7 January 2021
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Petition re community safety and homeless
Enquiry
I've been in touch with some people regarding this petition and I have their comments here for the council and mayor's right of reply / response.
Question for [Mayor] Steve [Chadwick]:
Will you organise (or attend) a public forum regarding homelessness and city safety as suggested by Meredith Herbert?
I am after a response by 3.30pm today please.
Meredith Herbert, petitioner
Herbert's petition stated it was well overdue the council, particularly the mayor Steve Chadwick, addressed the growing concerns that Rotorua residents have for their immediate safety.
In her petition Herbert said the response to homelessness and public safety had been fairly non-existent and largely ineffective.
Something needs to be done to ensure we feel safe in our own city.
Speaking to Local Democracy Reporting, Herbert, a registered social worker, said the petition was not about hating on homeless people but rather a call for urgent action on public safety.
She said it wasn't only homeless people causing issues, but some contributed and disorder appeared to have increased with an increase of homelessness in the city over time.
She said people were locking their car doors when driving through the city, and long-standing members of the community were moving away, while others went to places like Tauranga or Taupō to shop.
It's quite scary.
The social service agencies are really overwhelmed.
I don't feel as though Steve Chadwick has really addressed our concerns.
A lot of people in Rotorua don't feel as though Steve Chadwick is doing anything at all and it seems like she's a bit out of touch with reality.
Herbert said she did not have an answer to all the problems but said it would be great if Chadwick organised or attended a public forum on the issues so that we, as a community, can go there and share our stories with her and ask for her to respond.
There are 900 people who are concerned for the safety of themselves and their parents and grandparents and children - what's her response to that? What's her suggestion, because we're really worried.
Herbert said the forum should be open to homeless people too so they could also express their concerns and points of view.
She said the council's housing strategy was great but it would take a while to build houses and there were also mental health and addiction needs that had to be addressed.
She understood addressing homelessness was primarily the role of central government but said local government had a role to play as well.
As our mayor, [Chadwick] has a responsibility to ensure the people she is looking after in the community are safe.
She needs to stand up and say we have serious concerns for the safety of our people because of this behaviour here you go Government, what are you going to do to support me and support the people of Rotorua?'
Rotorua Residents and Ratepayers secretary Paddi Hodgkiss
said she supported the petition and had personally experienced similar issues to those described by Herbert, including being accosted on the street three times in the space of a month by people she understood to be homeless.
We should try and understand where [homeless] people are coming from but not at the expense of locals who feel threatened. I do think yes, lobby central government but not just have meetings.
The council just has meeting after meeting to talk about it.
Hodgkiss said she supported the idea of a public forum but only as long as potential solutions arose from it.
Not just to go and talk and vent their spleens which a lot of people would, I'd be hard-pressed not to.
The council has to come up with some sort of potential solution that can be activated immediately.
Response
The following comments and information were provided:
From Mayor Steve Chadwick:
I am always happy to discuss petitions directly with the originators and look forward to speaking with Meredith.
I get the frustration around safety. I've heard it growing and feel it myself when I hear stories from across our community about residents feeling unsafe on our streets or fearful business owners locking their doors.
I want to assure Rotorua residents and visitors that safety is top of mind and prior to Christmas we bolstered our summer safety campaign with our partners - the police, VR and Watchdog - to include the Fenton/Glenholme areas with a vehicle patrolling there daily.
It is my expectation that Rotorua should be among the safest cities in New Zealand to live in and visit. We're not that right now and need to quickly establish a Community Safety Plan that works for us in the short, intermediate and longer term.
It's also vital people report incidents of anti-social or criminal behavior to the police so they can be dealt with and to enable us to build an accurate picture of our problems.
Many issues of concern to locals and making them feel unsafe right now are being attributed to people in emergency housing. Not everyone in emergency housing causes trouble and not all the troublemakers are in emergency housing, but those who are causing problems have certainly created an unacceptable situation.
As I've said before Rotorua cannot be a dumping ground for other places' homeless and I have been assured by Government officials that those seeking emergency housing are not being sent here by them.
However, as many of us know, we have people in emergency accommodation here who are new to our city and able to secure medium term housing options through the many businesses advertising nationally for prospective tenants. We simply can't tell a motel owner who they can have in their business but it is extremely frustrating because it adds to our challenges. The sooner we can establish some clear shared outcomes with Central Government the better, and Council is working hard to achieve that so we can get change.
Council and I are very aware of the community's concerns and greatly concerned about community safety, which was a major subject of a Long-term Plan workshop in December. Those of us who attended had really good discussions and have asked that it be a priority area for discussion with the community when we consult on the LTP.
In the meantime, we're not sitting idle waiting for that. We are working hard, alongside our partners, on multiple fronts - to keep the community safe, get more housing, work with communities, support those in need and encourage economic recovery. We know the urgency.
This is a complex situation, exacerbated and amplified by COVID and emergency housing, and I can assure the community we have been advocating to Government and lobbying hard on behalf of Rotorua.
Council has a leadership role to play in addressing issues like community safety and homelessness but these are also key responsibilities of Central Government and I would encourage locals to also share the concerns expressed in Meredith's petition with local MPs. We need a better collective effort and Council is doing all that it can, but we can't do it alone.
Information below which may also be of interest/use to you outlines various work RLC is undertaking that relates to community safety, housing and economy:
Safety patrols
- Patrols operating seven days a week, 8am to 10pm (Sun-Weds) and 8am to midnight (Thurs-Sat).
