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Tuesday, 12 October 2021 |
Te Hui o Te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Heretaunga
Hastings District Council: District Development Subcommittee Meeting
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Rārangi Take
Report to District Development Subcommittee
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Nā: From: |
John Payne, Regulatory Solutions Manager |
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Te Take: Subject: |
Parking Policy Matters |
1.0 Executive Summary – Te Kaupapa Me Te Whakarāpopototanga
1.1 This report covers draft policy relating to:
· Mobility space parking
· Criteria for waiving parking infringements and
· Providing parking exemptions for non-profit charities, NGOs, and volunteers working in the Hastings central business district
3.0 Background – Te Horopaki
3.1 There are currently operational procedures for dealing with mobility parking, processing applications for waiving infringement offences and for providing parking exemptions for non-profit charities, Non-Government Organisations and volunteers working in the Hastings central business district. This report recommends making those operational procedures ‘Policy’.
4.0 Discussion – Te Matapakitanga
Recommended draft policies:
Mobility Parking Spaces Policy
4.1 Council will provide at least one mobility parking space per 100 parking spaces with controls.
Mobility parking spaces will be periodically audited with CCS Disability Action to ensure they are fit for purpose. Mobility parking spaces will be bigger than normal spaces to allow for loading and unloading of wheelchairs/disability equipment in a safe manner.
4.2 Where a person parks in any legal space with a valid mobility card displayed, no enforcement action
will be taken. This includes metered or time zoned. However, if this becomes a habit and results in complaints, a letter will be sent to the mobility card holder requesting them to discuss the matter with Council so that an alternative arrangement can be made.
Infringement Waiver Policy
4.3 There are five ways an infringement can be made invalid:
· Cancelled Officer error
· Waived Explanation accepted
· Reissued Replaced with an escalated ticket
· Stopped Able to resolve the incident verbally
· Technical Persons unknown, system fault
4.4 Explanations can be received via e-mail, letter or over the counter, however in every case
explanations must be in writing.
4.5 Explanations will be forwarded to an Administrator for evaluating and processing. In any case
where the Administrator has any connection to the applicant or perceives there could be a conflict of interest, the application must be forwarded to a neutral person.
4.6 If the Ticket number (infringement notice number or the vehicle registration number) has not been
supplied in the explanation, the matter will be referred back to the applicant. When the Ticket number has been provided, check the system for all current and past infringements and/or correspondence relating to historical infringements. Check Motochek to confirm the current ‘registered’ owner details.
4.7 The following are generic reasons why an infringement notice would be waived:
· Expired or Non-Payment meter – the applicant made or attempted to make payment but used incorrect details when creating the parking session. This is a one-off waiver.
· Mobility offences – if authorisation to park in a mobility site is produced after the offence, a waiver will be granted.
· Expired Licence or Warrant of Fitness – expired less than two months and rectified within reasonable timeframe (before the notice is filed with the Court), a waiver is granted. Only one waiver within a 12 month period.
· Emergency vehicles – on active duty.
· Exceptional circumstance – any situation where there is a genuine and reasonable circumstance for the breach i.e. broken down vehicle, grounds of compassion, a waiver can be granted.
· Hardship – grounds of hardship should not be evaluated as Council staff are not qualified and do not have access to financial circumstances of the applicant. In these circumstances the applicant should be offered an extension of time to pay within the statute of limitations (i.e. within 6 months). An alternative is for the applicant to admit the offence in writing and have the Court consider their written submission.
· Warrant of Fitness (where the person claims not to have been in possession of the vehicle) – Infringement notices will be issued to the registered owner in accordance with section 133A of the Land Transport Act 1988. There may be cases where the owner then contacts Council to advise another person was in charge of the vehicle. The onus is on the registered owner to prove this. If Council can be satisfied that the registered owner did not have charge of the vehicle at the relevant time, the infringement can be transferred to the person who did have charge. However, the person must provide evidence by way of statutory declaration. Send them a letter advising of this and include a blank statutory declaration form.
4.8 Written notification must be sent to every applicant advising of the outcome.
4.9 Further Review by Panel – where a person requests a review of the initial declined explanation the
matter will be placed before a review panel. The panel shall be made up of one technical person, one regulatory person and one neutral person.
