Articles

My Summary of the TCC Urban Design Strategy 2006

This is article #15 in my 16 part series summarising Tauranga City Council strategy documents.

Here is my summary of the Tauranga City Council Urban Design Strategy 2006 (88 pages. 11Mb .pdf).

“Urban design is concerned with the design of buildings, places, spaces and networks that make up towns and cities, and how people use them.”

An example would be placing adding trees in car parks provide shade, reduce the amount of heat reflected from the paved areas and give a more pleasant environment for people and birdlife.

“The Tauranga Post Office is a local example of many of the qualities which illustrate good design. Constructed for government purposes the building has been built to last and is highly visible, giving legibility to the centre of the city. The building has also been able to be adapted to changing uses. It is a piece of the Tauranga’s valued heritage that we as a community can learn from in development of our heritage of the future.” Continue reading “My Summary of the TCC Urban Design Strategy 2006”

My Summary of the TCC Open Space Strategy 2006

This is article #14 in my 16 part series summarising Tauranga City Council strategy documents.

Here is my summary of the Tauranga City Council Open Space Strategy 2006 (12 pages. 3.3Mb .pdf).

The key part of this strategy is the council’s minimum level of service of 3.45 hectares of reserve per thousand people, which is:

  • 1.7ha/1000 active
  • 1.7ha/1000 neighbourhood
  • and 0.05ha/1000 community building reserve

And this target of “95% of urban residences in comprehensive development areas and residential intensification areas are required to be within 400 metres of open space and neighbourhood playgrounds.”

There are 5 key themes in this strategy: Continue reading “My Summary of the TCC Open Space Strategy 2006”

My Summary of the TCC Elders Strategy 2008

This is article #13 in my 16 part series summarising Tauranga City Council strategy documents.

Here is my summary of the Tauranga City Council Elders Strategy 2008 (12 pages. 3.3Mb .pdf).

Another short document. Just 13 pages.

The goals:

  1. Elders participate in decisions that affect them and contribute to the community
  2. Elders actively participate in recreation and leisure activities
  3. There is affordable and appropriate housing for elders
  4. There are accessible transport options for elders
  5. Support is provided to enable elders to access the Council servies they may require
  6. People of all ages have positive attitudes to ageing and elders

Did you know that 28% of us are 55+? That’s 34,000 adults. (23% in NZ). Continue reading “My Summary of the TCC Elders Strategy 2008”

My Summary of the TCC Historic Village Strategy 2012 – 2022

This is article #12 in my 16 part series summarising Tauranga City Council strategy documents.

Here is my summary of the Tauranga City Council Historic Village Strategy 2012 – 2022 (28 pages. 158Kb .pdf).

Here are 4 key dates:

  • 1977: The Historic Village opens (as a working museum).
  • 2005: Tauranga City Council took over ownership (under the Community Property Services Portfolio)
  • 2008: Major infrastructure upgrades (flood protection, electrical, cabling, internal drainage, asset management program)
  • 2011: Formation of the Project Steering Group. Made up of 3 Councillors and 6 representatives from the village

Key challenges were identified: Continue reading “My Summary of the TCC Historic Village Strategy 2012 – 2022”

My Summary of the TCC Corporate Sustainability Strategy 2011-2016

This is article #11 in my 16 part series summarising Tauranga City Council strategy documents.

Here is my summary of the Tauranga City Council Corporate Sustainability Strategy 2011-2016 (44 pages. 1.23Mb .pdf).

This is an internal, corporate strategy document detailing how the council staff (500+ people) can do better with sustainability and lead by example between 2011 and 2016.

The term of this strategy has now expired, but it still had some interesting ideas.

The ideas include:

  • Energy efficient IT equipment, and buildings, and reducing water usage, and considering solar hot water systems
  • Reducing paper usage and developing online/digital services
  • Re-using materials like mulch and roading material
  • Reducing waste to landfill

I did find some of the measures and actions a bit odd: Continue reading “My Summary of the TCC Corporate Sustainability Strategy 2011-2016”

My Summary of the TCC Our Community Places Strategy 2008 – 2013

This is article #10 in my 16 part series summarising Tauranga City Council strategy documents.

Here is my summary of the Tauranga City Council Our Community Places Strategy 2008 – 2013 + Geographic Area Plan 2008 (30 pages. 673Kb .pdf).

This strategy document is about libraries, community centres and community halls.

You may have noticed that the timeline for this strategy is now well in the past.

These facilities are now managed by BayVenues which is a Council Owned Organisation set-up on 1 July 2013.

One point of interest is that this document plans for the building of 3 new community centres: Continue reading “My Summary of the TCC Our Community Places Strategy 2008 – 2013”

My Summary of the TCC Sport and Active Living Strategy 2012

This is article #9 in my 16 part series summarising Tauranga City Council strategy documents.

Here is my summary of the Tauranga City Council Sport and Active Living Strategy 2012 (30 pages. 673Kb .pdf).

Just the following 6 items caught my eye in this document: Continue reading “My Summary of the TCC Sport and Active Living Strategy 2012”

My Summary of the TCC Disability Strategy 2013

This is article #8 in my 16 part series summarising Tauranga City Council strategy documents.

Here is my summary of the Tauranga City Council Disability Strategy 2013 (18 pages. 94Kb .pdf).

Did you know that it is estimated that 1 in 5 New Zealanders live with a long term impairment?

That’s about 22,000 people in Tauranga.

Add to that those of us who experience a temporary disability from injury or illness, and you realise that we are dealing with a significant proportion of the population.

What can we do to help people living with impairments to reach their potential and participate fully in the community?

How can we reduce the barriers they face?

This very short strategy document (18 pages), sets 4 goals and a list of actions for each goal. Continue reading “My Summary of the TCC Disability Strategy 2013”

My Summary of the TCC Digital Platform Strategy 2016

This is article #7 in my 16 part series summarising Tauranga City Council strategy documents.

Here is my summary of the Tauranga City Council Digital Platform Strategy 2016 (53 pages. 2.28Mb .pdf).

Improving service, creating transparency, enhancing trust and confidence, cost reduction, efficiency improvement, connecting to customers via smart phones, apps, and social media, from any place, at any time. These are the advantages that digital technologies are offering council.

For me, the core of this document comes down to the following 2 diagrams.

The first, (in section 1.6, shown below), identifies 13 action areas. Continue reading “My Summary of the TCC Digital Platform Strategy 2016”

My Summary of the TCC Aquatics Network Strategy 2012 – 2022

This is article #6 in my 16 part series summarising Tauranga City Council strategy documents.

Here is my summary of the Tauranga City Council Aquatics Network Strategy 2012 – 2022 (30 pages 0.53Mb .pdf).

We are fortunate to have so much coastline and glorious beaches, but this doesn’t mean our swimming pools are any less dear to us.

Our rapidly growing population is causing us to reach the capacity of our swimming pool network faster, so we’ll need to:

  • invest in extensions to current facilities,
  • construct a new venue,
  • or reach agreements with schools for use of their pools to meet growing demand

According to this document, funding for our Aquatic Network is 70% userpays and 30% via rates.

For each of the pool complexes, concerns raised by the public were discussed. Continue reading “My Summary of the TCC Aquatics Network Strategy 2012 – 2022”