The Waitaki District Council unanimously approved the Waitaki District Responsible Freedom Camping Bylaw 2016 yesterday after many in the district complained last summer that in some places freedom camping had become a ''a big, big ugly monster''.
In March, the council formed a freedom camping sub-committee, chaired by Oamaru ward councillor Melanie Tavendale, to address the issue.
On June 8, the council approved a contingency budget of up to $56,000 for policing the bylaw, and education about the new rules; and the council received 38 largely supportive submissions after public consultation in July.
Cr Tavendale said yesterday there was more work to be done to accommodate campers in the district, and said welcoming campers to the district would require an ''ongoing conversation'', but she was ''really excited'' by the direction taken by the council.
''It's fantastic to have a first step approved,'' she said.
Under the new rules, freedom campers in Waitaki will be allowed to camp in the same spot for a maximum of three days over a four-week period; campervans used for freedom camping will be required to meet national standards for self-containment, which would mean a three-day capacity for grey water and black water; and freedom camping will be prohibited in 79 named reserves across the district.
The council last investigated a freedom camping bylaw in 2011, but it did not take any action at that time.
