New policy to fix ‘failing cities’
A Government plan to sideline nimbys could speed up cheaper housing and hasten development.
It would also force local councils to ease restrictions on building heights and intensive housing in city centres, under proposed changes announced yesterday. Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said the country’s cities were ‘‘failing’’ as council planning was restricting development and creating a pressurecooker effect.
He spoke at the launch of a new proposed National Policy Statement on Urban Development, alongside Environment Minister David Parker at a Porirua development, Kenepuru Landing.
Twyford said current restrictions stopped cities from growing up and out. The plan, a legal document telling councils what they should do on matters of national importance, would make councils ease up on development. ‘‘For example, in your city centre and around train stations and rapid transit interchanges you have got to free up those height and density rules.’’ Twyford said the Government would not micro-manage councils down to aspects such as specific height restrictions. The policy statement gave councils ‘‘the general direction’’ but it was still a powerful tool for pushing Government influence.
The changes would mean councils had central government backing in dealing with local opposition to developments. ‘‘Sometimes it is quite hard for local councils to stand up to some ratepayers who say: We don’t want mediumdensity housing or affordable housing in our neighbourhood.’’
National MP Judith Collins said any bolstering of councils’ ability to stand up to nimbyism was good but councils would have to employ someone to work out what the statement meant. The proposal was ‘‘a bit woolly’’ and failed the plain English test.
‘‘I do think there is a lot of waffle in here, which will only come back and bite everyone that is trying to get anything done.’’
‘‘The problem is this then needs to be interpreted by the local authority,’’ Collins said.
Twyford said the proposed statement would direct councils – particularly in the six high-growth centres of Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown – to free up their planning rules while focusing on high-quality streets, neighbourhoods and communities.
‘‘You have got to allow cities to grow out on the fringes. That doesn’t mean unserviced sprawl ... and you have got to make sure the developers can carry the cost of their infrastructure.
‘‘Don’t come with your hands out to the taxpayer or ratepayer expecting a subsidy.’’
It was not possible to give a precise estimate of how many new houses might be built as a result of the changes, Twyford said.
The discussion document for the plan said new features would enable ‘‘higher-density development in areas close to employment, amenity, infrastructure and demand’’. It would allow consideration of urban development where land has not yet been released or not identified for urban development, the document said.
It would set limits on the ability to regulate the number of car parks required for a development.
The proposal would make councils ‘‘provide opportunities for iwi and hapu¯ to identify aspirations and issues of concern, and ensure these are considered’’.
The Government wanted councils to ‘‘take a long-term strategic approach’’ to the growth of their cities, Twyford said.
‘‘This means joining up transport, housing and infrastructure in a 30-year plan that involves mana whenua and the wider community in a much more hands-on approach to planning.’’
In 2016, the previous National Government housing minister Nick Smith launched a policy statement making councils oversupply land rather than look to meet expected demand. Twyford, then in opposition, called the policy a ‘‘damp squib’’. Yesterday, he said this plan, however, would definitely have an impact. ‘‘This is a bolder move ... it is going to take the shackles off.’’
Local Government New Zealand vice-president Stuart Crosby said the old policy statement was not fit for purpose. ‘‘However, we need to ensure that its replacement is ... not another academic white elephant that is imposed on local government.’’