Cr Vandervis has also been asked to commit to participating in the council’s Te Pae Māori forum.
The council yesterday effectively postponed deciding on a sanction should an apology and the desired commitment not be forthcoming.
It did so after discussion about whether Cr Vandervis would be fit to chair a council committee if he maintained an unapologetic stance.
Cr Vandervis has this term been chairman of the finance and council-controlled organisations committee and yesterday it had not been clearly established he could be removed from the post under action connected to the council’s code of conduct.
However, the code included references to suspension from committees and removal of certain council-funded privileges among possible penalties.
The council wanted to know more about options potentially available to it.
Cr Vandervis has been given until August 20 to apologise to Te Pae Māori and commit to participating in its meetings.
The council’s resolution, which included noting lack of an apology would lead to a staff report for the August 27 meeting about options relating to a material breach of the code, was passed unanimously.
Cr Vandervis did not attend yesterday’s meeting as he is overseas, and the councillor who lodged a complaint about his behaviour, Marie Laufiso, sat back from the discussion and the vote.
The council upheld independent investigator Jordan Boyle’s findings and it agreed a material breach of the code of conduct had occurred.
Cr Vandervis was found to have materially breached the code over an email he sent on July 16 last year, non-attendance of Te Pae Māori meetings and for referring to council committee mana whenua members as anti-democratic and race-based representation.
Mr Boyle said all councillors were expected to attend Te Pae Māori meetings, but council chief executive Sandy Graham said yesterday Cr Vandervis could not be compelled to do so.
Councillors at yesterday’s meeting decried racism and what they described as a disrespectful attitude, or prejudice, from Cr Vandervis.
Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich said he had called for Cr Vandervis to be more professional and less inflammatory.
The mayor described Cr Vandervis’ behaviour as very bad.
Mr Radich said Cr Vandervis had a long history of code breaches and there was a pattern to his behaviour.
Requesting an apology allowed for the "possibility of redemption".
Cr David Benson-Pope responded to a comment from the mayor about it being worthwhile to have a range of views around the council table.
"It's not about diversity at the table," Cr Benson-Pope said. "It's about prejudice and bigotry."
Cr Christine Garey said Cr Vandervis had been found to have brought the council into disrepute.
There had been no self-reflection or remorse, she said.
Cr Sophie Barker said if Cr Vandervis did not apologise, she did not believe he was fit to be chairman of a council committee.
Cr Bill Acklin said there was no excuse for bad behaviour.
He also noted Cr Vandervis was not the only councillor "who speaks ill of other people".
Cr Brent Weatherall voted for the resolution, but he criticised the complaint delving into pronunciation of the word Māori.
A statement from Cr Vandervis was read out at the meeting in which he rejected accusations of racism.
"I vow to continue to exercise my right to free speech in the public interest and to be part of the diversity necessary for democratic representation on the Dunedin City Council."
