Another in Dannevirke spoke of family ownership over several decades, adding that the requirements under the bylaw would affect her business.
Tararua College also had the same concerns for the Kelly Beech Agricultural Unit, which was believed to be urban-zoned.
Business manager Phil Marsh spoke at length on the unit and where it stood in terms of the draft bylaw.
A clause of the bylaw stated that no person may keep in an urban area any intact male animal and no person could keep or graze stock excluding sheep except with the approval of the council.
“The college continually looks at different opportunities within livestock categories,” Marsh said.
He added that the bureaucracy could “fly in the face of creativity”.
“Our farmland was farmland long before it became urban land.
“Perhaps your bylaw should necessitate urban dwellers to get a permit to live next door to us and our productive animals.”
One person speaking at the hearings said the policies lacked clarity.
“It seems perhaps, in order to save time and expense and to maintain utmost power over the situation, all council policies and bylaws give council a lot of wiggle room and no certainty to the receiver,” she said.
Another from Dannevirke told councillors to “stick to their knitting”.
“We the ratepayers have elected councillors to deal with basic amenities – roading, water and waste – and it is fair to say that you’re already seriously struggling to deal with it in a cost-effective way.”
Robyn How, from the Tararua Breeding Centre, told councillors the centre had three sites and two of them bordered the urban area.
She spoke about the centre’s operations and the rules and regulations they already had to comply with.
While she agreed with the reasons given for the proposal, such as noise, smell and safety, she told the council the proposal was not based on a sound knowledge of farm animals and “does nothing to control the real issue”.
“There are safety reasons, yes, but this is not just the male of the species. Safety is paramount for all sexes and classes of farming animals and no animals, male or female, should be taken for granted or trusted. The emphasis I feel should be on containment control and handling of farm animals in an urban environment, not the sex of the stock.”
How was concerned about the possibility of urban spread.
In answer to the questions around those properties that were urban zoned but were farming operations, regulatory services manager Jim Single advised that some properties may be exempt under existing land use.
That rule was in the Resource Management Act 1991 which trumped the council’s bylaw.
Single explained several times that the bylaw was around addressing nuisance, which the council was tasked to do by central government under the Local Government Act.
“When there isn’t sufficient legislation or regulation for a particular problem in an area, and believe me, we’ve got problems, then we need to regulate by way of bylaw.”
He gave an example of a rooster crowing early in the morning in a residential area.
“Nothing covers that in legislation other than a bylaw.”
The council will be deliberating on the submissions later this month.
Leanne Warr has been editor of the Bush Telegraph since May 2023 and a journalist since 1996. She re-joined NZME in June 2021.
