Waipā District Council is impressed with the level of early public interest in its upcoming Dog Control Policy and Bylaw review.
Council is seeking feedback from the community on dog exercise rules, exercise areas, prohibited areas, and other aspects of dog control. Already more than 80 people have provided feedback and been invited to register for a webinar on Tuesday 21 June.
To be sent a link to the webinar, people must email submissions@waipadc.govt.nz, putting ‘Dog Control webinar’ in the subject line. The event cannot be accessed via the Council website. Only those who have registered by email will be sent a link.
Waipā group manager district growth and regulatory Wayne Allan, said the policy and bylaw helped set the rules for managing dogs in the district. Both were under review.
Council is seeking feedback on all aspects of the policy, including a range of changes suggested by the public and other stakeholders, including requests to review dog controls on Kakepuku Maunga, Memorial Park in Te Awamutu, Lake Te Koo Utu in Cambridge and the sports grounds at Kihikihi Domain.
Council was also keen to hear views on proposed new off lead areas for dogs, as well as other improvements .
“These are very early days in the process and we’re trying to informally gauge views before any formal proposal is put to the community” Allan said.
“There have been no decisions made by Council, and any proposals presented to date are simply matters raised with Council that we are required to consider. It makes sense to get early feedback on these points so we’re very happy with the public interest already.”
Once initial feedback has been received Council will use that to draft a new policy and bylaw. This will then go out to the community for formal consultation where submissions will be invited.
“We know dog owners feel passionately and no doubt will want to share their views. And we also need to consider the views of others in the community so there will be some interesting discussion in the months to come.”
More information is available via Dog Control Policy - Waipa District Council (waipadc.govt.nz).
