Frequently Asked Questions

Takutai Kāpiti is our district’s coastal adaptation project. This project will help guide our community response, to the impacts of climate change including weather patterns and sea level rise on our environment and our people.

Takutai Kāpiti will establish a Coastal Advisory Panel(CAP) to deliver recommendations on coastal adaptation options for Council’s consideration. These recommendations, including any potential cost associated with those options, should help guide the development of District Plan provisions to manage coastal issues and an approach to help the district deal with coastal hazards in the future.

Like many coastal communities around Aotearoa, we are vulnerable to a wide range of environmental challenges. This includes coastal hazards resulting from climate change and sea level rise.

In Kāpiti, we have faced some of these hazards in the past. While there is still much uncertainty about these challenges, and how quickly they will happen, what we do know is that there is a growing need for our community to start planning for our future. Communities that work together to plan for change are more resilient.

May 2019, we declared a climate emergency on the Kāpiti Coast. We also made a commitment to our community, in the face of an iceberg of significant costs now, and increasingly over the coming decades from coastal erosion and floods, that we would progress our work on coastal challenges.

Predicting what will happen is not easy and we know people will have mixed views about how, when and what actions might be needed. However, putting climate change in the too hard basket is not an option. It is vital that communities are part of the decision making process and the development of solutions for adapting to it.

A Coastal Advisory Panel (CAP), consisting of iwi partners, community and other key stakeholder/ agency representatives, will be established to provide the formal mechanism through which wider community input, indigenous knowledge and technical expertise will be used to develop the medium to long-term coastal adaption options for Council’s consideration.

Earlier this year, former NZ Prime Minister and Waikanae resident, Rt Hon James Bolger ONZ PC, was appointed as Chair of the CAP.

Applications for the CAP members closed in May 2021 and we are currently working through a process to finalise the CAP’s membership. Once established the CAP will meet regularly over the next 12 months to consider the long-term impacts of coastal erosion and inundation

and the risks they represent consider legislative requirements, review a range of adaptation options, and assess these against environmental, cultural, social, and economic impacts

Yes, tangata whenua are involved in the Takutai Kāpiti project. We are committed to iwi partnership, to ensure the collective environmental vision, values and position inherited and held by the iwi of Kāpiti are woven through the project. We will continue to work with mandated representatives as we shape the process going forward.

More information on tangata whenua can be found here.

Although there are multiple ways that the community can be involved in the Takutai Kāpiti project, the main conduit for community involvement will be through the Coastal Advisory Panel.

The Coastal Advisory Panel will meet regularly over a 12-month period to consider the coastal hazards and risks they represent, review a range of adaptation options, and assess environmental, cultural, social and economic impacts.

At the end of the process, the Coastal Advisory Panel will recommend coastal adaptation options for Council’s consideration. The recommendations should help guide development of District Plan provisions to manage coastal issues and an approach for the district dealing with coastal hazards, and medium to long-term coastal adaption options for Council’s consideration.

The wider community will be able to feed into the process in less formal ways; this will include utilising the dedicated Takutai Kāpiti website, surveys, and public open days.

No, Council has undertaken work to access the impacts of future coastal erosion and inundation hazards on our coastline but it has not engaged adaptive planning with community input.

Numerous coastal adaptation projects have occurred internationally and nationally. Two examples include the Hawke’s Bay Clifton to Tongoio Coastal Hazard Strategy 2120, and the Makara Beach project in Wellington. Coastal adaptation projects are currently underway in other parts of the country (e.g. Thames Coromandel District, Tasman District, Hurunui District and Christchurch City).

We will draw on these projects and look at other emerging best practice to refine our approach for Kāpiti. More information about these projects is available on our Takutai Kapiti website.

At the end of the Takutai Kāpiti project, we’ll have a sustainable and flexible 100-year coastal adaptation strategy for the Kāpiti Coast District that is support by sound technical expertise, and reflects the values and aspirations of tangata whenua and our community.

Mitigation and adaptation are the two approaches for addressing climate change issues. We need both however, Takutai Kāpiti focuses on building resilience and adapting to change along our coast.

Climate change mitigation means avoiding and reducing emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to prevent the planet from warming to more extreme temperatures.

Climate change adaptation means altering our behavior, systems, and—in some cases— ways of life to protect our families, our economies, and the environment in which we live from the impacts of climate change. The more we reduce emissions right now, the easier it will be to adapt to the changes we can no longer avoid. The aim is to build resilience so the impact is less.

Mitigation actions will take decades to affect rising temperatures, so we must adapt now to the change that is already upon us—and will continue to affect us in the foreseeable future.

