A decision on what vehicles will, or will not, be barred from Marlborough's east coast is expected this week, a year after a controversial blanket ban was first floated.
Photo: Supplied
Marlborough District Council agreed to draw up a new bylaw last December barring motorists from the Awatere River mouth to the Ure River mouth in a bid to protect ecosystems made more accessible after the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.
Thousands signed a petition opposing the vehicle ban, fearing an end to long-held family quad-biking traditions, including the family that gifted their beach to the government.
Conservationists, on the other hand, welcomed the plan, saying vehicles hampered the recovery of the reef platforms and threatened indigenous vegetation and wildlife along the coast.
Division among stakeholders - some supporting a blanket ban, some a partial ban, and others no ban - prompted the council to seek more feedback, which delayed the summer due date.
To ensure the draft bylaw went public as soon as possible, the council wanted to set up a bylaw sub-committee, which would finalise new rules while staff were on their summer holidays.
First, councillors needed to decide what vehicles to ban.
The first option, supported by staff, was to cut off beach access to all vehicles between Redwood Pass to Ward, and introduce a speed limit at Marfells Beach and Ward Beach, where fishers could still launch their boats. The bylaw would also restrict vehicles from unformed roads and sand dunes.
A report filed ahead of Thursday's full council meeting said a blanket ban would protect significant tangata whenua sites, threatened species and habitats, and other beach users, as well as allowing the coast to recover from the Kaikōura quake.
The second and final option would ban cars, but not quad bikes or motorbikes, which could still travel below the high tide mark.
Staff decided to include this option after several stakeholders said they believed quad bikes and motorbikes had a "lighter footprint" than other vehicles, so did less damage to the coast.
This view was supported by petition signatories, but not council staff, who said the benefits these vehicles brought the public were "arguable" and "insignificant" when compared to the damage and disturbance being caused by the vehicles.
A partial ban would also be difficult to enforce, the report said.
Thirteen councillors and the mayor would vote on the options.
Once a draft bylaw was drawn up, it would be made public for at least a month so people could submit their views on it.
A hearing committee would then deliberate on the submissions and make a recommendation to the council, which would decide whether or not to adopt the new 'East Coast Protection Bylaw'.
Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers' Association and NZ On Air.
