Rules may halt 'slum' housing

By John Cousins
Tauranga City Council has moved to halt the escalation of high density housing developments.
It will be tightening the rules that have permitted high density low quality housing to spring up across the city.
Cr Mary Dillon said the council was getting applications every week that cut across permitted housing densities.,p>She described it as "intensification by stealth" and said the council was seeking to hold the line.
She complained the city was seeing too much low quality, higher density developments.
Cr David Stewart said they had to avoid any more "slums" of the type that had sprung up at Mount Maunganui.
He was referring to developers being allowed to cram sterile rows of apartments onto sections.
Cr Stewart was assured by planners that the proposed planning change was designed to hold the line at the current residential density of one unit per 325 sq m of land. The proposed new rules meant developers would have to "jump through some big hoops" if they wanted to exceed permitted building densities.
The city's District Scheme allows developers to apply to exceed the "relatively liberal" 325 sq m density rule.
Yesterday's council policy forum was told the discretion which allowed developers to go to higher densities must be accompanied by action to stop deterioration in neighbourhood amenity values.
Environmental planner Karen Marjoribanks said issues surrounding higher density developments needed quicker intervention than waiting for completion of SmartGrowth's planning solutions.
The main thrust of the planning change would be to set criteria by which developments were assessed for their impact on neighbourhoods. The council currently did not have planning tools for higher density developments to be comprehensively assessed.
Key issues already identified were overshadowing, shading, privacy, setbacks between units, and parking.
Council environmental policy manager Andy Ralph said it would lead to a better managed approach to developments. Limitations were currently very narrow.
The new approach could see applications turned down or permitted, using a comprehensive approach that would be better for neighbours. There was no intention to target normal subdivisions, he said.
Mr Ralph said if people wanted to go to greater than permitted densities, they would have to jump through some big hoops.
Ms Marjoribanks said the council wanted to hold the line by saying these were the harder assessments that would apply to higher density developments.
Public consultation on the parameters of the change opened today and close on March 30 next year. This will be followed by the preparation of the draft plan and a further round of public submissions next July.