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Public feedback has largely supported proposed changes to Auckland Council’s Navigation Bylaw, including a major change that would require lifejackets to be worn on vessels under 6m while underway.
In its feedback report, council said most of the other proposed amendments, covering recreational craft, moorings, anchoring and commercial vessels, also received general support.
However, only 94 of the 1323 submissions came from the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board area.
The lifejacket change would remove the skipper’s discretion to decide whether they needed to be worn but the requirement wouldn’t apply when a vessel was anchored, moored, or secured.
About 80 per cent of comments on the proposal described lifejackets as a simple and effective way to prevent drowning and improve survival during incidents on the water.
In its feedback on the consultation, the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board also supported the compulsory lifejacket proposal, noting the popularity of kayaking, paddleboarding, dinghy sailing, jet skiing and recreational fishing from local beaches and boat ramps.
The board said it “supported a clear and consistent region-wide rule to improve compliance and ease of enforcement” and asked council to run public education and summer safety campaigns in heavily used coastal areas.
However, it also suggested that the bylaw should update definitions to cover emerging technologies, including e-foils, powered hydrofoils, motorised paddleboards and wing-foiling equipment, as these craft were becoming increasingly common around the East Coast Bays and Whangaparāoa Peninsula.
The board also sought more information about proposals to remove designated vessel access lanes at Matakatia Bay, Stanmore Bay and Ōrewa Beach.
Council’s consultation material described the lanes as unused, but the board asked for enforcement information, usage data and any recorded incidents before a final decision was made.
It considered the effects at Matakatia and Stanmore Bays were likely to be minor if the lanes were genuinely redundant. However, they considered that removing the Ōrewa Beach lane could have more significance because of the beach’s size and heavy summer use, and a formal access lane could help separate swimmers and vessels, support enforcement and provide a safe corridor for occasional towing activities.
They asked for Ōrewa Beach to be monitored during the first summer after any removal and ensure controls could be restored quickly if safety problems emerged.
Along with the bylaw updates the board asked council for plain-language explanations, diagrams and practical examples to help casual and first-time water users understand the revised rules.
The Navigation Bylaw Panel will consider local board views and all public feedback before making recommendations to the Governing Body next month, with a final decision expected later this year.
