Waitaki's freedom camping bylaw submissions closed this week, drawing only a "light'' response from the district's ratepayers.
Waitaki district councillor and freedom camping subcommittee chairwoman Melanie Tavendale, who spoke to the Otago Daily Times from the Local Government New Zealand conference in Dunedin yesterday, said freedom camping bylaws had been "quite a topic of conversation'' among conference attendees.
However, the 38 submissions the council received on the proposed Waitaki District Responsible Freedom Camping Bylaw suggested it was not foremost in the minds of Waitaki residents.
"Based on the feedback that we've had on freedom camping earlier in the piece, it [the response] is probably quite light,'' Cr Tavendale said.
"But perhaps it's either an indication of us getting it right and people being comfortable with the result, or otherwise the fact that it's winter and it's not the top of people's agenda anymore. I'm not sure.''
The type of freedom camping bylaw proposed for Waitaki was seen as a "model bylaw'' by others in local government at the conference, Cr Tavendale said.
Freedom campers in Waitaki would be allowed to camp in the same spot for a maximum of three days over a four-week period and camper vans used for freedom camping would be required to meet national standards for self-containment, which would mean a three-day capacity for grey water and black water.
The proposed bylaw also outlines a list of places in the district where freedom camping would not be permitted.
On June 8 the council approved a contingency budget of up to $56,000 for policing of the bylaw and education about the new rules.
Council communications adviser Alena Lynch said although she had not reviewed the submissions closely "the majority do support the bylaw''.
She said "only two or three'' had submitted against the proposed bylaw and most submitters agreed that only self-contained vehicles should be allowed to freedom-camp.
Only three of the 38 submitters had indicated they wished to speak to their submissions. Verbal submissions would be heard on August 10.
Cr Tavendale, who lives in Kakanui, where large crowds of freedom campers riled many residents and caused a council-owned toilet block to fail several times last summer, said she was pleased with the progress the bylaw had made.
She said she believed a bylaw could be in place for the start of the next camping season.
"There will be pressures the first year in finding places for all the non-self-contained [camper vans] to go, but that's just something we've got to work through,'' she said.
"And I think there's always going to be that pressure when you're implementing something.''
The bylaw is scheduled for a council vote on September 14.
