The bylaw sets aside carparks in 15 designated areas, spanning Lake Hāwea, Wānaka, Arrowtown, Queenstown, Glenorchy, Gibbston and Kingston. Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd
Queenstown Lakes District Council has voted to restrict freedom campers to 141 carparks across the district following a summer of complaints about rubbish, overcrowding and late-night partying.
More than a year since the council's old 2021 bylaw was quashed by the High Court, councillors signed off on new rules on Thursday which will come into force on 1 December.
The bylaw set aside carparks in 15 designated areas, spanning Lake Hāwea, Wānaka, Arrowtown, Queenstown, Glenorchy, Gibbston and Kingston, where campers in certified self-contained vehicles would be able to stay in marked carparks for free, for up to two nights.
The biggest area in Kingston would have room for 50 vehicles, while others would have just two or three carparks.
Each campsite would have restricted hours, with many limiting campers to arrivals after 6pm and departures before 8am.
Freedom camping would also be allowed on some rural roads, but people would have to stay five metres from the edge of the road, on gravel or sealed surfaces, and at least 10 metres from any rivers, lakes, streams, ponds or wetlands.
The new bylaw follows a busy summer when freedom campers arrived in Queenstown in force in the absence of any restrictions.
Some locals voiced frustration about rubbish, overcrowded car parks, late-night partying and people urinating in bushes.
Councillor Matt Wong backed the new rules, saying it was the only "protection mechanism" the council had.
"Without it, we get what we got last summer ... there is a lot of the community who do not want that to happen again," he said.
The bylaw had 17 fewer carparks than a plan put forward in June.
Council staff received 383 public submissions on the draft, of which 68 percent were opposed.
More than 230 people said it was too permissive while 21 said it was too restrictive.
Deputy mayor Quentin Smith, who was the only person around the council table to oppose the new bylaw on Thursday, said the bylaw's more restrictive 2021 version felt like a better approach.
"This has been a tough one for me and I am really torn on it. I just can't quite bring myself to approve something that enables and advertises freedom camping in the urban area," he said.
Councillor Gavin Bartlett contended it was the government's Freedom Camping Act that was permissive, rather than the bylaw.
"The scope of restricting freedom camping under a bylaw is very limited under the Act, being to protect the area, to protect health and safety of people who may visit the area and to protect access to an area. Bylaws are not able to absolutely prohibit freedom camping within a district," he said.
Many of the public submissions opposing the new rules cited potential adverse effects on private property, he said.
"Amenity and property value factors of neighbouring properties cannot be considered in the bylaw and are precisely why the previous bylaw was ruled invalid," he said.
The council's 2021 bylaw was quashed by the High Court last year after the Motor Caravan Association sought a judicial review.
The High Court found that the bylaw was "tainted" because it tried to ban camping based on amenity values like views and noise, which was not consistent with the Freedom Camping Act 2011.
Councillor Esther Whitehead said designing freedom camping rules was an arduous and complicated task and the council had been trying to get it right since 2011.
"Our staff have tried time and again to make this as effective as possible. Here we are again, trying to do the same thing," she said.
"Somebody who is submitting on this today and hasn't looked at the history would probably think 'wow, this is just so bizarre and convoluted. Why would we design it this way?' It's to prevent, not to permit, really."
Belgian Jochen Vanmaele, who was camping in Frankton on Thursday, said he hoped there would be clear instructions and signs to make it easy to find a spot, although he questioned whether 141 car parks would suffice.
"There's way less vans in winter but summer I think it might be like, super chaotic. There's gonna be too many," he said.
Niklas Michel, who had been on a five month van trip around the country, said he approved of having a choice of places to stay across the district but Queenstown's lack of restrictions had felt like bliss compared to other places in New Zealand.
"It's really relaxed and really nice to come to places and just sleep. I like it a lot," he said.
Council staff planned to prepare a comprehensive communication and education campaign before the new rules came into force.
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