State of the Environment Report : Conclusion and References

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