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Auckland Billboard Bylaw overturned - June 2007 APN Outdoor Limited, New Zealand’s largest billboard company (part of the APN Group which owns the New Zealand Herald) and Adshel, were represented by Simon Berry in relation to the Proposed Billboard Bylaw and Proposed Signs Bylaw which form part of the Auckland Consolidated Bylaw. APN Outdoor particularly opposed the proposal that existing billboards be removed, as well as the placing of severe additional constraints on new billboards, which APN Outdoor’s evidence said would ultimately have resulted in the loss of over 400 full-time equivalent jobs from the Auckland economy. Led by Simon Berry and Jen Vella, the APN Outdoor team presented a comprehensive case to the Council Hearing Committee, supported by evidence from a number of expert witnesses including a town planner, urban design expert, economist and traffic engineer, together with the presentation of an alternative bylaw. In what was regarded as a significant about face, the Council resolved to abandon its original proposals, instead adopting an amended alternative bylaw based largely on an alternative put forward by APN Outdoor. The result represented a significant victory bylaw victory for APN Outdoor and the Outdoor Advertising Association of New Zealand Inc. which had publicly supported APN’s position. Simon’s comment: This is a particularly satisfying victory for APN Outdoor. The company has invested significant resources over the years in trying to assist the Council to develop a bylaw which strikes the right balance between the benefits of billboards and concerns about visual and heritage effects. But many of the assumptions on which the bylaw as originally proposed was based were flawed and it was unreasonable and unlawful in many respects. The entire exercise could have been short-circuited if the Council had consulted meaningfully with the industry. APN Outdoor will continue to push for signage to be provided for via the district plan rather than by way of bylaw which represents an outmoded and undemocratic way of dealing with environmental issues.
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