A bylaw to manage freedom camping may be delayed by the Waitaki District Council until it knows the details of a new law to go to Parliament.
The council has prepared a draft bylaw and called for public submissions, receiving 16 before they closed on Friday, although others may arrive in the post.
An extraordinary meeting of the council tomorrow will face the choice of whether to continue with the bylaw by hearing submissions on May 31 then deciding whether to adopt it, or hear submissions but delay adoption until it knows what is in the Government's Freedom Camping Bill.
In a report to tomorrow's meeting, council policy manager Fraser Liggett said the Bill was due in Parliament before the end of this month and the Government aimed to have it passed by the end of August.
If the council adopted the bylaw now, it would have to review it within 12 months to ensure it met the requirements of the new Bill.
The other option was to delay adopting the bylaw, then update it once the new legislation passed through the select committee and Parliament, which is the preferred course to take.
Mr Liggett said the council had contacted the Department of Internal Affairs to be briefed on the details of the new Bill, but had been told information would not be available until it was presented to Parliament.