Parking Exemptions for Non-Profit Charities, Non-Government Organisations, and Volunteers
4.10 The majority of requests for parking exemptions come in through Council’s call centre. These are referred to the Parking Team Leader by email (CRM). The requests range from short-term exemptions for construction and events to the longer-term (annual) waivers which are sought by non-profit charities, non-government organisations or volunteers.
The exemptions are renewed annually to manage use of the parking resource. The exemptions can be issued to a person or an organisation on a specific number plate depending on the nature of the request.
An application form has been developed to formalise the exemption process and this is attached as Attachment 1.
4.11 Any non-profit charities, Non-Government Organisations or Volunteers undertaking activities which
provide benefit to the community, may apply to Council for up to 3 parking exemptions in the Hastings central business district.
4.12 An exemption will authorise the holder to park lawfully for free and exceed the time restrictions.
4.13 The organisation (charity, Non-Government Organisations or Volunteers) will be provided with an
exemption card. This must be displayed on the dashboard when the vehicle is parked in a space requiring payment. Failure to so may result in enforcement action.
4.14 Where an organisation has initially been declined an application for exemption and requests a
review of the decision, the matter will be placed before the review panel, as identified in 4.9 above.
Hastings District Council Framework for Policy Development
4.15 In accordance with HDC Framework for Policy Development the following processes are required:
The need for Policy is assessed
Elected members have requested that these matters be formulated into policy.
Consultation is undertaken
Council staff are consistently in discussion with CCS Disability Action regarding mobility parking and CCS Disability Action are supportive of Counci’ls approach to mobility parking in the Hastings District.
Policy Approved
This report is the start of the approval process.
Policy Implemented
These are the day to day functions of the Parking Team and form part of the staff’s performance objectives to process all actions in accordance with legislation, procedures and policy.
Policy Monitored
Records of all transactions are filed in Council’s document management system HPRM.
Policy Reviewed
The policy and procedures are reviewed annually.
5.0 Options – Ngā Kōwhiringa
Option One - Recommended Option - Te Kōwhiringa Tuatahi – Te Kōwhiringa Tūtohunga
5.1 Support the recommendations of this report to forward these matters to the Strategy and Policy Committee for adoption.
Advantages
Formalises and consolidates processes and ensures consistency of application.
Option Two – Status Quo - Te Kōwhiringa Tuarua – Te Āhuatanga o nāianei
5.2 Modify the processes as the Sub-Committee sees fit.
6.0 Next steps – Te Anga Whakamua
6.1 If the District Development Sub-Committee support the recommendations in this report, a further report will be taken to the Strategy and Policy Committee for adoption.
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1⇩ |
Application for Parking Exemption |
CG-16-10-00049 |
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Summary of Considerations - He Whakarāpopoto Whakaarohanga |
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Fit with purpose of Local Government - E noho hāngai pū ai ki te Rangatōpū-ā-Rohe The Council is required to give effect to the purpose of local government as set out in section 10 of the Local Government Act 2002. That purpose is to enable democratic local decision-making and action by (and on behalf of) communities, and to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural wellbeing of communities in the present and for the future. Link to the Council’s Community Outcomes – Ngā Hononga ki Ngā Putanga ā-Hapori This proposal promotes regulatory compliance wellbeing of communities in the present and for the future by reducing public nuisance and threats to public health and safety. |
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Māori Impact Statement - Te Tauākī Kaupapa Māori N/A |
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Sustainability - Te Toitūtanga Fees and polices can be reviewed any time: |
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Financial considerations - Ngā Whakaarohanga Ahumoni One paid parking space can generate $66 per week or $3,432 per annum if it were occupied at full capacity. Hasting District Council currently have 102 exemptions, however some organisations may have multiple exemptions, but they might only use two at any one time. Some organisations may park in a time zoned space where payment is not required.
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Significance and Engagement - Te Hiranga me te Tūhonotanga This report has been assessed under the Council's Significance and Engagement Policy and does not trigger the threshold of Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy. |
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Consultation – internal and/or external - Whakawhiti Whakaaro-ā-roto / ā-waho N/A |
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Risks
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Rural Community Board – Te Poari Tuawhenua-ā-Hapori N/A |