A key part of the Coastal Advisory Panel (CAP) process is to consider a range of adaptation options (informed by technical expertise, cultural, social and economic impact assessments). Cost modelling will be undertaken as part of this stage of the process.

While we don’t know how significant these changes will be and how quickly they will happen, we do know that communities which plan for change, and work together, are more resilient in the face of that change.

It is important that we are dealing with the social and environmental challenges facing us, including climate change impacts.

Adapting to climate change along with ongoing development pressures on our coast will be an ongoing challenge into the future.

People within our coastal communities will need to:

• become more aware of climate change effects;
• consider how they become more resilient to the potential impacts of climate change.

Climate change and impacts from sea level rise will vary along the coastline and decision-makers face unavoidable uncertainty.

It is not possible, practical or sensible to wait until uncertainties are reduced before starting to consider what options might be preferred by the community.

On 10 December 2020, Kāpiti Coast District Council endorsed the recommendations on the preferred process for the establishment of a Coastal Advisory Panel (CAP) for the Takutai Kāpiti: Our coastal adaptation project. These recommendations included the process for CAP appointment.

The recruitment consultancy JacksonStone & Partners was engaged to appoint the CAP Chair and community members. The recruitment process is set out below.

CAP Chair recruitment:

Advertising and shortlisting: March 2021

Appointment: April 2021

The interview panel for the CAP Chair consisted of two elected Council members (the Mayor and Deputy Mayor) and a member of the Council’s Senior Leadership Team.

The Job Description for the Position can be found here.

The former NZ Prime Minister and Waikanae resident, Rt Hon James Bolger ONZ PC, was appointed as Chair of the CAP. A press release on his appointment can be found here.

CAP community member recruitment:

Advertising: April 2021

Shortlisting and appointment: May 2021

The interview panel for the CAP members consisted of two elected Council members (the Mayor and Deputy Mayor), the CAP Chair and a member of the Council’s Senior Leadership Team.

The Job Description for the Position can be found here.

CAP iwi representative recruitment:

In line with feedback from Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti (TWoK), the 10 December 2020 recommendations included:

• The CAP membership will comprise of 6 iwi representatives from Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngā Hapū o Ōtaki and Te Atiawa ki Whakarongotai.
• The recognised iwi authorities will provide recommendations for the CAP iwi representative appointments.

An update on iwi representative appointment will be provided in due course.

There are statutory and legislative requirements for Councils to manage the risks from coastal hazards and the effects of climate change.

An important document is the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement 2010 (Objective 5 and Policies 24-27) which directs councils to identify areas that may potentially be affected by coastal hazards over a timeframe of at least 100 years and to assess a range of options for reducing coastal hazard risk.

Under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) the Council must prepare its district plan in accordance with, and must give effect to the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement¹.

Under s.6 (h) of the RMA, the management of natural hazards is considered a matter of national importance.

While we don’t know how significant the impact of a changing climate and sea level rise will be, or how quickly these changes will happen in Kāpiti, we do know that communities that plan for change, and work together, are more resilient in the face of that change.

It is important that we are dealing with the social and environmental challenges facing us, including climate change impacts. Adapting to climate change along with ongoing development pressures on our coasts will be an ongoing challenge into the future.

People within our coastal communities will need to:

• become more aware of climate change effects
• consider how they become more resilient to the potential impacts of climate change.

Climate change and impacts from sea level rise will vary along the coastline and decision- makers face unavoidable uncertainty. It is not possible, practical or sensible to wait until uncertainties are reduced before we start to consider what options might be preferred by the community. That’s why we are starting this conversation now.

As a result of community and submitter concerns surrounding a number of the Proposed District Plan (PDP) provisions relating to coastal hazard provisions, Council commissioned two independent reviews of the PDP in November 2013. An independent Coastal Hazard review panel was also established.

On 24 June 2014 the Council received the two reports entitled ‘Coastal Erosion Hazard Assessment for the Kāpiti Coast: Review of the Science & Assessment Undertaken for the Proposed Kāpiti Coast District Plan’ and ‘Independent Review of the Kāpiti Coast Proposed District Plan’. The key findings of the Independent Coastal Hazard review panel was:

“The opinion of the Panel based on its review is that the existing recommended hazard lines are not sufficiently robust for incorporation into the Proposed District Plan. However, there are components of the analyses undertaken by Lumsden and Coastal Systems Limited, which if updated and combined could potentially yield scientifically–sound, best practice hazard lines for the Kāpiti Coast.”

The report then presented a series of further technical recommendations to improve the scientific evidence to quantify the coastal hazard risks posed to the Kāpiti coastline.

