MP for Epsom and Act Party Leader David Seymour talks to Mike Hosking about plans to intensity housing in Auckland.
RMA Minister Chris Bishop has announced Aucklanders will have a say on the latest urban development plans, allowing for greater density and high-rise apartments, from November 3 to December 19.
What’s more, Bishop said the overall timeframe for the biggest shake-up of the city’s planning rules since the Unitary Plana decade ago will run for about 18 months.
“Robust consultation will be critical to the success of the process and ensuring the voice of Aucklanders is heard is important for both the Government and the council,” Bishop said in a letter to Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and planning committee chairman Richard Hills.
RMA Minister Chris Bishop has laid out the timetable for the new development plans.
Last month, Auckland councillors agreed to begin a replacement plan allowing capacity for up to two million homes by accepting Bishop’s offer to opt out of the previous Government’s medium-density residential standards (MDRS) rules permitting three-storey homes everywhere. Opting out required the council to adopt new planning rules enabling equivalent housing capacity.
Councillors are expected to vote on September 24 to abandon the MDRS and proceed to public consultation on the draft replacement plan.
The plan also introduces stricter regulations for areas prone to natural hazards such as flooding and coastal erosion.
The first draft of the replacement plan has led to several public meetings in central city suburbs impacted by up-zoning and the loss of Special Character areas of villas and bungalows.
Hundreds of people have packed meetings, like this one in Mt Eden, to voice concerns about the latest intensification plans. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
At one meeting in Mt Eden, council planner Celia Davison said the plan was “really significant” and would change the way Auckland looks over a very long time if the council went ahead with it this month.
Mayor Brown acknowledged the minister for his pragmatic support, saying the city had changed a lot since the council’s Plan Change 78 response to the MDRS.
“We’ve had the floods, the Auckland Light Rail project was canned, and we’ve almost finished the $5.5 billion City Rail Link project, which we all want to make the most out of. We need intensification in sensible places like transport corridors to make better use of existing infrastructure. I support the public having their say to help us strike the right balance.”
Hills thanked Bishop for his collaborative approach and for confirming that the public will get to have their say through a process of public submissions and hearings.
“This is a sensible way to let us get out of Plan Change 78 and its blanket MDRS everywhere, including inappropriate development in flood plains.
“I’m pleased Aucklanders will get to have their say on its replacement through an informed debate about housing, hazards, and infrastructure. It’s not just about saying ‘no’ to building in flood plains; it’s about building the right homes in the right places with the right infrastructure in place,” Hills said.
Bishop said the timeline for public consultation was subject to receiving formal notice from Auckland Council that it was withdrawing from Plan Change 78 and proceeding with the draft replacement plan.
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