The Far North has a new dog bylaw after almost two years of division and controversy.
The new Dog Management Policy and Bylaw, passed at last week's district council meeting in Kaikohe, is on the whole a win for lobby group Bay of Islands WatchDogs, which has put in a dogged effort since the first version was released in early 2017.
The draft bylaw was thrashed out by councillors on November 27, when proposed rules for beach and reserve access were loosened dramatically, but at Thursday's meeting there was a flurry of last-minute changes.
The draft proposed allowing off-leash access to all council reserves unless otherwise specified, but council staff pointed out that would contradict laws such as the Reserves Act. The bylaw was modified so that dogs have to be on-leash in most council reserves unless it's a designated off-leash area.
To compensate, the number of off-leash dog exercise areas was boosted from two to five. The list now comprises Roland's Wood, Sammaree Pl Reserve and Waitotara Reserve in Kerikeri, the old landfill at Lindvart Park in Kaikohe, and Waipapa Domain, except during sport events, when the on-leash rule applies.