Gary Taylor: Auckland's planning must be simplified

Opinion

Now that the shape of the new Auckland Council is becoming clear, it's time to focus on the planning framework to serve Auckland's people and deliver a world-class city.

A critical decision will be the scope, content and legal status of the city's new spatial plan.

The Royal Commission on Auckland Governance recommended the creation of an integrated spatial plan with an infrastructure investment plan. It saw such a plan as the starting point for the protection of the environment and heritage and the development of good urban design.

The spatial plan should set out a long-term vision for Auckland and guide development of the region.

It should provide certainty about what development can happen where, how it should be sequenced and where conservation values should dominate.

It is important that all these areas are mapped - hence "spatial".

We have to get away from plans consisting of long, rambling narratives that lack precision and invite argument about their meaning.

The spatial plan should map areas that have high natural and landscape values and need to be protected.

It should map areas for future urban growth and ensure there is adequate supply of affordable housing.

Essential infrastructure - roads, public transport, water, wastewater, recreation and community facilities and telecommunications - all need to be sequenced in a cost-effective way.

High-quality, strategic spatial planning will provide greater certainty for all, including developers.

But the spatial plan needs to have legal teeth otherwise it can simply be ignored when development applications are made.

It could have the status of a national policy statement under the Resource Management Act or of a regional policy statement.

With the spatial plan in place, the question is what other plans does Auckland need?

At the moment there are five regional plans, seven district plans, 12 transport plans, eight community plans and dozens (if not hundreds) of plan changes and variations in the pipeline.

While good planning can provide clear direction and stimulate innovation, excessive planning can obfuscate and strangle progress and become an end in itself, adding unnecessary costs and bureaucracy.

In November next year, when all these plans are brought under the same roof, we could end up with a real dog's breakfast if the Auckland Transition Agency is not careful.

The creation of the new council is an excellent opportunity to simplify the entire planning process.

One option is for the current planning documents to be rationalised into three regionwide plans, each focusing on a key aspect of regional management.

The first would be the spatial plan.

The second would be a science-based environmental plan which would focus on the environmental quality of the region and address air, water, biodiversity, coastal and marine issues.

The third would be a single district or development plan which would focus on achieving a high-quality built environment and good urban form and design.

All need to be written in simple language and be consistent with a template that encourages common terms and format. And to avoid complexity during the start-up phase, there should be a moratorium on private plan changes as recommended by the Royal Commission.

Another important question for the Transition Agency to address in the new setup is what checks and balances are needed? Who will regulate the regulator?

At present the ARC provides a check on district councils heading off the rails. The new council will need some in-house procedure to ensure compliance with the law.

It and its council-controlled organisations will be big developers in their own right. Some tension between the council and mayor's office would be helpful, as would the creation of an environmental oversight panel of experts, reporting to the mayor.

Reforming Auckland is not just about changing the bureaucracy and governance arrangements. Getting an improved, democratic, effective and simplified planning process is essential if we are to free up Auckland's potential and protect our outstanding environment.

* Gary Taylor is with the Environmental Defence Society www.eds.org.nz