However, the proposed delay falls short of what Environment Minister Penny Simmonds has asked the council to do.
A staff report to be considered by councillors tomorrow said a four- to six-month delay would allow council staff to work through recommended changes to the council’s regional policy statement.
It would allow staff more time to work through feedback received on the council’s draft land and water plan, and for further communication between the council and Ms Simmonds, the report said.
Ms Simmonds and other government ministers have called on the council to await notifying the plan to manage Otago’s natural resources until after an imminent rewrite of the national policy statement for freshwater management (NPSFM) is completed.
Yet council staff are not recommending following that direction.
Instead, the proposed "short delay" would mean the council’s "momentum will largely be retained", the staff report said.
The four- to six-month delay might also be long enough to allow staff to see a draft of the rewritten NPSFM.
Councillors are due to be presented four options on the timing of notification of the land and water plan tomorrow.
They voted 8-4 last month against an immediate pause on work on the plan.
Stopping work on the plan is again an option at tomorrow’s council meeting — but it is not recommended.
Last month, Ms Simmonds warned the council it would be unwise to spend ratepayers’ money on a land and water plan that could change substantially within the next 18 months as a result of changes to the NPSFM.
Then, earlier this month, she rescinded the June 30 deadline for the plan set by former environment minister David Parker.
When she did, she further extended the notification date of the plan to December 31, 2027.
If the council decided to proceed with notification of the plan ahead of the rewrite of the NPSFM, she wanted the council to provide her with an outline of the costs, benefits and implications of proceeding before the NPSFM was replaced.
That report would be due on May 1, Ms Simmonds said.
The council staff’s recommended short delay would allow time to provide that information, the staff report said.
The option of stopping work until a new NPSFM was published would not require staff time to respond to the minister.
It would also have an immediate positive impact on at least next year’s budget.
It would, though, prolong the uncertainty for the community operating under the existing planning framework.
The longer delay would also put the council at a "high risk" of judicial review for not implementing the NPSFM as soon as practicable, the report said.
Proceeding with the original timeframe of notifying the plan by June 30 was not recommended in the report.
It would allow for an improved freshwater planning framework and reduce the risk of a legal challenge.
However, it would not allow staff time to consider the implications of the regional policy statement decisions.
The original notification date would also not allow staff time to consider the feedback on the plan it had received.
Nor would it allow staff time to provide Ms Simmonds with the outline of the costs, benefits and implications of proceeding without the new NPSFM in place, the report said.
A fourth option to stop work on the plan and prepare time critical plan changes was not recommended.
Recommendations on the proposed regional policy statement will be considered with the public excluded tomorrow before the land and water plan’s notification date is discussed.
ORC plan options
■Stop work on draft land and water plan until national policy statement for freshwater management is completed
■Continue with original June 30 deadline
■Delay releasing plan by four to six months
■Stop work on draft but prepare time-critical plan changes