Sylvia Allan, in the ‘Independent Review of the Kāpiti Coast Proposed District Plan’, recommended the formal withdrawal of the coastal hazard provisions of the PDP.

The Council is currently in a transition period, moving from the Operative District Plan (ODP) to the new, Proposed District Plan (PDP). While most rules/restrictions for the district now come from the PDP, all of the rules, which manage coastal hazards, are still taken from the ODP. These existing coastal hazard provisions will continue to apply until replaced by a future change to the district plan.

Links to the coastal hazard provisions, which will continue to apply until, replaced via future RMA Schedule 1 process can be found

here: https://www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/media/34521/part-c-current-operative-district-plan- objectives-policies-methods-outcomes-271657-_.pdf

In June 2020 Council undertook a procurement process for a coastal science and engineering provider.

The single-stage procurement process followed best practice Ministry for Business and Innovation guidance/ Council Procurement Policy and was facilitated by a procurement specialist.

The selection was through the open tender process utilising the Government Electronic Tender Service (“GETS”) platform.

6 proposals were evaluated and shortlisted by members of the Co-Design Working Group who formed a supplier selection panel. These members represented Kāpiti Coast District Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council, and North Ōtaki Beach Resident Group.

In October 2020 the contract was awarded to Jacobs.

The RfP can be found here: 2020 C340 Science and Coastal Engineering Services -RfP Request for Proposal Form

Council build and maintain multiple seawalls (or hard protective structures) along the Kāpiti Coast for the purpose of protecting council infrastructure and areas of importance. A large- scale example is the Paekākāriki seawall (which we plan to renew following the outcome of our Long-term Plan discussions). It is not Council policy to build seawalls for the purposes of protecting private property.

No, the Paekākāriki Seawall project is signalled as a major project in our 2021-41 Long-term Plan (we’ve just consulted on options for replacing it) and is aimed at protecting council roading infrastructure for up to the next 30 years.

FAQs about the coastal hazards report, February 2022 [PDF, 264 KB]

In June 2020 Council undertook a procurement process for a coastal science and engineering provider.

The single-stage procurement process followed best practice Ministry for Business and Innovation guidance/ Council Procurement Policy and was facilitated by a procurement specialist.

The selection was through the open tender process utilising the Government Electronic Tender Service (“GETS”) platform.

6 proposals were evaluated and shortlisted by members of the Co-Design Working Group who formed a supplier selection panel. These members represented Kāpiti Coast District Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council, and North Ōtaki Beach Resident Group.

In October 2020 the contract was awarded to Jacobs.

The RfP can be found here: 2020 C340 Science and Coastal Engineering Services -RfP Request for Proposal Form

This report has been developed to provide background technical information on the methods of how the areas susceptible to present and future coastal hazard are being calculated in the Kapiti Coast District. This is required for Takutai Kāpiti, Our coastal adaptation process for managing coastal change in our district.

The coastal hazard susceptibility and vulnerability assessment is being reported in two volumes. Volume 1 covers the methodology used, and volume 2 will present the results. Volume 1 is the more technical document that outlines the data and scientific methods used to assess current and future erosion and inundation hazards within the district.

The information will be used to inform discussions with the community about the extent of coastal erosion and inundation that the district may face in the future with sea level rise. It is likely to then be used to support the development of new District Plan provisions around coastal hazards.

Yes – the methodology report has been through an external peer review process, the findings of which are attached to the report.

Yes – the various methodologies have been used recently in coastal hazard assessments around New Zealand for Councils in both Te Ika a Maui and Te Wai Pounamu, the North and South Islands. The peer review process has confirmed that the methodologies applied are consistent with techniques used to define coastal hazards for similar coastal environs in New Zealand and with the guidelines outlined in the Ministry for the Environment 2017: Coastal Hazards and Climate Change – Guidance for Local Government.

My colleague Dr Dawe at Greater Wellington Regional Council has provided the following response to your query regarding dune accretion along the Peka Peka coastline.

Historically the coast has been accreting, but in the last few decades this trend has slowed and since the mid-1990s has been relatively stable, neither accreting or eroding, but rather in a state of dynamic equilibrium. What this means is that from time to time, storm events will cause erosion to the beach and the dunes will be cut and in the ensuing months it will repair itself back to the pre-storm state. Recent years have seen increasing periods of storm cut, with the beach taking longer to regain its non-eroded state.

This is to be expected under a rising sea level which allows waves to reach higher up the beach and cause more intense storm damage. Over time the beach will want to move landward as it adjusts to this changing water level regime. So whilst the beach has accreted historically, there are signs that this has slowed to a dynamic equilibrium and may reverse to an eroding phase due to the effects of sea level rise.

