Review of the General Bylaw 2009

The Council is consulting on changes to its General Bylaw 2009.

The General Bylaw is an administrative bylaw. It contains provisions which are common to all Council bylaws such as conditions relating to the granting of licences. We want residents’ feedback on the draft review bylaw and the proposal to reference the General Bylaw in all other bylaws.

Public submissions close at 5pm on Friday 28 June, 2019.

What do the changes to the bylaw mean?

The purpose of the General Bylaw is to contain provisions that do not need to be repeated in all other bylaws.

A general bylaw prevents the unnecessary duplication of provisions which are common to all bylaws, provides for consistency between the bylaws and means that the Council’s bylaws are more succinct. Accordingly, it is believed that a general bylaw is the most appropriate way of addressing issues of unnecessary duplication and consistency between the Council’s Bylaws.

The Local Government Act 2002 provides that bylaws have to be reviewed no later than 10 years after an initial review. The General Bylaw came into force on 1 January 2009 so it is due for review.

The Council's proposal

A number of amendments have been made to the bylaw to enhance the bylaw’s clarity and certainty.

These amendments include:

• Section 6 (Serving of Orders and Notices), to take account of changing circumstances and provides for the electronic service of documents.

• Section 8 (Schedules and Prescribed Forms), to provide that a form is not invalid just because it contains minor differences from a form prescribed by a bylaw.

• Section 9 (Granting of a Licence), to provide that a licence may contain such terms and conditions as the Council sees fit and to state that the council is not liable for any damage or action connected to a licence.

• Section 10 (Suspension and Revocation of Licences), provides greater detail as to the circumstances under which a licence can be suspended or revoked.

• Section 11 (Offences and Breaches), which is a new section detailing various acts or omissions which constitute a breach of a bylaw.

Proposed inclusion in other Bylaws

A cross- reference to the General Bylaw is currently only included in the Council’s Public Places, Parks and Reserves and Speed Limits Bylaws.

It is proposed to insert the following clause in all other bylaws.

SELWYN DISTRICT COUNCIL GENERAL BYLAW 2009

1. The provisions of the Selwyn District Council General Bylaw 2009 and any bylaw passed in amendment or substitution are implied into and form part of this Bylaw.

2. In the event of inconsistency or conflict between the provisions of this Bylaw and any other bylaw of Selwyn District Council, the provisions of this Bylaw shall prevail.

   The purpose of the additional clause is to make it clear that the provisions of the General Bylaw apply to all other bylaws.

   Submissions

   Submissions on the proposal can be made via the online submission form below on this page. A downloadable submission form and The Statement of Proposal can be found under 'Key information' on this page. Hardcopies are available at all Council Service Centres and Libraries.
   Submissions or comments can also be sent to generalbylaw@selwyn.govt.nz
   
   Submissions can be addressed to:
   The Regulatory Manager
   Selwyn District Council
   Review of General Bylaw
   P O Box 90
   Rolleston 7643
   Or emailed to generalbylaw@selwyn.govt.nz.
   Any person making a submission may request to be heard in support of their submission. All submissions received will be acknowledged and publicly available. This includes personal information.