September 2025: Chairperson's Report
- alexispoppelbaum
- Oct 5
- 10 min read
This report marks the end of the 2022-2025 election term. A new board will be established mid-October 2025 for the next three-year period.
L-R: Gregg and his wife Kelly singing a beautiful waiata at the end of our last business meeting; our last workshop with a number of our board's amazing staff in the photo too.
September board business meeting: Chair's report
The following is a copy of my Chair's report I write for our monthly business meetings (this one being from 23 September).
Purpose of the report
To receive the chairperson’s update on recent activities of the chairperson, itemised by outcomes in the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board Plan 2023.
Executive summary
Items noted in this report are intended to be key highlights, not a full overview of all activity.
Our People
The Hibiscus and Bays Local Board led Citizenship Ceremony on 19 August was a particularly special event this time. Not only did we welcome hundreds of new New Zealand citizens from 45 countries, but Deputy Chair Brown, Member Short and I got to celebrate our Parks and Community Facilities Manager becoming a citizen too.
Our Community
With members Walden and Parfitt, I attended the Mairangi Arts Centre ‘Artrageous Secondary Schools Art Competition’ on 6 September. It was a pleasure to say a few words and present awards to college students in our local board area and wider North Shore region.
On 17 September I met Maria Tyrrel who is the new Regional Manager at Harbour Volleyball. She updated me on a new stream of work they are progressing to develop grass volleyball. There will be a tournament at Mairangi Bay Park in November, and she is working closely with the stakeholders in the area to make it a community event. She has also been tasked with fundraising for lights at the beach volleyball centre in Mairangi Bay so they can extend the hours of play. She reinforced the huge and continued growth of volleyball in New Zealand (in particular in the Harbour region) and that numbers are being capped due to their not being enough venues for play. They hope the exploration into grass volleyball will go some way to alleviating the significant constraints there is for indoor court venues.
Our Environment
On 20 August I met residents on site at Waiwera North Beach Reserve with our Parks and Community Facilities Manager, Senior Urban Forest Specialist, and Senior Coastal Specialist. About 40 or 50 residents were present to discuss their concerns about how the coastal edge is intended to be managed following the removal of an illegal structure by members of the community. Staff are starting the work now to obtain resource consent to shift sand, order dune plants, more tree planting, and in the interim will be helping to cut in one or two more accessible points to the sand once the rubble is removed. Some residents discussed their concerns about the viability of some of the coastal edge trees, and the appropriateness of the softer edge at this part of Waiwera. I outlined that the Shoreline Adaptation Plan is able to be reviewed again in full or in small parts at the request of the local board and that we would keep a close eye on this dynamic coastal environment.
I have been contacted by Animal Rehoming Charitable Trust (based in Browns Bay) and several residents about the regular, alleged, poisoning of birds (mainly pigeons) in the Browns Bay Village Green. Residents have found it distressing to see a mass death of birds and they are concerned about native birds being impacted as well as dogs or possibly children. The Trust advises me that is it most likely someone using a toxin called alphachloralose, which other experts have suggested too, as it is the only available toxin on the market that anaesthetises birds (resulting in masses of birds either dying from hypothermia, or being able to be kept warm and revived if people find them in time). I have been finding out more information about the availability of this toxin and what the ramifications would be if it was made to be a controlled substance (i.e. requiring a licence to safely use). An Auckland Council staff member provided some useful information about avenues to report the misuse of this toxin which I will follow up with.
Our Places and Economy
On 4 September Deputy Chair Brown and I met with Inspector Tim Williams and Sergeant Chris Lindsay. We discussed a range of matters arising in the community including:
· Long Bay/Okura speeding, rubbish dumping, and criminal activity
· Browns Bay and Mairangi Bay town centre growing homelessness and associated criminal activity and alcohol harm.
Our Parks and Community Facilities Manager joined the beginning of the meeting to understand the Police’s concerns that there are no bollards at the beginning of Browns Bay Road to stop vehicles driving up on the southern end of the beach reserve. This is being dealt too. Following this meeting, the Browns Bay Business Association and Long Bay Residents Association are progressing applications to alter and/or make new liquor bans that will come to the local board for decision making (supported by evidence from Police and other stakeholders).
