Landscape Management Strategy

This page has information about the Proposed Landscape Management Strategy open for consultation.

Background

Porirua City Council has adopted a Proposed Landscape Management Strategy for the rural area and is now calling for submissions.
This is a strategy for protecting and managing important landscapes and guiding future land use and development in the rural area (as envisaged by the Porirua Development Framework).

The Proposed Landscape Management Strategy, when finalised, is anticipated to inform the review of the Porirua City District Plan rural area provisions.

Why have a Landscape Management Strategy?

The Landscape Management Strategy will help the Council to manage the landscape impacts of future land use change in the rural area as farming and forestry give way to rural lifestyle use and development.

Porirua’s rural landscapes consist of hills and valleys surrounding coastal harbours and coastal escarpments, which are covered mainly in farming and forestry in private ownership. These rural landscapes form the backdrop to the harbour inlets and to Porirua’s settlement areas and are part of what makes Porirua an enjoyable place to visit and to settle in.

The strategy proposes making it easier to continue farming and forestry, whilst protecting the most highly valued aspects of the landscape for future enjoyment, as well as encouraging landscape enhancement through appropriate types of rural subdivision and development.

Desired Outcomes

The Proposed Landscape Management Strategy seeks to enhance rural landscape values through the following methods:

  • Protect significant and sensitive areas of the landscape.
  • Enable appropriate rural use of rural land, having regard to the sensitivity of the landscape to change.
  • Enhance the landscape through appropriate forms of rural subdivision and development.

Key Features

Key features of the Proposed Landscape Management Strategy are as follows:

  • Identification and description of landscapes
  • by Landscape Significance including Outstanding Natural Features.
  • by Landscape Character Type including valley floors, foothills, steep slopes, ridgelines and hilltops and wetlands.
  • by Landscape Identity Area including outer and inner coastal landscape identity areas.
  • Combination of regulatory and non-regulatory management methods.
  • Suggested standards for buildings and subdivision density to help achieve landscape outcomes. Lifestyle subdivision would be linked to a requirement to re-vegetate or retire land in order to provide rural landscape enhancement.

The strategy complements the Pauatahanui-Judgeford Structure Plan recently adopted by Porirua City Council.

The Judgeford Hills Zone is not proposed to be altered as a result of the proposed Landscape Management Strategy (at the request of the landowners). This zone resulted from a private plan change request, and landscape matters were addressed within the specific zone provisions for that zone.

Viewing of the Proposed Landscape Management Strategy

Details of proposed Landscape Management Strategy, including the background technical report and maps, may be viewed at:

  • Porirua City Council, Administration Building, Cobham Court, Porirua City.
  • Porirua Library, Cnr. Norrie and Parumoana St, Porirua.
  • All Suburban libraries within the Porirua City administrative area.
  • The Lighthouse Cinema, 3 Paekakariki Hill Road, Pauatahanui Village.

Downloadable copies of the proposed Landscape Management Strategy, technical report, A3 flyer and public notice are online as follows:

The closing date for submissions is was 1 March 2013.

Next Steps

After the closing date for submissions, the Council will hold a hearing. Details of the hearing will be confirmed in due course. Confirmation of the dates, times and places of the hearing will be sent to all submitters who request to be heard in support of their submission. The Council will then make decisions on any subsequent changes to the Landscape Management Strategy arising from submissions, before finalising it.

If you have any queries regarding the Landscape Management Strategy process, please call Peter Matich (DDI 04 237 1498).