GWRC have an interactive online sea level rise mapping tool that shows areas susceptible to impacts from sea level rise under different scenarios. This same tool also presents storm surge modelling that highlights areas vulnerable to current and future flooding from coastal storm events: https://mapping1.gw.govt.nz/GW/SLR/.

• Released November 06 2019

Kāpiti Coast District Council supports dune restoration by collaborating with Greater Wellington Regional Council in a programme of environmental weed control and strategic planting of native dune species. The programme covers the dune reserve between Te Kowhai Stream north of Peka Peka and Pharazyn Reserve to the south. Its purpose is to protect and enhance the sand dune ecosystem. As part of the programme, specialised contractors are engaged each year to control invasive exotic weeds such as marram grass and boxthorn. During this year’s winter planting season, the native sand binding plant spinifex was planted along the front of the foredune to bolster natural recovery from erosion caused by storms during the last three years.

In addition to supporting this programme, Kāpiti Coast District Council supports the Peka Peka Dune Restoration Group, based in Marram Way. If you are interested in helping this group, please contact Brenda Smith at smith.barrett@xtra.co.nz

• Released November 28 2019

My colleague Dr Dawe at Greater Wellington Regional Council has provided the following response to your query regarding dune accretion along the Peka Peka coastline.

Historically the coast has been accreting, but in the last few decades this trend has slowed and since the mid-1990s has been relatively stable, neither accreting or eroding, but rather in a state of dynamic equilibrium. What this means is that from time to time, storm events will cause erosion to the beach and the dunes will be cut and in the ensuing months it will repair itself back to the pre-storm state. Recent years have seen increasing periods of storm cut, with the beach taking longer to regain its non-eroded state.

This is to be expected under a rising sea level which allows waves to reach higher up the beach and cause more intense storm damage. Over time the beach will want to move landward as it adjusts to this changing water level regime. So whilst the beach has accreted historically, there are signs that this has slowed to a dynamic equilibrium and may reverse to an eroding phase due to the effects of sea level rise.

GWRC have an interactive online sea level rise mapping tool that shows areas susceptible to impacts from sea level rise under different scenarios. This same tool also presents storm surge modelling that highlights areas vulnerable to current and future flooding from coastal storm events: https://mapping1.gw.govt.nz/GW/SLR/.

• Released November 06 2019

Kāpiti Coast District Council supports dune restoration by collaborating with Greater Wellington Regional Council in a programme of environmental weed control and strategic planting of native dune species. The programme covers the dune reserve between Te Kowhai Stream north of Peka Peka and Pharazyn Reserve to the south. Its purpose is to protect and enhance the sand dune ecosystem. As part of the programme, specialised contractors are engaged each year to control invasive exotic weeds such as marram grass and boxthorn. During this year’s winter planting season, the native sand binding plant spinifex was planted along the front of the foredune to bolster natural recovery from erosion caused by storms during the last three years.

In addition to supporting this programme, Kāpiti Coast District Council supports the Peka Peka Dune Restoration Group, based in Marram Way. If you are interested in helping this group, please contact Brenda Smith at smith.barrett@xtra.co.nz

• Released November 28 2019

“What is the GIS data of sea-level rise scenarios (0.5-3m) used by the council and GIS data or any other format used by the council to analyse the impact of sea-level rise on local infrastructure (three waters, buildings/facilities, transport, landfills, green spaces, as defined by the Vulnerable report)?”

The most up to date sea-level rise scenarios are held by Greater Wellington Regional Council. A Sea Level Rise Tool has been developed by Greater Wellington Regional Council. For reference, this can be found at https://mapping1.gw.govt.nz/GW/SLR/

With regard to the report: Greater Wellington Regional Council – Preparing Coastal Communities for Climate Change: Wellington Regional Coastal Vulnerability Assessment 2019, LGNZ provided baseline GIS parameters and in turn Kāpiti Coast District Council provided LGNZ with information on the assets within those parameters. This report is also available on our resources page.

• Released 30 January 2020

“Can you please tell me your best estimate of the rate of current sea level rise on the coast, and projected rate of future sea level rise on the coast. I have read that you rely on the current rates indicated at Wellington harbour for the best estimate of current sea level rise rate, but also the mean sea level rise over the past century for the earth (1.7mm/yr). Additionally, that you rely on the guidance of MFE for future projections?”