I was contacted by a resident of Vaughans Road, Okura, who has been following along the consultation process and updates about the proposed reopening of Vaughans Road/Te Oneroa Way. He had trouble believing the consultation numbers of those for/against the proposals that was presented to the local board at a workshop. This prompted him to undertake a Local Government Official Information Act request to Auckland Transport (AT) for all the responses. What he found was a significant discrepancy in the analysis provided to us which was grossly incorrect. I immediately asked AT to have a look into the findings and provide a response, for which they have said they have identified a ‘coding error’ in how the responses were analysed. This is a disappointing error that threatens the local board’s trust and acceptance of public consultation analysis that is provided to us. Thank you to the AT staff who have corrected this and recorded it in a memo for it to be publicly corrected (Attachment A).
Relating to the Vaughans Road project, I wrote to the Chief Executive of AT (Attachment B) and provided a letter of support to the project team (Attachment C) for their bid to receive additional funding from the AT Investment Committee in order to proceed with a full upgrade of Vaughans Road. We have been advised that the Investment Committee was not able to make financial decisions without consultation with Auckland Council during this time, so there will be further information in due course as to what committee or Governing Body meeting this request goes to.
The Policy and Planning Committee of the Governing Body have had a number of workshops regarding the Draft Replacement Plan Change for Proposed Plan Change 78 – Intensification which I have been following along with keen interest on behalf of the local board following our resolutions in August 2025. There will be public consultation starting 3 November which will likely run through to 19 December and will include an independent hearings panel.
Other
On behalf of the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board, I would like to thank all of our local board staff that have supported us over this three-year term. Your dedication, support and hard work to deliver our Local Board Plan outcomes and resolve issues for residents has been outstanding. I also extend our gratitude to all the Auckland Council staff members our board works closely with and who have delivered projects for us.
My personal thanks to the members of the local board this term. A special thank you to those members who have represented the local board as delegates to Business Associations/Business Improvement Districts and/or community organisations, our two Resource Consent feedback leads – member’s Mills and Parfitt, and those members who have led or supported the development of the local board’s feedback to local or regional government proposals
Attachments
September board business meeting key reports to note
Our September Business Meeting was held on 23 September 2025.
Approval of the Mairangi Bay Reserves Management Plan Variation 2025 (item 17)
On 25 March 2025, the local board approved inviting the public to provide feedback on proposed changes to the Mairangi Bay Reserves Management Plan. This second round of public notification occurred between 16 April - 18 May 2025. At the same date, the local board established a hearing panel and appointed an independent commissioner as the chairperson of the panel.
A total of 488 submissions were received, including three that were late. The hearing panel recommends accepting these late submissions, and this report seeks a local board decision to do so. Seventeen submitters presented in support of their written submissions at the hearing on 18 July 2025.
Since the hearing of submissions, staff have provided further advice and information to the hearings panel, including a traffic report (Attachment L) and an analysis of surf club footprint options (Attachment K).
In September 2025, the hearing panel prepared a report for the local board (Attachment A) making recommendations about changes to the variation. The Hearing Panel’s report makes the following recommendations:
· that the larger footprint area of the relocated Mairangi Bay Surf Life Saving Club building be determined subject to leasing agreement with council, final design, as well as other necessary approvals, including resource consent
· echelon car parking along the proposed rear laneway should be maximised
· if practicable, the Montrose Terrace stopping and turning head works should be completed prior to or alongside the Mairangi Bay Surf Lifesaving Club building construction/operation to reduce traffic safety risks for users crossing the un-stopped road.
Following receipt of the hearing report, staff are proposing further minor changes to the variation:
· the concept plan now seeks to clarify that the surf club footprint is not specified to help avoid confusion during the implementation of the management plan
· updates have been made to the leasing objectives and policies relating to the proposed rebuilt surf club.
The final Mairangi Bay Reserves Management Plan Variation 2025 recommended for adoption (Attachment B) includes the following key moves:
· relocation of the Mairangi Bay Surf Lifesaving Club building to the northern end of the reserve, with the integration of the club’s storage facilities into the new building design
· landward realignment of the reserve edge with a new backstop seawall
· relocation and reduction of car parking within the reserve.
Corresponding policy amendments (Attachment B) include:
· strengthening the focus on mana whenua values in design and amenity standards
· enabling a larger, integrated surf club footprint
· promoting environmental sustainability through native planting, habitat restoration, and sustainable practices.
