North Shore district plan outdated before its time

By WAYNE THOMPSON

North Shore City's proposed district plan is at least two years off completion - but already it is out of date.

Mayor George Wood yesterday described the plan as obsolete, saying: "The document has taken so long to finalise it is not current to the needs of a fast-growing city."

Work began in 1992 and two years later the plan was notified for public comment and amendment. Thirty changes are still before the Environment Court and some are unlikely to be resolved before April 2002.

One proposed change allows the council to levy developers for the affect of their projects on roads, sewers, stormwater and amenities.

Mr Wood said the need for developers' contributions lent urgency to complete the district plan because of strain on the city's ability to cope with such growth.

The council was also under pressure from residents to amend the plan and stop a rash of high-density housing developments, he said.

Residents' groups and Grey Power have condemned the plan for allowing development which they say overloads services, damages the environment and pushes up rates and city debt to pay for infrastructure.

Mr Wood said the council was aware of community concerns but hesitated to respond as new changes would cause further delays. He hoped a compromise could be found.

The council's annual plan hearings committee has voted unanimously for changes in fundamental design standard and zone control rules for intensive housing developments.

The strategy and finance committee has called a special meeting on August 22 to discuss a review of zoning for high-density housing, particularly in Albany and Greenhithe, and consider preparing amendments.

Even minor tweaking of the plan might take several months to formalise.

A stop-gap solution, said committee chairwoman Jenny Kirk, could be to apply existing rules more stringently. "We have not been as stringent as we could."

Councillor Margaret Miles, who wants a zoning review, said she had endured four years of frustration with the plan. "If we ruin Albany, no money from developers is going to make up for it. For Albany, April 2002 is going to be too late."

She feared that any stalling of changes until after the plan was finalised might mean a further two or three years before court appeals were heard.