Kāpiti Coast District Council (KCDC) relies on NIWA’s calculations of the current rate of relative sea level rise for the Wellington region for local planning purposes. NIWA have calculated this as 2.23 mm/yr, compared to the general global rate of 1.8 mm/yr. (Please refer to NIWA: Update on relative sea-level rise and vertical land motion: Wellington region). The relative regional rate is measured from local tide gauges dating back to 1891 and takes into account both global eustatic[1] sea level rise and local vertical land changes as a result of local plate tectonics.

KCDC also relies on Ministry for the Environment’s Coastal Hazards and Climate Change – Guidance for Local Government to guide future projections for coastal areas in New Zealand. This document takes into account local rates of sea level rise measured from around New Zealand.

• Released 5 March 2020

[1] Absolute (or eustatic) rise in ocean levels measured relative to the centre of the Earth, and usually expressed as a global mean (which is used in most sea-level projections). MfE (2017). ‘Coastal Hazards and Climate Change – Guidance for Local Government’ pp 77.

“looking through your summary of the information base, you note that the coast is eroding in the south of the Kāpiti region but is accreting in the north. What is the evidence for the latter as my memory from Ōtaki about 10 years ago was that the dunes just south of the waitohu stream were eroding?”

Short term and long term erosion:

There are two types of erosion that beaches and dunes can experience – short term and long term. All beaches experience short term erosion associated with storm events that cause a loss of sand from the beach and leaves features like scarps and cuts to dunes. At a place like Waitohu Beach, where a stream comes out, there are additional effects from the stream cutting the beach and dunes during flood events. These events are dramatic and happen quickly – in a matter of hours or days.

Long term accretion:

A beach that is stable or accreting in long term, will recover from short term erosion (storm events) and over time the events average out and the shoreline continues to grow. This happens gradually and incrementally over a period of months to years. This is what happens in beaches along the northern part of the district. On average, there is more sand being accumulated on the beach than is being lost and the shoreline builds out or remains stable.

Accretion and erosion are not fixed processes and can change over time:

Beaches that are currently stable or accreting (on average) may change into a phase of net long term erosion, as sea level rises and adds pressure on the beach to respond to storm events. Beaches that are currently in a phase of long term erosion will experience an enhanced rate of retreat.

In the case of a beach experiencing long term erosion you still get these short term erosion events, but in addition there is a long term pattern of retreat with more sand being lost from the beach than is being added ie, the beach has a sand deficit and is unable to fully recover in-between the storm events and it ends up in net long term erosion.

Waitohu stream area:

While shorter term effects on the beach from storm and flood events mean that erosion is very much part of the conversation in that area, the long term trend is that the coastline has been building out or accreting. Bear in mind that the processes in this area may change and the recent past is not necessarily a guide to what will happen in the future.

• Released by email 31 March 2020.

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“I am a year 9 at Kāpiti College. I am doing a project at school on the erosion and I was wondering if you had any information or any photos that I can have a look at. The main purpose of my project is to understand how erosion is, has, and will affect the people on the Kāpiti Coast. If you had any photos or maps that would be great to have a look at, or any information about how its affected people. Such as coastal erosion zone maps, restrictions and impacts. Any historical photos that show the difference would also be awesome.”

For ease of reading, the request has been split into four sections to be answered.

1. Erosion;
2. How erosion is, has, and will affect the people on the Kāpiti Coast;
3. Coastal erosion zone maps, restrictions and impacts;
4. Any photos or maps, including Historical photos of the coast line.

A lot of the information referred to can be found through publicly available council websites, so the links for these are provided rather than attaching documents to this response.

Erosion

Firstly, for the purpose of clarity an outline of the processes of erosion and accretion have been added below.

• Short term and long term erosion

There are two types of erosion that beaches and dunes can experience – short term and long term. All beaches experience short term erosion associated with storm events that cause a loss of sand from the beach and leaves features like scarps and cuts in dunes. At places where a stream comes out, there are additional effects from the stream cutting the beach and dunes during flood events. These events can be dramatic and happen quickly – in a matter of hours or days.

In the case of a beach experiencing long term erosion, you still get these short term erosion events, but in addition there is a long term pattern of retreat. This results in more sand being lost from the beach than is being added i.e., the beach has a sand deficit and is unable to fully recover in-between the storm events and it ends up in net long term erosion. This long term erosion phase is present at the southern end of the Kāpiti Coast (Paekākāriki, QEII Park and Raumati South).

• Long term accretion

A beach that is stable or accreting in long-term, will recover from short-term erosion (storm events) and over time the events average out and the shoreline continues to grow. This happens gradually and incrementally over a period of months to years. This is what happens in beaches along the northern part of the district. On average, there is more sand being accumulated on the beach than is being lost and the shoreline builds out or remains stable.

