implementation gap

1 files changed, 46 insertions, 14 deletions

diff --git a/assignment3/background.tex b/assignment3/background.tex
index 1fca8d2..36eceba 100644
--- a/assignment3/background.tex
+++ b/assignment3/background.tex
@@ -155,12 +155,57 @@ development; they were not meant to be used as a tool to block
 individual proposals and hence do not support quick amendment
 procedures.
 
-%TODO: plan quality is the subject of the PUCM Research Programme [confessions]
+
+\subsubsection{The implementation gap}
+
+The links between plan quality, plan implementation through AEE review
+and resource consent decisions, and environmental outcomes were the
+subject of the \emph{Planning Under a Cooperative Mandate}
+programme \parencite{confessions}.  One of the core findings of the
+programme that studied six councils over a period of several years was
+that
+
+\begin{quote}
+  there was a gap between the environmental management techniques
+  advocated in district plans and those being applied in resource
+  consents. [...] For a number of reasons, most plans are more ambitious
+  in their scope and intentions than is realised in practice through
+  techniques used in consents. \parencite[p 13][]{confessions}
+\end{quote}
+
+The findings further suggest that the width of this implementation gap
+is closely linked to council capacity.  Due to the devolved nature of
+environmental management intended by the RMA and the wide range of
+activities requiring assessment, an overwhelmingly large number of
+resource consent applications is to be processed by local councils,
+many of which operate under constraints, such as time pressure and the
+need to save costs.  The very benefits that were thought to follow
+from a devolved mandate---such as specialised assessment methods most
+appropriate for the district and innovation in the area of evaluation
+techniques---may actually be suppressed as a consequence of a lack of
+capacity on the level of local government.
+
+\begin{quote}
+  The findings of this research would suggest that low capacity forces
+  councils to adopt policies that appear to favour economic growth. In
+  many cases growth is needed in order to maintain---at the minimum---
+  current service levels. Effectively, the pressure for development to
+  proceed quickly and unimpeded does not foster a climate that considers
+  and values environmental quality to the extent advocated in many
+  district plans (or envisaged by the RMA).
+  \parencite[p 46][]{confessions}
+\end{quote}
+
+% TODO
+%The lower the council capacity and plan quality, the greater
+%the implementation gap.
+
 
 %TODO: report on the sad state of council plans that have had
 % provisionary plans for years and the process dragged on for many years.
 
 
+
 \subsection{Submissions, hearings and the officer's report}
 
 For those applications that the responsible council has determined
@@ -175,16 +220,3 @@ on submissions, the AEE and additional evidence provided by the
 applicant. The report is hence strongly influenced by the applicant's
 input.
 
-
-\section{The implementation gap}
-
-\begin{quote}
-  there was a gap between the environmental management techniques
-  advocated in district plans and those being applied in resource
-  consents. The lower the council capacity and plan quality, the greater
-  the implementation gap. For a number of reasons, most plans are more
-  ambitious in their scope and intentions than is realised in practice
-  through techniques used in consents.
-\end{quote} \parencite[p 13][]{confessions}
-
-% TODO
\ No newline at end of file