)Transport (Section 3)Land (Section 4)Water (Section 5)Waste management (Section 6)National and Regional Monitoring (Section 7)158 indicators have been monitored to build up a picture ofthe state of Palmerston North’s environment between 2000and 2005. The list of monitoring indicators has increasedsince the completion of Our City’s Environment 2000 and willcontinue to evolve over time.the ‘State of the Environment’ in Palmerston North. Discussionof each of the environmental parameters began with asummary box which identifies:FactsProgress so farIssues to considerThose people seeking a quick “snapshot” of the conclusionsneed refer only to these summaries.Some of the significant findings from the report highlight that:PeopleIt is anticipated that the population of Palmerston Northwill continue to age over the next 20 years;The number of new dwellings constructed is increasingat a greater rate than population;Discussions with local iwi are required in order toestablish and implement a strategy to monitor anagreed set of performance indicators;A number of initiatives are planned or have recentlybeen completed to better communicate the nonregulatorydesign guidelines prepared by Council;Residential buildings remain under represented in theDistrict Plan’s Schedule of Buildings and Objects ofCultural Heritage Value;The number of reserves, walkways, playgrounds andsportsfields within the City have all increased since2000;The level of community satisfaction with the currentquality and usability of parks, reserves and sportsfieldsis either meeting, or close to meeting communityexpectations;The provision of sportsfields and facilities within the Cityis meeting the demands of most sports;The monitoring shows that the noisiest environmentwithin the city is along Arterial and Principal Roads;Noise complaints are seasonal and weather related;Stereos and other music related noise account for over90% of all complaints within the City;A review of the noise monitoring programme isrequired;In the planning of new urban growth areas orredevelopment of existing residential areas,consideration needs to be given to the potential impactthat background noise levels has on amenity values;There has been an increasing number of resourceCONCLUSIONOUR CITY’S ENVIRNOMENT CONCLUSION PAGE 153

CONCLUSIONconsents issued for site coverage encroachmentsbetween 2000 and 2004;The Residential Zone site coverage provisions need tobe included within an overall review of the existing bulkand location provisions contained within the ResidentialZone of the District Plan;The most significant type of amenity complaint relatedto home occupations, residential interface, signage anduntidy property;The percentage of residents who are satisfied with thelevel of safety in public places at night has increasedfrom 34% in 2000 to 44% in 2004;It is important that the Council and appropriate agenciesmonitor and report on the effectiveness of new crimeprevention initiatives;TransportThere has been a significant increase in the length ofcycle lanes within the City;The proportion of people using cycles to travel to workhas decreased;The use of buses is increasing;2002 had the highest number of injury crashes recordedfor urban roads and 2003 the highest number recordedfor rural roads;LandAverage greenfield section site sizes have decreasedand average back section infill site sizes have increased;The highest level of residential building activity in theCity for fourteen years was recorded in 2004;High occupancy rates within the Inner Business Zoneindicate the amenity and vibrancy of the CBD is strong;Pending movements and developments within theInner Business Zone means there is likely to beadditional sites available for the establishment ofretailing activities in the CBD in the near future;Council received an influx of subdivision consents priorto the adoption of the new Development ContributionsPolicy in July 2004. The actual uptake of these lots isexpected to be staged over the next 3-5 years;The Turitea Reserve of 3,564 hectares and otherreserves and private land in the northern TararuaRanges dominate the ecological resource base;The Kahuterawa and Turitea Streams have high qualityriparian habitat and moderately healthy invertebratecommunities, but less healthy than expected;There have been no resource consent applications forthe removal or destruction of the 15 areas of significantindigenous vegetation identified within the District Plan;35,500 native plants have been planted since 2001 aspart of the Turitea Stream Green Corridors project withanother 8500 plants to be planted in 2005;Areas of native vegetation on the plains are few andsmall. To be sustainable ecologically, they need bothWaterphysical protection and also bush corridors linking themto the large biodiversity reservoir in the hills, to allownative birds to reach them;Changes to the RMA 1991 will require Council toconsider the effects of climate change as part of futurePlan Changes to the District Plan;Horizons Regional Council intends to undertakeextensive work to further identify flood levels to helplandowners determine risks to their properties. Theresults of this work will need to be monitored and mayhave implications for Council;Water quality in the Manawatu River is moderate;The Kahuterawa and Turitea Streams have good riparianhabitat and water quality, and support moderatelyhealthy invertebrate communities. However, waterquality is not as good as the habitats would suggest;The Mangaone and other urban streams regularlyexceed certain water quality guidelines;Heavy metals in sediments are increasing at some sitesand this is cause for concern;Should the trend in the levels of zinc recorded withinurban streams continue or worsen over the comingyears the specific sites of concern will need to befurther investigated and a strategy put in place toimprove water quality in these streams;Water capacity is sufficient to meet foreseeabledemands;PAGE 154 CONCLUSION OUR CITY’S ENVIRNOMENT