- Roving security firm car patrol also operating, with focus on Fenton/Glenholme areas.
- CCTV cameras in CBD monitored every day, particularly during busy times.
- RLC Safe City Guardians and security firm staff have direct communication links with RLC staff monitoring CCTV footage and with police, to address issues that arise.
- Anti-social, suspicious and criminal behavior should be reported to police by calling 111 or for non-urgent matters call 105.Current council work that relates to housing and is underway:
- Housing and Thriving Communities Strategic Framework, developed in partnership with Te Arawa and Central Government agencies (see more below);
- Investment in infrastructure (wastewater, roading and stormwater) to support both future and existing housing is underway throughout the city and Council and NZTA received Government funding for roading and stormwater upgrades to support proposed housing at Wharenui (Crown Infrastructure Partners funding);
- Council is progressing a District Plan Change to facilitate housing at Pukehangi
- Council is collaborating with Tatau Pounamu Collective on eastside locality plan that will address future needs and aspirations of communities there (see more HERE);
- Long-term infrastructure planning underway (see presentation from 3 Sept 2020 Operations & Monitoring Committee meeting HERE);
- Climate Action Plan (includes infrastructure resilience planning/actions. Draft plan presented 3 Sept 2020 O & M Committee meeting. More HERE);
- Healthy Homes initiative ongoing (see more HERE).Homes and Thriving Communities Strategic Framework (He Papakāinga, He Hāpori Taurikura Te Poupou Ruataki)
- Developed in partnership with Te Arawa and Central Government agencies following consultation with community stakeholders in 2019.
- Framework adopted by Council Sept 2020 (see HERE and HERE) following consultation on draft.
- 11 workstreams: community safety; emergency, transitional and social housing; rural and urban papakāinga; thriving communities and locality planning; healthy homes; enabling affordability; infrastructure; creating employment and career pathways.
- Framework outlines each workstream, including actions and lead agencies for each.
- View the strategic framework at THIS LINK on Council's website.Draft economic development strategy framework
- Draft framework supports recovery plan and long-term economic development and will contribute towards addressing unemployment and inequality in Rotorua.
- Input from business and sector leaders, presented to Council Dec 2020 (see HERE).
- Action plans being developed. Work already underway on various aspects.
- Action plans work led by RLC, working with business leaders and partners (iwi, tertiary/research institutes, private funders, industry organisations and Government).
- View draft economic development strategy framework at THIS LINK on Council's website and view
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Building consents issued in 2020
Enquiry
Reporter writing a story about 2020 building consents had another follow-up enquiry, requesting the total amount of issued building consents for 2020 and the total work value.
*See original enquiry about this (from 5 January) HERE and yesterday's follow-up enquiry HERE
Response
The following information was provided:
The number and total work value for all issued building consents in 2020:
1228 applications at a work value of $142,701,597
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Noise complaints over New Year
Enquiry
I wanted to see if there were any noise complaints across New Years Eve.
Would you be able to answer these by 1pm tomorrow?
- How many noise complaints were there across Rotorua on New Years Eve (including up until 6am on New Years Day)?
- What were the noise complaints for?
- What time's were the noise complaints made across NYE and NYD?
- What were the top five streets for noise complaints on New Years Eve?
Response
The following information was provided:
How many noise complaints were there across Rotorua on New Years Eve (including up until 6am on New Years Day)?
32 complaints
What were the noise complaints for?
- Party music/stereo base
- People noise
- Dogs barking
- Household renovationWhen the complaints were made across NYE and NYD?31 December (NYE day) - first complaint received at 12.30am for stereo noise and last complaint was 11.19pm1 January - first complaint was 12.10am and last complaint was 5.41amTop 5 streets for noise complaints on New Years Eve
- Meadowbank Crescent
- Ranganui Street
- Tarewa Place
- Lee Road
- Rest scattered all over town - 1 complaint only
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Illegal dumping outside charity stores
Enquiry
I am working on a story about people dumping unsalable goods outside of charity stores and a source I spoke too told me that "many councils throughout the country were choosing to prosecute people that left goods in public access spaces outside charity stores".
Could I please ask whether this is true for your council? and could I please get your stance on this?
Response
The following comment and information was provided:
From Waste Services and Sustainability Manager, Prashant Praveen:
Unfortunately, there are always people who choose to not do the right thing. Illegal dumping in any location is a community issue that requires a long-term community ownership approach.
Council deals with illegal dumping on public land however, we do not have jurisdiction to deal with incidents of dumping on private property. These matters can be reported to the Police.
We have not had any recent requests from local charity stores in relation to dumping outside their stores. It is not a nice situation to deal with for anyone and in the past, we have helped with removal when there have been instances of dumping outside charity stores on a case-by-case basis.
If anyone would like advice about illegal dumping or to report incidents of illegal dumping on public land they can phone Council on 07 348 4199.
Further info:
You can find FAQs about illegal dumping including prosecutions HERE.
Also here is some information recently provided to Rotorua Daily Post in regards to prosecutions and fines for illegal dumping:
Re penalties for littering and illegal dumping:
It is difficult to catch people in the act and/or to gain enough evidence to conclusively prove the identity of the culprit.
Illegal dumping and littering are governed by the Litter Act 1979 and councils can either issue an infringement or file charges. This decision would be made in accordance with the type and severity of the littering/dumping.
An infringement can be up to $400 and a fine resulting from prosecution can be up to $5000 per individual involved. If the 'litter' could endanger someone or cause injury or sickness, for example broken bottles, the fine can be up $7500 per person involved.