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Earthquake-prone buildings – first public meeting
Media release
4 February
2013
Earthquake-prone buildings – first public meeting on change proposals
The
first of seven regional public information meetings on the
Ministry’s proposals to improve the earthquake-prone
buildings policy system will be held in Wellington tomorrow
evening (5 February).
The meeting, from 7-9 pm at the Michael Fowler Centre, will be hosted by Wellington City Council. Minister of Building and Construction Hon Maurice Williamson and Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown will attend.
The meetings are an opportunity for the public to ask questions about the change proposals, set out in the Ministry’s consultation document Building Seismic Performance, available at the web address below. The proposals are for a consistent national approach to dealing with earthquake-prone buildings. In essence, they require:
• all non-residential and multi-unit, multi-storey residential buildings to have a seismic capacity assessment within five years of the changes taking effect, and this information to be made publicly available on a register
• all earthquake-prone buildings be strengthened, or demolished, within 15 years of the changes taking effect (up to five years for local authorities to complete seismic capacity assessments, followed by 10 years for owners to strengthen or demolish buildings), compared to an estimated 28 years (on average) under the current system
The consultation runs until 5pm on Friday 8 March. The Ministry encourages submitters to use the online response form at the web address above. Submissions on some or all of the questions are welcome. A 15-minute video explaining the proposed changes can also be viewed on the website http://www.dbh.govt.nz/earthquake-prone-buildings-consultation-video.
The regional public information meetings will comprise a short presentation on the proposals, followed by questions and answers. A full schedule is appended.
More information on the earthquake-prone buildings policy review and consultation is available at www.dbh.govt.nz.
URL: www.dbh.govt.nz/consultingon-epbp
ends
Appendix:
Schedule of Regional Public Information
Meetings
| Wellington regional meeting | 5-Feb | 7.00 - 9.00pm | Michael Fowler Centre | 111 Wakefield Street, Wellington |
| Auckland regional meeting | 12-Feb | 5.30 - 7.30pm | Auckland Council | Council Chambers, Ground Floor, 301 Queen Street, Auckland Central |
| Central North Island meeting | 14-Feb | 5.30 - 7.30pm | Convention Centre | 354 Main St, Palmerston North |
| Canterbury regional meeting | 19-Feb | 6.00 - 8.00pm | Templin Hall, Canterbury Horticultural Centre | Hagley Park, 57 Riccarton Avenue, Addington, Christchurch |
| Otago regional meeting | 21-Feb | 5.30 -7.30pm | Otago University Lecture Theatre Burns 1 | 364 Leith Walk, North Dunedin |
| Waikato regional meeting | 25-Feb | 5.30 -7.30pm | Hamilton City Council | The Reception Lounge, Ground Floor, Council Chamber Municipal Building, Garden Place, Hamilton |
| Hawkes Bay regional meeting | 26-Feb | 5.30 - 7.30pm | Napier City Council | Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, Napier City Council Civic Building, Napier |
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