• Accretion and erosion are not fixed processes and can change over time

Beaches that are currently stable or accreting (on average) may change into a phase of net long term erosion, as sea level rises and adds pressure on the beach to respond to storm events. Beaches that are currently in a phase of long term erosion will experience an enhanced rate of retreat.

How erosion is, has, and will affect the people on the Kāpiti Coast.

Below are a few examples of storm events that have caused erosion on the Kāpiti Coast:

Short term erosion in 1976 caused significant damage to the Kāpiti Coast line and private property. It also damaged council assets such as carparks, storm water drains and other infrastructure. Council has a series of aerial photographs of the coastline at this time. The full series of photos can be shown to you once the council building reopens, however I have included some of these images for your reference, in this response.

The photo below was taken in 1976 as a series of images to assess the damage and is of 36-50 Marine Parade, Paraparaumu.

A storm in 2003 was another event that caused short term erosion along the coast line effecting private property and council assets. Council took another series of photos of the coast at this time.

This photo is of 45-55 Marine Parade, Paraparaumu and was taken in 2003:

A storm in 2016 caused erosion to the dunes and properties at the southern end of Marine parade. This erosion threatened a sewer main and required immediate mitigation work to protect this infrastructure and the people who live near to it. The link below is a council announcement about this work.

https://www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/whats-on/news/2016/temporary-protection-put-in-place-on-beach/

Below is a photograph of the Wharemauku sea wall taken in August 2019 after the mitigation work was completed:

Looking forward at the potential future effects of coastal erosion, it is likely that continued short and long term erosion will continue to impact people on Kāpiti Coast. As mentioned above, there is a current trend of long-term erosion at the southern end of the Kāpiti Coast. With climate change and sea-level rise added to the mix, it is likely that this trend of erosion will continue into the future.

Coastal erosion zone maps, restrictions and impacts?

The Council is currently in a transition period, moving from the Operative District Plan (ODP) to the new, Proposed District Plan (PDP). While most rules/restrictions for the district now come from the PDP, many of the rules around coastal development are still taken from the ODP.

Chapter 9 of the ODP has rules and standards that relate to the coastal environment. An example of one rule in the ODP that restricts some coastal properties in Paekākāriki and Raumati South is beach setback lines. These line restrict where a new house can be built on beach front properties (essentially requiring them to be built 20m back from the coastal property boundary). Links to the full district plans are below.

ODP part C.9: Coastal environment. https://www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/media/34521/part-c-current-operative-district-plan-objectives-policies-methods-outcomes-271657-_.pdf (Go to Page 92 to read rules and standards for the coastal environment).

ODP – Map version. You can look up where the setback lines are on this map (see example screen grab below).

https://publicgis.kcdc.govt.nz/LocalMaps/Viewer/?map=0557efd723004e1ab8b21571b5c36b45

PDP: You can also look at this through our E-Plan which offers both a Map view as well as the electronic version of the district plan.

E-Plan https://eplan.kapiticoast.govt.nz/eplan/

Any photos or maps, including Historical photos of the coast line?

We have plenty of information including photos related to coastal erosion in the Kāpiti district and are happy to share them with you. As many of these are large files or in some cases not electronic, once the COVID-19 lock down restrictions are lifted we can arrange for you to come into the Council offices to view these. We would also be happy to organise a site visit so that you can see the coastal erosion impact on properties and public infrastructure (roads, water/wastewater/stormwater assets, footpaths etc.) for yourself.

There are many useful resources you can access from home for example the council GIS mapping tool found though the link below, as well as the Takutai Kāpiti website which has a catalogue of reports relevant to coastal processes on the Kāpiti coast. Both the science page and the resources page have information that will help inform you on erosion.

• KCDC website GIS maps https://publicgis.kcdc.govt.nz/LocalMaps/Gallery/
• Takutai Kāpiti science catalogue https://takutaikapiti.nz/articles/the-science-timeline/

Takutai Kāpiti resources page https://takutaikapiti.nz/articles/resources/

 

• Released 8 April 2020

What are the current proposals compared with the original draft?

On 30 April 2020 Council considered its budget and Annual Plan for the 2020/21 financial year in light of Covid-19 and expected economic conditions. I can confirm, that no reduction to the Coastal budget was made as a result.

How were these figures derived?

The budget for the Community-led coastal adaptation project was established through the scoping and planning of this project. The budget was based on the anticipated costs of the following key aspects of the project:

• Establishment and operation of Community Assessment Panels
• Community Assessment Panel expenses of External resources: Technical advisors, panel facilitator(s)
• External assessments: Cultural values, social impact, economic impact assessments
• Comms and engagement with the wider community on the project

These costs may be impacted by recommendations made by the co-design working group, including the number of Community Assessment Panel(s) for the project.

