‘Scope for public’ in maritime planning

Press, 2 April 1980, Page 20

‘Scope for public’ in maritime planning

Greater opportunities for public involvement in maritime planning are available in New Zealand, according to a visiting American harbour-planning expert, Dr Marc Hersh--man. ”, Dr Hershman came. to New Zealand to attend a coastal-zone management seminar in Wellington arranged by the Ministry of Transport and to visit other cities for discussions .with harbour boards and regional-planning staff. He is director of the Institute of Marine Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle, and is the first recipient of a Winston Churchill Fellowship,, which brought him to New Zealand. Dr Hershman . recently completed a survey of the effect coastal zone plan-.. ning has had on American ports since it began in California in 1973. Open hearings and joint planning, 'with the public on planning committee with engineers and planners, were a feature of maritime planning in the United States, Dr Hershman said in Christchurch. Coastal zone management, harbour' planning, and the environmental impact review process also, ensured the public were more effectively involved in planning, he said. The coastal zone management studies included detailed plans for shoreline and water area

studies. All coastal zone plans covered an area 200 m in shore and out to the territorial limit, he said. “These two areas should not be treated separately since developments next to the water create hazards and problems such as pollution,” he said. The purpose of the study was to balance economic development and environmental uses of each state’s entire coastline as a combined effort of state and local government, Dr Hershman said. The trend was now towards special area management where finance went

to areas where the problems were most severe. Dr Hershman visited’■ Lyttelton and addressed t regional planners, localbody members. and Lyttelton Harbour Board-’ staff in Christchurch lasfweek. That evening he gave a public lecture on- ' maritime planning. . Lyttelton harbour was in : an enviable position, hav--, ‘ ing a well contained' - harbour area, only two. small communities to com- c pete for coastline uses, and the sort of typography that - kept it hidden from view ■. •so that there was no-* t aesthetic issue, he said. . ! ; The Lyttelton Harbour. ; Board had not needed to'--', face many of the difficult planning problems elsewhere in the world. Dr Hershman said he could see few difficulties?-, with the proposed installa-*< tions for liquiefieqp' petroleum gas at Lyttelton*; as the deep harbour made*> controls easy to menu A spokesman for Ministry of Transport, Mrj*j T. McCombs, said mari-S time planning was still its infancy in New land. Maritime authorities have beeij§£ appointed at Auckland andj> Wellington. The Govern; I *’’ ment did not see a for detailed maritime plan«S< ning in the Canterbury*' area, but had agreed tliatt> the regional plan should extended to the limit. ,