AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL

MEDIA RELEASE

18 May 2007

Panel makes recommendations on proposed signs and billboards bylaws

An Auckland City Council hearings panel today made a number of recommendations to the full council on future signs and billboards bylaws.

Following nearly seven hours of deliberation, the panel recommends that all existing lawfully established billboards and most existing lawfully established signs be allowed to remain.

It also recommends that the council work with the billboards industry to remove or modify any existing billboards on heritage buildings and in character areas.

The review of the council’s signs and billboards bylaws was undertaken as part of its obligations under the Local Government Act 2002.

Joint chairperson of the signs and billboards hearing panel, Councillor Richard Northey, says panel members carefully considered the issues involved before reaching a decision.

“We believe our recommendations carefully balance the needs of the signs and billboards industry, the advertising sector and building owners with the needs of the city as a whole.

“We gave thought to economic, planning and environmental needs in coming to our decision. At times it was a delicate balancing act, but we believe this approach should provide a good framework for the future use of signs and billboards in our city,” says Mr Northey.

Mr Northey’s fellow chairperson, Councillor Glenda Fryer, says the hundreds of submissions received were invaluable in helping the panel reach its decision.

“Many of the submissions were very comprehensive and well thought through. They contained valuable ideas and information, which we have been able to incorporate in our recommendations.

“I’d like to thank those who took the time to participate in this process,” says Ms Fryer.

The panel’s recommendations to the council on the billboards bylaw include:

• all lawfully established billboards currently in existence can remain
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• that the council works with the billboard and advertising industry over the next five years to remove or modify a number of billboards including those on heritage buildings and those in character areas
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• no new free-standing billboards allowed in the central area
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• only one billboard allowed per building and no new billboards on street frontage walls
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• registration is required for all billboards 12m2 or larger.
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It is also recommended that the council continue with a dispensation system for billboards in areas where they are not allowed as of right.

The panel’s recommendations to the council on the signs bylaw include:

• most lawfully established signs currently in existence can remain, except for below verandah signs on facades with street frontages and sandwich boards in the central area and character areas
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• new verandah fascia signs can be 600mm in all areas except character areas and the Hauraki Gulf Islands, where they should be 400mm
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• street numbers are required on all verandah fascia signs and building frontages
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• dispensations are required for all new signs located on the roof of a verandah
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• as a general rule, signs should not cover more than 50 per cent of the façade of a shop front
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• new controls for all new wall-mounted tavern type signs in most retail areas.
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The panel also recommends that the council writes to the Minister of Local Government requesting legislation which would enable it to issue infringement notices for beaches of the signs bylaw.

The hearing was adjourned and will reconvene on 30 May to consider the actual wording of the proposed new bylaws.

The panel’s recommendations will then be forwarded to the full council, which will vote on whether to adopt them at a meeting on 14 June.

Ends

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