Committee hears updates on CBD plan process and housing
1 July 2021
Update on initial work towards CBD plan
Work on foundational pieces that will help guide the development of a refreshed revitalisation plan for Rotorua’s CBD are underway.
A CBD plan is part of the Draft Rotorua Economic Development Strategy Framework that was approved by Council last December and was identified as a key action by the CBD sector group that was established last year to consider economic recovery strategies.
In an update to the Operations & Monitoring Committee today, council’s Deputy Chief Executive District Development Jean-Paul Gaston, outlined the process that was underway, explaining there were several key pieces of work that needed to be completed before a proposed plan could be developed.
These included working with mana whenua and Te Arawa on cultural foundations and working on an incentives policy to encourage commercial and residential development in the inner city.
Another key foundational piece, that had been completed, was a review of all previous CBD plans to extract elements that have been consistent across these to provide a framework as a starting point for a new plan, Mr Gaston said.
The high level framework had been shared with some key stakeholders and partners and there would be further and wider engagement and consultation in future.
There was no specific timeframe around the foundational work as it was important to take the time to “get it right”, Mr Gaston said.
The previously completed CBD functionality review will also form part of considerations for development of a plan, the Committee was told.
You can view Mr Gaston’s update by going directly to this part of the recording of today’s livestreamed meeting via THIS LINK
View the presentation slides from this update HERE
Update on work underway relating to housing
The committee was updated on the work of the housing taskforce that is a collaboration between Council, Central Government agencies, Te Arawa and local social agencies, dealing in the first instance with changes to the management of emergency housing and progressing towards more social housing for Rotorua.
As a result of the actions being implemented, the number of Rotorua motels used for emergency housing will effectively reduce from 45 to less than 30, the Operations & Monitoring Committee was told.
This will reduces the concentration of effects through more distributed locations with no mixed use and ensuring ample supply for visitor use.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MHUD) has now contracted 12 suitable motels for whanau with children and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has identified motels suitable for non-children households.
Contracts are also in place with four Rotorua-based social service agencies to provide support services and a physical hub is to be established to deliver these services.
You can view this update by going directly to this part of the recording of today’s livestreamed meeting via THIS LINK
View the presentation slides relating to this update HERE
Also from the meeting …
Councillor Peter Bentley moved a Notice of Motion, which was seconded by Councillor Raj Kumar, to “call for an independent review of Rotorua District Council”.
Committee Chair Cr Tania Tapsell closed the debate, saying it was not relevant to the motion that was on the table and invited Cr Bentley to instead take any concerns he had regarding the CE to the mayor as chair of the CE Review Committee.
This item was at the start of the meeting. You can view the recording of the meeting HERE on Council’s YouTube channel.
The full agenda for the meeting can be found HERE on Council’s website.
