Kia ora koutou I am about to launch the public phase of the Climate Change Impacts Project which you or your group may be interested in. This project is intended to explore with the community the range of possible options for responding to climate change impacts. In Kāpiti the most severe impacts are likely to be coastal erosion and inundation and stormwater/river flooding. It is envisaged as a multi-year project to enable very thorough investigation and community conversation about the various options. This is a separate project from the District Plan process – it is not intended to over-ride the District Plan concern with future development but rather to work out what to do about existing buildings and infrastructure which may be in harm’s way. This is medium- to long-term contingency planning. The Council has no firm view as to what options will be adopted in the long run but is committed to ensuring that as many viewpoints in the community as possible are heard and considered. These are issues which will affect the whole community in different ways and so finding solutions must be a whole of community process. I intend to establish local working groups to get this thinking going. As a first step, I will hold a meeting in the evening of 19 December with all those who might have an interest in the project – hence this email to you. The first meeting will clarify the Council’s objectives for the project and discuss a proposed way of working through the issues using a public deliberation methodology. Following that meeting, some local groups may like to get started in the New Year. The focus of the project is not figuring out exactly where the lines will fall, be they coastal erosion lines or flood risk zone lines. It is to figure out what the big issues for Kāpiti might be if or when significant erosion or flooding occurs and how the various communities might want to address those issues. If you would like to be part of that conversation, I would welcome your attendance at the 19 December meeting. Please circulate to anyone you think might be interested in being part of this work. Date:
19 December 2012
Venue: Paraparaumu Library Meeting Room Time: 7 pm to 9 pm He mihi maioha Alison