What does this mean for the timeline for KCDC?

The timeline for the Community-led coastal adaptation project has not changed. Work is still progressing in line with the project milestones attached to the Terms of Reference for the codesign working group.

Ways the community could alleviate the constrictions of a reduced budget.

As noted above, the budget for this project has not been reduced.

Analysis of risks.

Risks or issues are assessed and managed by the project team for the duration of the project, including risks relating to the project budget.

 

• Released 7 May 2020

Question 1: How does erosion/ climate change impact the Kāpiti Coast natural environment?

The Kāpiti coastline is approximately 40km long. As well as being the location for significant urban development, our beautiful beaches are an important community asset with many unique characteristics and natural qualities. Like many coastal communities around Aotearoa, Kāpiti is facing significant environmental challenges from our changing climate and associated rising sea and groundwater levels.

In May 2019 Council declared a climate emergency on the Kāpiti Coast. This is political recognition of the need for action in reducing our emissions, as well as the risks our communities are facing now, and will increasingly face over the coming decades, from coastal erosion, rising ground water and increased storm events.

In June 2019 a coastal vulnerability assessment ‘Preparing coastal communities for climate change’ by Mitchell Daysh and Dr Iain Dawe was released. This report was commissioned alongside our regional partners. Its purpose was to prioritise where to focus efforts across the region. A link to this report is available here.

Numerous studies have been undertaken, describing the coastal environment and dynamics along the Kāpiti Coast. These studies alongside smaller more focused projects or investigations are catalogued in Our Coastal Bibliography which can be found here.

Greater Wellington Regional Council has developed a Sea Level Rise Mapping Tool. This tool helps tell the story of what sea level rise might look like above the high tide mark around the Wellington Region. Use this tool to identify what areas will get wet first and see what an extreme sea rise will do to our region. You can find the tool here.

 

Question 2: How does this impact people within this location?

While we don’t know how significant these changes will be and how quickly they will happen in Kāpiti, we do know that communities which plan for change, and work together, are more resilient in the face of that change.

It is important that we are dealing with the social and environmental challenges facing us, including climate change impacts.

Adapting to climate change along with ongoing development pressures on our coasts will be an ongoing challenge into the future.

People within our coastal communities will need to:

• become more aware of climate change effects;
• consider how they become more resilient to the potential impacts of climate change.

Climate change and impacts from sea level rise will vary along the coastline and decision-makers face unavoidable uncertainty.

It is not possible, practical or sensible to wait until uncertainties are reduced before starting to consider what options might be preferred by the community.

Question 3: What is being done about erosion/climate change along this Coast?

Mitigation Vs. Adaptation

Mitigation and adaptation are the two approaches for addressing climate change issues. We need both however, the focus of this project is about resilience and adapting to change.

Mitigation is an intervention to reduce emissions or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases. It is about reducing the scale of climate change and requires global level influence

Adaptation is an adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic change or its effects, which moderates harm or raises beneficial opportunities.

It is the approach taken in coastal and low lying areas to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience on a local scale. The aim is to build resilience so the impact is less.

We need both however, the focus of the Takutai Kāpiti project is about building resilience and adapting to change along our coast. How we adapt to change, and the impacts of sea level rise is our opportunity to help prepare future generations.

ADAPTATION:

The Takutai Kāpiti: Our community-led coastal adaptation project.

On 8 March 2020 the Takutai Kāpiti: Climate Change and Our Coast Summit 2020 launched the Takutai Kāpiti: Our community-led coastal adaptation project

The Takutai Kāpiti project is a community-led collaborative process working in partnership with local iwi and supported by Kāpiti Coast District Council. The project aims to encourage our Kāpiti Community to become more aware of the impacts of climate change and sea-level rise and empower them to take part in developing solutions and pathways for adapting to coming change. This will be through the establishment of a Community Assessment Panel (CAP) in 2021 consisting of iwi, community and other key stakeholder / agency representatives to consider our district’s response to the impacts of climate change on the coast.. The CAP will have access to technical advice to inform their decision making which will include the social, economic and cultural impact that coastal hazards impose on the Kāpiti community. These reports will be published on the Takutai Kāpiti website.

The Takutai Kāpiti project will follow the Ministry for the Environment’s Coastal Hazards and Climate Change Guidance for Local Government[1] and take advice and lessons learnt from the Clifton to Tongoio Coastal Hazards Strategy 2120[2] and The Makara Beach Project[3]. The recommendations from the Ministry for the Environment is to work with communities to enable them to map out a range of adaptation solutions, based on a range of scenarios, over a 100-year period.

