Pegasus Bay bylaws now active
‘‘It is best to first educate the public about key changes to the bylaw.’’
New bylaws are in force along the Waimakariri District’s shoreline, but enforcement and signage will have to wait.
A bylaw review began in 2013 with new rules coming into force August 15 this year.
Waimakariri District Council’s community green space manager, Chris Brown, said the bylaws were developed to make the beaches and estuaries safer for wildlife and more enjoyable for people, but there was concern with how the new bylaws would be policed.
‘‘The Council has received some feedback from the community regarding the new bylaw. Some of this has been seeking clarification about changes but the majority has been focused on the need to make sure the bylaw is enforced.’’
As of Thursday, there were no new signs at the beaches, but Brown said new signs were in production and didn’t anticipate they would be ‘‘far away’’.
He said a working party would be formed after the October elections to finalise the implementation of the bylaws and would consider changing of signage, education and enforcement.
‘‘We are in a period where we believe that it is best to first educate the public about key changes to the bylaw.
Once the groups actions were implemented, the bylaws would be enforced and beachside communities would see some ‘‘real change’’, Brown said.
Council distributed flyers outlining the new bylaws this week.
Pines and Kairaki Beaches Community Association committee member Tim Stephenson said that it could take time for new signage, but changes should be implemented carefully.
‘‘My view is there needs to be a fair bit of discretion in how that law could be enforced,’’ he said.
Under the new bylaws, horses were permitted between the Waikuku Beach horse access trail and the Waimakariri river, but vehicles, including motorbikes, were banned, as was freedom camping.
Quad bikes were an exception and were allowed under the hightide line and land yachting was still permitted for much of the bay.
Dogs were still allowed unleashed as long as they could be controlled around horses, otherwise they needed to be on a leash.