WasteIncreasing amounts of greenwaste and general wasteare being recycled;The cost of disposing waste will increase with theclosure of the Awapuni landfill;There has been an increase in the number of complaintsreceived about unauthorised waste disposal practices;The Council Environmental Investigations Registerincludes 240 recordings of sites that are either known tobe or are potentially contaminated;The results of Horizons Regional Council’s air qualitymonitoring programme will need to be monitored andmay have implications for Council.This is by no way a comprehensive list so please refer to thebody of the report for a more complete picture.Through observation and experience, the City’s residents willalready recognise that Palmerston North enjoys a pleasantenvironment. Following a closer look behind the scenes, theconclusions of this report generally validate these impressions.There are a number of environmental issues and challengesthat do face the City and it is critical that we do not take ourenvironment for granted. Future state of the environmentreports will enable us to continue to measure improvementsin, and any deterioration of, the City’s environment againstthe “benchmarks” established by this report and the previousreports prepared in 1995 and 2000.CONCLUSIONOUR CITY’S ENVIRNOMENT CONCLUSION PAGE 155

CONCLUSIONPAGE 156 CONCLUSION OUR CITY’S ENVIRNOMENT

REFERENCESOUR CITY’S ENVIRNOMENT CONCLUSION PAGE 157

PAGE 158 REFERENCES OUR CITY’S ENVIRNOMENT

External Publications1. National Environmental Performance Indicators, Ministryfor the Environment, 19972. Draft Contaminated Land Management Guidelines No.4,Ministry for the Environment, June 20043. Creating Our Future: Sustainable Development for NewZealand, Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner forthe Environment, 20024. Road Safety Issues Report for Palmerston North City,Land Transport Safety Authority, July 20045. Missing Links: Connecting Science with EnvironmentalPolicy, Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for theEnvironment, 20046. Growing for Good: Intensive Farming, Sustainability andNew Zealand’s Environment, Office of the ParliamentaryCommissioner for the Environment7. State of the Environment Report for Manawatu-Wanganui Region 1999: Measures of a ChangingLandscape, Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council, June1999.8. 2005 State of the Environment Report for theManawatu-Wanganui Region, Horizons Regional Council,2005.9. New Zealand Waste Strategy, Ministry for theEnvironment, March 2002.10. Solid Waste Analysis Protocol, Ministry for theEnvironment, March 200211. NZ Census 1996, Statistics New Zealand 199712. NZ Census 2001, Statistics New Zealand 200213. Manawatu Catchment Water Quality Plan, Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council, October 199814. Regional Plant Pest Management Strategy, Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council, August 200115. Manawatu River and Tributaries Navigation and SafetyBylaws 2004, Horizons Regional Council, August 200416. Horizons Regional Council, Hazard Analysis Manual- Seismic Hazards, 199617. Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Freshwaterand Marine Water Quality, Australian and New ZealandEnvironment and Conservation Council, 2000Palmerston North City CouncilPublicationsCommunitrak Survey Results (2004)Recreation and Community Facilities Asset ManagementPlan (2003)Development Contributions Policy (2004)Park User Survey (2004)Our City’s Environment 2000 (2000)Palmerston North City District PlanRecreational Needs Assessment (2005)Long Term Council Community Plan (2004)Outdoor Recreation Strategy (2002)Turitea Reserve Management Plan (2004)Palmerston North Industrial Land Use Study (2001)The Palmerston North Retail Study (2003)Interim Greening Strategy (2005)Community Outcomes - Creating Our Future (2005)Urban Growth Monitoring Report (2004)Quarterly Economic ReportSavage Crescent Design Guide (1996)Elmira Avenue / Manapouri Crescent Design Guide (1999)Crime Prevention Plan (2004)The Bike Plan (1998)Palmerston North City Council Environmental Policy (1998)Transportation Management Plan (2002)Contaminated Sites Management Strategy (2001)Ecological Processes in Palmerston North City (2002)Stream Biodiversity and Water Quality of PalmerstonNorth City (2004)REFERENCESOUR CITY’S ENVIRNOMENT REFERENCES PAGE 159

REFERENCESPAGE 160 REFERENCES OUR CITY’S ENVIRNOMENT