Councilors vote to lower noise limits for helicopters in Hauraki Gulf islands

Auckland city councilors voted to lower noise limits for helicopters in the islands of the Hauraki Gulf.

This follows a rapid increase in the number of authorized heliports on Waiheke and Aotea Great Barrier Islands.

The local board said at Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting to go further and apply the 2010 Coastal Management Rules to protect wildlife.

However, city council planners told the meeting that it could take until 2029 because plans would need to be changed, but not the lowering of noise limits.

Alderman Mike Lee said planners had recommended a patchwork of countermeasures, but the “patchwork of countermeasures” “couldn’t put this away…it wouldn’t make neighborhoods feel safer.” It would be,” and began to act more quickly toward hardening.

At stake is the use of private helicopters on islands and near cities. This is a prohibited activity that triggers much stricter rules.

Some staff were “terrified” by raising standards, Lee said, but if Sydney can ban helipads in many places, so can Auckland.

City council members voted in favor of considering tougher rules in the next year or two, rather than starting in 2026, when the city-wide unification plan will be reviewed.

Planners had previously warned that staff could be overloaded and cost a lot of money.

However, chairman Richard Hill made this apology.

“Sorry to the community and wildlife that this is not fast.

“But I think all ears and eyes and compliance have to get hotter about this and we’ll make sure it’s easier to complain,” Hill said.

Kim Whittaker of lobby group Quiet Sky Waiheke told RNZ it was a win of sorts.

“We beat the noise.

“This means that it will be more difficult to obtain consent for some helicopters, as the boundaries, distance from the heliport increase,” Whitaker said.

“It’s not going to protect birds yet.”

Lee questioned why planners would even call lowering noise limits an “option.”