Catherine Stewart Tauranga City Councillor

Councillors made several changes to the Draft Vegetation and Tree Management Policy this week before it went out for a three-week public consultation period.

Elected members added Right to Appeal.

This is: 'Any person or entity has the right to appeal any decision made under clause 5.6.2 directly to the elected council, either by formal resolution at a council meeting or by informal council direction to the chief executive.”

With policy enhancements this should reduce the amount of tree issues that come before council.

A key addition to objectives is: 'to strike a balance between the public benefit and amenity of high quality vegetation and the potential negative impact on the individual”.

Notable trees on private property are covered under the City Plan. Council will look at its prioritisation list with regard to City Plan variations in the next couple of months.

Six submitters took the opportunity to present their submissions to the Draft Tangata Whenua Land Proposal Policy.

Many submitters didn't see the need for a policy and wanted any land that was planned for sale to go to public auction.