New rules will limit building

2GP spells changes for floodprone parts of city

NEW houses will either be banned or made more difficult to build in the most floodprone parts of Dunedin, and developers eyeing South Dunedin have been told to prepare for a climate change evacuation.

The changes are among new rules for natural hazards released this week as part of the Dunedin City Council’s finalised secondgeneration district plan (2GP).

The new rules meant large swathes of the city are now covered by a tiered, threelevel system of flood, land instability and coastal hazard zones, which place new controls over development in each area.

New homes and other ‘‘sensitive’’ developments were now deemed a noncomplying activity in the Hazard 1 flooding zone, which covered mainly rural areas and Berwick, council planner Paul Freeland said.

The new rules would make it ‘‘quite difficult’’ to obtain resource consent to build a new home in those areas, he said.

A new Hazard 1A (flood) zone had also been added, covering many of the spillways and ponding areas of the lower Taieri flood protection scheme, which prohibited new homes altogether.

Mr Freeland said the flood protection scheme was designed to flood in heavy rainfall events, and it made sense to prohibit new homes in the area.

There were a ‘‘handful’’ of rural homes within the zone, mainly on the periphery, and they would not be forced out, he said.

They could also be permitted to make small additions to improve their quality of life, which were not seen as increas ing the risk, Mr Freeland said.

But new homes, potentially placing more people in harm’s way, would not be permitted.

‘‘They would have to go through a plan change [process], so it’s not taken lightly. It’s the toughest we can make it,’’ he said.

And in areas covered by the coastal hazard 3 overlay, new homes would have to be designed to be relocated in future, given the risk of inundation from sea level rise, he said.

That affected South Dunedin and coastal communities such as Aramoana, and covered any new building with residential activity on the ground floor, he said.

‘‘It’s really warning people that they are in an area where, over time, they may need to move because of sea level rise.’’

It was possible new defences against sea level rise would be developed, avoiding the need to relocate houses, ‘‘but it does really depend on the response’’.

‘‘At this stage, we think it’s prudent to put people on notice, basically.’’

Concerns the new rules could impact property values was understandable, but a 2015 government report had underscored the risks posed by sea level rise.

‘‘Places like South Dunedin are fairly and squarely . . . in that report. It’s not like it’s a secret or anything,’’ Mr Freeland said.

An earlier requirement to set minimum floor levels for new buildings had also been removed from the 2GP, and would instead be administered by the council under the Building Act, as would earthworks requirements.

HERITAGE advocates and building owners say the Dunedin City Council’s new second generation district plan (2GP) is a big step in the right direction.

But major organisations, including the University of Otago, Otago Regional Council and Property Council, say it is too soon to comment on any appeals.

The 2GP, published on Wednesday, included a range of new rules designed to guide city development over the next decade or more, including rezoning land for 1200 new homes.

It also encouraged the earthquake-strengthening andre use of heritage buildings, more development in the warehouse precinct and the protection of new residential heritage precincts.

Building owner Steve MacKnight, who owned properties in the warehouse precinct, was pleased with the intent of the plan.

Such documents could often be ‘‘one step behind’’ what was happening on the ground, including in the warehouse precinct, where the development the 2GP sought to encourage was already well under way, he said.

However, the new rules would make further development easier and cheaper, and could encourage similar activity to spread to other parts of the ‘‘old city’’, he said.

But, to deliver the best result for the city, the rules would also need to be flexible enough to adapt to future visions of what could be developed, he said.

‘‘That’s what the warehouse precinct was all about, and luckily there was a vision for it . . . where they accepted that the old use wasn’t the way we now want it.

‘‘I think we always have to say ‘yes these are the rules, but we can be flexible with them and reflect what the city needs as it changes over time’.

‘‘Often when it comes to the actual reality of working through it, when you’ve got two planners arguing against each other and lawyers involved, it can become less like that — less flexible. ’’

Meg Davidson, cofounder of City Rise Up, which pressed for the protection of heritage homes on City Rise, said her group was ‘‘delighted’’ by the 2GP.

The plan included City Rise in a list of new residential heritage precincts, which placed limits on how properties could be modified and the design of new buildings.

Ms Davidson said it was ‘‘a pity’’ the final document did not extend protections to other parts of the city, but what was included was ‘‘a good start, and it’s really heartening’’.

Property Council Otago chapter president Geoff Thomas said his organisation was yet to review the decisions in detail, but was pleased ‘‘at first glance’’ the new heritage provisions would hopefully encourage the reuse of heritage buildings.

ORC policy planning and resource management director Tanya Winter said the regional council would assess the 2GP before deciding on any appeals, which would only follow if the plan did not properly give effect to the Regional Policy Statement.

University of Otago chief operating officer Stephen Willis said the university needed time to examine the decisions.

❛ I think we always have to say ‘yes these are the

rules, but we can be flexible with them . . . ‘