The outcomes for the Takutai Kāpiti project will include a range of adaptation and management options for Kāpiti, and will likely identify the areas that may be affected by various coastal hazards over the long term and the risks to public and private property, cultural sites and areas, recreational use and infrastructure services.

MITIGATION:

In regards to reducing its own emissions, Kāpiti Coast District Council has been a leader in the local government sector in New Zealand in mitigation action. By the 2018/19 financial, KCDC had reduced in-house carbon emissions from 12,498 tCO2e (2009/10 baseline year) to 2,868 tonnes CO2e – that is a 77% reduction. When we joined the scheme we set a very ambitious target to achieve an 80% reduction in emissions by 2021/22.

Additionally, council supports regional and national projects and campaigns such as;

• Zero Waste Education Programme;
• Enviroschools;
• Paper4Trees;
• Love Food Hate Waste;
• Green Parenting Workshops;
• Seaweek;
• Plastic Free July.

To find out more information on what KCDC is doing with mitigation here.

Question 4: What do different people think about erosion/climate change along this Coast?

At the Takutai Kāpiti: Climate Change and our Coast summit 2020 we received the following feedback from the community:

SUMMIT FEEDBACK: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

1. What do you value about our coastline?

• Accreting
• Biodiversity and recreation
• Wide-open, natural, shorebirds
• It defines Kāpiti and who we are as a community
• Clean, clear water
• Sense of place, connection with ocean. Peace
• Swimming every day in the moana – clean, safe, refreshing!
• Biking and walking along beach and coastline most days!
• View of beautiful, powerful Kāpiti island
• Clean water and, riparian vegetation, low noise/light pollution
• Takutai Moana Papatuanuku hoki!
• Kaitiaki Māori are great in our area
• He Kohinga mātaitai. Hei whāngai i te whanau, marae, hapū, hāpori

1. How should we protect our coastline?

• Stop building along coast
• Shift away from hard barriers and engineered solutions – accept what is happening and seek to work with it
• Don’t try to protect – retreat. Change housing stock to be more easily movable. Ensure the poor are not left behind
• Whakarerea atu te hunga pākihi e tango ana i te nui o ngā kaimoana i te takutai
• Make wise educated choices on development. Bigger is not always better
• Tautoko full time kaitiaki on the beach – kaitiakitanga I nga wā katoa!
• Reduce emissions
• Dunes
• Plant coastal vegetation
• Protective estuaries
• BEACHES (Don’t sacrifice them for hard defences)
• Consult and include Māori in all decision making and processes. Utilize Māori connection with place for guidance
• Get all vehicles off the beach apart from boat launching

1. How do you want to be involved, updated and informed?

• I’d like to see maps with projections of coastal erosion, sea level rise
• A range of communication method:

– not everyone has a computer/internet connection/ Facebook e.t.c

– not everyone receives the local newspapers.

• Pictorial representations
• Newsletters in lots of different places and displays:

– Doctors, cafes, schools, kindergartens, mechanics…

– Not too wordy

• Creative comms, e.g. similar to tsunami lines in WGTN for getting attention/making relevant.
• Full consultation with tangata whenua!
• Listen to tangata whenua – a direct line of contact is essential so that response to issues (eg. Cloudy bay clams stripping out the mātaitai) can be dealt with immediately.
• Call us in for some real consultations where our (someone had added: who?) voices are heard. The speeches were interesting but one way only.
• Call on us if non-violent direct action is needed
• We need serious and detailed research on potential ground water table rise in Kāpiti and it’s impacts on public and private assets.
• I’m interested in supporting korero re climate change and taiao with Ngāti Haumia, as Ngāti Haumia, Hēni Colins
• Protect the kaimoana by keeping the water clean.
• Proactive/(reactive) maintenance of Raumati seawall.

We hope that this information is helpful to you, if you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

We would also like to add that the Takutai Kāpiti project is looking to establish a Community Assessment Panel (CAP) in the new year.

Involving rangatahi, our youth in the Takutai Kāpiti project is very important and so if there are any students or teachers that are Kāpiti residents and would like to be involved we would encourage then to apply to be part of the CAP. Applications will be advertised in the new year.

[1] Ministry for the Environment, 2017. Coastal Hazards and Climate Change: Guidance for Local Government.

[2] https://www.hbcoast.co.nz/

[3] https://wcc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=57e797777a96430c8074182984622a6a

• released via email on 14 December 2020