Online hub added to discuss housing
New law means changes to housing
Been thinking of subdividing your block? Or building a unit in the back for family? Council wants to connect with the O¯ mokoroa community with an update on housing.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council is building on current plans for O¯ mokoroa’s growth, by making changes that will make it easier for the people of Ōmokoroa to build houses that suit their lifestyles.
These housing changes have been prompted by the Government’s Enabling Housing Supply Amendment Act, and give council and the Ōmokoroa community an opportunity to use this legislation to our advantage — the important part will be to get the changes right for Ōmokoroa.
A community conversation on council’s new online hub — Your Place — has been launched to explore what the new changes will look like.
Council’s planning manager Phillip Martelli says we’ve been talking about growth in Ōmokoroa for some time now, and this new legislation to enable more housing will help to accommodate the continuous growth, and the changes will also make the development consistent across the whole peninsula.
“Government has introduced new law [Enabling Housing Supply Amendment Act] that requires councils like the Western Bay to replace our local housing rules — with new rules that allow people to build more homes and different kinds of homes.
“This new law applies to towns that don’t have enough houses to meet demand —for the Western Bay, that includes Omokoroa [and Te Puke addressed separately].
“What this means is we’ll be making it easier for you to add a unit to your backyard, build up to three storeys and build townhouses — all without needing a resource consent.”
Subdividing land at the same time will also be easier.
“The changes could also lead to benefits for Ōmokoroa such as increased affordability, increased access to employment, transport and community facilities, less urban sprawl and more housing choice to suit different lifestyles.”
However, all this will mean that some of Ōmokoroa's neighbourhoods may look a little different in a few years time, with more properties with more than one home on them, more backyard units, and more redevelopment where an existing house could be replaced with townhouses.
“We can influence what happens around higher density developments, how we encourage the kinds of housing we need more of — such as many generations of whānau living together.
‘‘And how we ensure our neighbourhoods have all the services we need to maintain what we love about Ōmokoroa,” says Phillip.
“Your feedback is vital if we’re going to get this right. It will tell us what the most important issues are for Ōmokoroa, and what we need to grow and what we need to protect.”
All of Ōmokoroa's current residential areas will be subject to the new changes. The greatest effect will be on the existing village as most of the new developments on the peninsula either already meet the density standards or are too new to be considered viable for redevelopment.
Council’s existing work to plan growth around Ōmokoroa is carrying on. These new changes will be incorporated into our plans but will not affect the activities outlined in the structure plan such as education, shopping, and a town centre.
Council will use feedback to draft a ‘plan change’ to adopt in our District Plan. Then will share the draft with residents in June, prior to formal notification in August. Community feedback is open until May 6.
- Supplied Western Bay of Plenty District Council
Have your say by: Online — take part in a survey on www.westernbay.govt.nz/yourplace
Face to face — attend a community conversation event at the Ōmokoroa Sports Pavilion on May 3 from 4-7pm, or May 4 from 2-5pm. Hard copy — fill out a feedback form at the Ōmokoroa library or service centre.