City’s high-density plans released
Between 4000 and 5000 houses currently in Auckland’s special character areas could be rezoned for intensification under new government planning rules, Auckland Council says.
It is one part of the council’s plans for how it will implement the Government’s requirements to boost higher-density housing development, such as apartments and townhouses, across the city.
Two sets of rules are at play, the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD), introduced in August 2020, and the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS), introduced last year.
They are intended to increase housing supply and improve affordability.
Auckland Council’s plans, which were released for public consultation on Tuesday last week, recommended allowing developments of up to six storeys or more within 15 minutes walk of the central city; and within 10 minutes of 10 large urban centres, train stations and rapid busway stops.
The 10 centres were Newmarket, Manukau, New Lynn, Sylvia Park, Botany, Papakura, Takapuna, Henderson, Albany, and Westgate.
More density around larger town centres with good access to public transport was also now required, the council said. It recommended this should be in the ‘‘terrace housing and apartment building zone’’ up to 400m from larger centres and 200m around smaller town centres. It would include areas such as Milford and St Lukes.
The council wanted to get Aucklanders’ feedback on these recommendations and on some proposed ‘‘qualifying matters’’, or exemptions, to limit building heights and density.
These exemptions would relate to areas designated as having special character because of ecological or historical significance, and areas with significant infrastructure constraints.
Auckland’s historic heritage would continue to be protected as a matter of national importance under the Resource Management Act, and heritage protections in the Auckland Unitary Plan would not change. Auckland Council general manager of plans and places John Duguid said many older areas that were currently considered special character areas would be affected and estimated between 4000 and 5000 houses in them could be rezoned.
There was still a long way to go before final changes were decided, he said.
‘‘The council has put out some proposed approaches for Aucklanders to have their say on whether we’ve struck the right balance between the requirement to enable more housing density and protecting the things many Aucklanders value such as sites of cultural, historic, or ecological significance.’’
The consultation, which would run until May 9, was not a Government requirement but aimed to give Aucklanders a say ahead of the public notification of a plan change in August.
Duguid said the council wanted to hear people’s views on the council’s approach to the limited things it was able to decide under the new rules, including the proposed exemptions to reduce mandated building heights. ‘‘We can’t use these exemptions without providing strong evidence to prove why further housing density should be limited, and this needs to be justified against the Government’s clear requirements to allow more housing density.’’
Auckland Council chief of strategy Megan Tyler said the new rules had not junked the city’s Unitary Plan because it had served as a blueprint and had been taken up by the new rules in many ways.
While there was a need for greater intensification, the blanket approach of the new rules meant the compact city approach of the Unitary Plan had been lost, she said.
The feedback would help inform the council’s proposed plan change to the Auckland Unitary Plan which had to be publicly notified by August 20. Public submissions could then be made on the plan change.