Resolutions:
That the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board:
a) whiwhi / receive the Hearing Panel report and recommendations (Attachment A to the agenda report) and accept the three late submissions received during the second round of submissions
b) whakaae / approve the final Mairangi Bay Reserves Management Plan Variation 2025 (Attachment B to the agenda report) with the following amendment to be made:
i) point 6.3.5 be rewritten as: this plan contemplates an increased lease area for the Mairangi Bay Surf Lifesaving Club for new clubrooms that include a kiosk, public toilets/changing facilities (provided and maintained by Auckland Council) and with integrated boat storage on a new larger site located to the north of the reserve, as indicated on the concept plan on page 28. The indicative ground lease area of 600m2 (not including curtilage) will be subject to final detailed design, including building footprint dimensions, and consideration by the local board
ii) page 18 should be updated to reference that the Mairangi Bay Surf Lifesaving Club has been in existence for over 70 years, not 60
c) tuhi tīpoka / note the hearing report (Attachment A to the agenda report) comments on an increased size of the Mairangi Bay Surf Lifesaving Club, particularly points 51 and 55
d) tuhi tīpoka / note the staff advice and information attached to the Hearing Panel report has been taken into account
e) tāpae / delegate to the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board Chairperson the authority to approve any minor amendments to the Mairangi Bay Reserves Management Plan Variation 2025 prior to publication.
Whangaparāoa Road Manly crossing and new Local Board Transport Capital Fund Projects 2025/2026 (item 15)
Following cancellation of the Vaughans Road Safety Improvements project, and cost savings on Whangaparāoa Road Manly crossing project, the local board has $860,616.40 in its 2025/2026 Local Board Transport Capital Fund that it can reallocate.
Resolutions:
That the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board:
a) tuhi tīpoka / note that the Vaughans Road safety improvements project is now on hold and the local board’s contribution towards the project is cancelled under the Local Board Transport Capital Fund programme (on request from Auckland Transport due to new information coming to light on the poor pavement quality, requiring significantly more Auckland Transport investment to undertake a full upgrade of the road), with the remaining budget of $680,616.40 to be reallocated to new projects
b) whakaae / approve the relocation of the Whangaparāoa Road, Manly crossing to west of Walbrook Road, noting a cost saving of $180,000
c) whakaae / approve $250,000 towards the upgrade of 32 Matipo Road, Mairangi Bay crossing from a kea crossing to a zebra crossing
d) whakaae / approve $180,000 towards the upgrade of 59 Deep Creek Road, Waiake zebra crossing to include a pedestrian refuge
e) whakaae / approve $250,616.40 towards the construction of a zebra crossing at 227 East Coast Road, Campbells Bay and request that the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board are notified following this meeting and asked to provide any feedback
f) whakaae / approve $120,000 towards speed calming measures at Piripiri Point Drive, Okura
g) whakaae / approve $60,000 towards construction of a bus shelter at 2 Spur Road, Stillwater
h) whakaae / approve any cost savings from the above Local Board Transport Capital Fund projects be applied to the following contingency projects:
i) additional bus shelter opposite 2 Spur Road, Silverdale - $60,000
ii) bus shelter at 991 East Coast Road, Redvale - $60,000
iii) Streamview Way, Okura parking bays - $160,000
i) tuhi tīpoka / note that the following projects, following discussions at the 9 September 2025 workshop are deemed to be of high importance for the 2025-2028 Hibiscus and Bays Local Board to consider supporting via their next Local Board Transport Capital Fund:
i) The Esplanade, Campbells Bay footpath
ii) Streamview Way parking bays
iii) crossing at 672 Beach Road, Browns Bay: note that there have been at least two community requests this year for a crossing point on Beach Road, Browns Bay (at Philson Terrace) to enable families to connect to Browns Bay School and Browns Bay Preschool from within the zoning catchment and also note the significant injury of a Browns Bay School student earlier this year on that road. The estimated cost of this project was more than what the local board had available in its Local Board Transport Capital Fund but we recognise the high demand for this crossing point and community safety concerns.
j) ohia / endorse The Esplanade, Campbells Bay footpath project for delivery through Auckland Transport’s Walking Programme or Footpath Programme.
Parks and Community Facilities August work
Check out some of the great work done across our local board area in August. Click through the images or see the full report below.
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