The panel appointment comes after council staff spent considerable time meeting with submitters to better understand their views.
The council’s environmental planning manager, Natalie Rutland, says by taking its time to understand the challenges submitters face, staff were able to resolve matters before the independent hearings.
“We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the wide-ranging implications of these new rule changes, and building relationships with submitters so we can understand the issues at hand and get the best outcomes for the community.
“While that approach is more time consuming, we’re confident that we’ll end up with a more robust plan change because of it.”
The Government requires the council to appoint an independent panel for this planning process. The panel will make recommendations to the council, and the council or the minister makes the final decision on the rules.
“There isn’t an appeal process so it’s extra important we reach the best outcomes upfront.”
The new housing rules allow more homes to be built in existing residential areas across Te Puke and Ōmokoroa, where they have access to the existing infrastructure, amenities, and community facilities. When new home designs meet the Government’s pre-set density standards they do not require a resource consent (building consents are still required). This enables development of properties to have up to three homes up to three storeys high in existing residential neighbourhoods.
The council’s supporting rule changes seek to enable medium-density living while maintaining the things about Te Puke and Ōmokoroa that their communities love, such as their respective small-town charm and a live-work-play vibe.
“Te Puke and Ōmokoroa are growing, and it’s important we do what we can to ensure that growth happens in a way that’s consistent with what the community wants,” says Natalie.
“The housing rule changes we introduced last year are an important step on the future growth of these towns — but we’ll be having more conversations on this front.
“Your thoughts on how your town should grow and what needs to be protected is important to us, and it’s something we expect to delve deeper into in the near future so we can plan for your growth aspirations too.”
Some developers have already begun to adapt to the new density standards, with several new compliant or generally compliant development applications submitted to council since August 2022, including large scale development applications in both Te Puke and in Ōmokoroa.
Next steps
■ The process from here will see a hearing date set and submitters will be invited to present in September. When all of the submissions have been heard the independent panel will release their recommendations for the council to consider.
■ Adoption of the finalised rules won’t be before December this year.
For more information about the new rules for building homes in Te Puke and Ōmokoroa go to westernbay.govt.nz/housing-rules and westernbay.govt.nz/district-plan-changes.
Housing rules based on the MDRS standards were applied to towns across Aotearoa who fit the Government’s criteria. They must be predominantly urban in character and have a population of at least 10,000 people. Te Puke and Ōmokoroa are the only towns in the Western Bay of Plenty that fit this brief.
