Fast-track land zoning sought

“In net terms, that has added time and cost to the planning process ...” Tasman mayor Tim King

A simplified land zoning process to speed up housing developments is among projects the Tasman District Council has put to the Government for potential fast-track consideration.

In a submission to RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop, supplied to Stuff, Tasman mayor Tim King said the district had high growth and some of the least affordable housing in the country compared with household income.

The challenge of providing new development opportunities to meet housing needs remained, he said, with around 4700 homes needed over the next 10 years.

While there had been a significant recent drop in residential consents, the council’s view was that this would be temporary.

Tasman was likely to remain an attractive place to live in the next 10 years, and central government had put a big emphasis on the provision of housing, King said.

“We're going to have to provide the infrastructure that supports that, the zoning that supports it, and in order to do that effectively and efficiently, then the more simple that processes can be made, the better.”

In the submission, the council suggested the Government could look at simplifying land zone changes to unlock well-planned developments more quickly.

Along with Nelson, the council had completed a Future Development Strategy (FDS) that outlined land for future development, but that land still faced a two-year RMA process for zone changes.

“In net terms, that has added time and cost to the planning process rather than simplifying it or streamlining it,” King said.

“We value our FDS as a strategic planning tool but could get more value fromit if there was a fast-track zone change process for land covered by the FDS.”

King also strongly encouraged the Government to consider how council consenting processes could be improved to reduce uncertainty and the cost, complexity and time associated with the bulk of consents.

King told Stuff that the council asked about projects like roading infrastructure, but was told there was not a sufficient level of certainty to go into the legislation.

The council did not have a lot of projects that were ready to go, and was aware that there were a lot of privately led proposals that may be submitted.

The council letter said it was aware that Wakefield Village Development group had requested fast-track approval for a 320home subdivision, and the council supported that move.

The council also called on the Government to change environmental standards that prohibited the “sensible management” of some low-risk Class 4 contaminated soils that were close to background levels.

“This is driving up the costs of developments and making them more complex, while at the same time wasting a valuable resource,” King said.

The council said fast-track consent could also be suitable for two joint landfill projects with Nelson city.