Key recommendations from today’s Committee of the Whole meeting

Christchurch City Council’s Earthquake Recovery Committee of the Whole held its first meeting of 2014 today. Following were the key matters considered and recommendations the Committee will make to the Council:

Proposed change to Council’s building occupancy policy: The committee will recommend to the Council that the threshold for closing Council-owned buildings that have undergone a Detailed Engineering Evaluation (DEE) assessment should be revised. All non-residential buildings that are assessed as having a seismic capacity of less than 34 per cent of the New Building Standard (NBS) are currently closed following a Detailed Engineering Evaluation.

The policy was introduced in December 2011 following the Canterbury earthquakes.
The Committee will recommend that, in future, only buildings that are under 34 per cent of the NBS with significant damage should not be occupied.

It will also recommend that a specialist engineering panel should be set up to provide recommendations on the occupancy of Council buildings that are below 34 per cent of the NBS with a brittle collapse mechanism (defined as a part of a building which, on failure, could lead to a collapse). Buildings that fit into this category but are deemed fit to occupy by the engineering panel will also remain open.

The recommendation will be made to the 27 February Council meeting. If it is accepted, a review will be carried out of the 236 buildings that are currently closed to determine if they can re-open. The proposed change would bring the Council’s policy more into line with advice from the Ministry of Building, Innovation and Employment and the approach from other large organisations.

Natural Environment Recovery Programme (NERP) Progress Report: the Committee received the report and recommended that updates on the programme are provided to the Committee of the Whole each month as well as to the relevant Community Boards with the NERP programme leader or Council staff attending Board meetings as appropriate.

Protocol with Eastern Vision: the Committee recommended the Council approve and sign the engagement protocol with Eastern Vision and that the main point of contact be with the Hagley/Ferrymead and Burwood/Pegasus Community Boards, under a joint arrangement to be determined.

Land Use Recovery Plan update: the Committee deferred discussion of the update to a future meeting which will be attended by Hon Gerry Brownlee, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister.

Terms of Reference for all Committees: the Committee will recommend to the Council that it approves the terms of reference and delegations for the Committee of the Whole, with the amendment that 100 Resilient Cities and Major Heritage Buildings be added to its responsibilities, and responsibility for Facilities Rebuild be transferred to the Community Committee.

Rob Hall of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust presented to the Committee on the status of heritage sites in the city and the need to continue to work with Council staff, building owners and developers to ensure as much as possible of the city’s heritage is retained.

David Rutherford, the Chief Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission, presented to the Committee on its report, Human Rights in the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery. The Chief Commissioner said these are the greatest human rights issues facing New Zealand today, and that people and their psycho-social recovery needed to be at the centre of the process.

Taz Mukorombindo, Chief Executive of Canterbury Business Association, presented on the Association’s project to establish the Christchurch International Hub, a market for local ethnic businesses to set up stalls which aims to bring people back into the central city. The Committee asked staff to start working with the Association to look into where things stand with the proposal for temporary vacant space, and for the Association to come back to the Committee in two months to report on progress.

Evan Smith of Avon-Otakaro Network presented on the need for funding festivals and events outside the Central Business District, and his proposal for Council support for the Spring River Festival in November. The Committee outlined a number of channels for the Network to apply for support from the Council.

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