KEY POINTS:
Proposed new rules on signs and billboards aim to create a better urban environment. The Auckland City Council encourages people to have their say on the draft bylaws.
At the heart of the debate about signs and billboards is a desire to determine how our city looks and feels. Should we have a city in which large billboards and a plethora of signs dominate every shopping strip, every street corner and every road intersection?
Or should we create a city in which signs and billboards have their place, but do not overwhelm our heritage buildings, our quality architecture, and our public spaces?
The council's draft signs and billboards bylaws recognise business needs while seeking to enhance our public spaces. Signage is important and it is necessary for people to identify and find products and services.
This is why the draft bylaws allow for every business to have a sign and to allow for billboards in certain parts of the city.
However, signs should not dominate the public realm that they become the sole focus for shoppers, pedestrians, and motorists. Our streets, our parks, our roads - these are our public spaces and they should not be blanketed in advertising.
The draft bylaws seek to balance the need for community and commercial signage with the need for regulation to ensure that signs do not multiply throughout the city in an uncontrolled fashion. This approach benefits businesses as well.
With too many signs, messages get lost and the consumer becomes confused in the midst of too much visual clutter. Fewer, clearer signs make for less cluttered and cleaner-looking streets in which people can better negotiate visual cues.
The council is not alone in its efforts to address the issue of visual pollution. Our counterparts across the Tasman and elsewhere have also grappled with this issue. Sydney and Melbourne have tight restrictions around signs and billboards in certain valued areas. Likewise, many US and European cities have adopted similar regimes with regulations recognising the importance of valuing and preserving the built environment.
Auckland City Council's draft bylaws do not apply the same rules across the city. The bylaws recognise that different areas have different values and therefore need different rules.
The "before" photograph and "after" artist's impression of a street in Epsom show the difference the proposed bylaws could make. In the "before" image, the art deco building is dominated by signs and billboards, but in the "after" image it can be appreciated for its beauty and character.
Auckland is a city we should all be proud of and we should work to showcase our character, our heritage and our geography. It is surely a laudable aim to ensure that views to our volcanic cones are free of billboards, that our heritage buildings are not overshadowed by signs and that our public spaces are not dominated by visual clutter.
What do you think? Auckland City Council has released these draft bylaws for public consultation. We want to hear what Aucklanders think about the proposed new rules. I'd encourage anyone with a view to participate in that process because we want to know whether we've got the balance right.
Submissions close tomorrow and you can make your submission online at www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/bylaws.
A hearings panel of councillors and an independent urban designer will consider the draft bylaws and all submissions made on them. In addition, the mayor, other senior councillors and I will hear some of the submissions to ensure that we have a good understanding of the issues being raised.
The hearings panel will approach its work with no pre-determined outcome in mind. All councillors are committed to the principle of natural justice and this is no different. The panellists will consider the evidence before them and make a decision based on that evidence. I do not believe councillors will see this as an opportunity to score political points.
Reviewing and developing bylaws is the central business of councillors. While many of the councillors on the hearings panel have sat on the working party to consider the draft bylaws, I believe this is appropriate. Panellists must have an in-depth knowledge of the issues in order to make a well-informed decision.
The panel is made up of councillors from across the political spectrum and includes an independent panellist with urban design skills. The inclusion of an independent urban designer will mean the panel receives specialist advice about what's effective and practical in urban design terms.
I'm confident that this team has the knowledge, wisdom and impartiality to consider all views and reach a decision that will serve the city well in the years to come. Their recommendation will ultimately be forwarded to the full council where your political representatives will have the opportunity to vote on the recommendation.
I can assure you that this is an important decision that all councillors take seriously, because it will ultimately influence how our city looks and feels in the years to come.
* Bruce Hucker is Deputy Mayor of Auckland City.
