New Kaipara homes not on town supply could soon see the number of water tanks required for resource consent halved.
Submissions close today for a proposed plan change to Kaipara District Council's (KDC) District Plan fire safety rules, which would see the amount of water specifically for fire-fighting purposes on residential and rural sites dropped from 45 cubic metres (45,000 litres) to 10 cubic metres (10,000 litres).
The move was welcomed by Mangawhai building company Coastal Homes salesman Scott Manwaring, who said 45,000 litres of water often required two extra tanks - which could not be touched except in fire emergencies - on top of the tank required for drinking and household water.
"It's hard to get three tanks on to your average residential site of 600 to 650 square metres. People were having to put the tanks at the front of their house, so the first thing people see is a water tank."
KDC community planning manager Venessa Anich said public outcry had resulted in the council revising the rules.
Between November 1, 2013, when the District Plan was made operative, and November 1 last year the council received 82 resource consent applications seeking a reduction of water storage to 10m3.
"We worked out the fire safety rules were tricky on the ground. People weren't happy. We agree that it was not workable, so hence the proposed plan change."
It was a case of balancing home owners' interests - such as affordability - with fire safety, and KDC had been working closely with the fire service to find a "middle ground", she said. "We'd rather work with them and we think we've found a compromise."
Mr Manwaring said if the proposed plan change went ahead it would make the process of new house construction "a whole lot easier".
"It means less cost involved in building. It will make it easier to manage smaller sites with larger houses. It's a step in the right direction," he said.
Tanks could cost upwards of $3600 each, and that did not include costs of installation or upkeep.
Ms Anich said KDC was welcoming submissions, which close at 5pm today.
For more information on the proposed plan change, visit the Kaipara District Council website www.kaipara.govt.nz.