Auckland could see less intensification on the fringes of its sprawling suburbs as the council looks for ways to cut the city’s housing capacity from two million homes to 1.6 million.
This is one of eight principles councillors will consider tomorrow as they prepare a response to Housing Minister Chris Bishop’s request for an outline of which areas or suburbs may be affected by the lower density target.
One of the principles is to “decrease housing capacity using a distance of more than 10km from the city centre as a starting point”.
This would mean less intensification on the city fringes and more development closer to the centre, with other principles directing higher densities around City Rail Link (CRL) stations, major public transport corridors, metropolitan centres, and their surrounding walkable catchments.
The principle of less intensification starting on the outskirts of the city has upset the trustees of a Parnell property, who have hired a law firm, The Environmental Lawyers, which has written a letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Bishop and many other MPs.
In the letter, prepared for the trustees, Lawrence and Stephanie Mayne, and Melissa Clark, they claimed the principle would not meet the Government’s intentions or Luxon’s comments to the Herald that the shift to the 1.6 million housing capacity meant intensification in the suburbs “should go away”.
“We have done our part to take the capacity and load off the council; now it’s up to the council to make that work and put the density in the right places,” Luxon told the Herald.
The letter said both Luxon and Bishop had publicly stated that growth should be focused in the CBD, around CRL stations, rapid transit stops and metropolitan centres.
“As a result, there is less need for blanket, or any, intensification in suburbs.
“The trustees want to ensure that not only Parnell, but all of Auckland remains a well-functioning, high amenity and productive city in which to live, for generations to come,” the letter said.
Bishop said he had not seen the letter.
“Auckland Council is working through the process to give effect to Cabinet’s recent decisions, and I’m not going to get ahead of that,” the minister said.
The eight principles councillors will consider at today’s policy, planning and development committee are:
Senior council planners have also recommended a mix of alternatives to increase and decrease capacity to achieve the 1.6 million figure - 400,000 more than the 1.2 million enabled under the current Unitary Plan.
They include intensification at more town and local centres, increasing building heights from five to six storeys outside walkable catchments, replacing the single house zone with higher density zoning close to public transport and schools, and changes to residential zones.
Options to reduce capacity include down-zoning more properties at greatest risk from natural hazards, and changing rules to improve the quality of buildings and neighbourhoods.
This point has caught the attention of one of Auckland’s most experienced architects, Andrew Patterson, who said the council should draw on the expertise of architects and urban designers who understand development economics and site realities first-hand, and know how to create a more liveable, attractive and coherent city with far less angst.
He said that when development capacity is spread thinly across thousands of sites, the market gravitates toward the easiest projects, such as clusters of townhouses on suburban sections.
A more fine‑grained approach - identifying where mid‑rise housing genuinely works and where it does not - could achieve the same housing outcomes while producing a more coherent city, Patterson said.
The council has until March 17 to respond to Bishop.
Once the Government passes legislation for the 1.6 million figure - expected later this month or next month - the council will prepare draft maps for the changes.
Aucklanders will then have the opportunity for new submissions on Plan Change 120 (PC120) - the council’s response to the Government’s directive to plan for a capacity of two million homes, which drew more than 10,500 submissions.
An independent hearings panel will consider all of the submissions and make recommendations to the council.
Bishop has made it clear he wants the revised PC120 wrapped up by May 2027.
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