Council give accord the nod
THROUGH gritted teeth, Wellington city councillors have agreed to an ambitious housing accord that would see 7000 new houses built within five years.
But while the councillors may have ratified the accord, many warned the city was setting itself up to fail.
Yesterday’s hour-long debate came after Housing Minister Nick Smith and Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown signed the Wellington Housing Accord on Tuesday, making it possible for ‘‘special housing areas’’ with fasttracked consenting conditions, no public notification and limited appeal rights, to be established by the council.
It also allows the Government to override the council and declare special housing areas without agreement. Auckland and Christchurch already have similar accords.
At present, about 750 houses are built in Wellington each year. The accord sets a target of 1000 for the first year, rising to 1500 a year for the following four years, totalling 7000 houses in five years.
At a special full council meeting yesterday, councillors were asked to ratify the accord. WadeBrown said it was fundamentally about affordable housing, with the average house price in Wellington 5.5 times the median income.
She acknowledged that the target was ambitious, but said it was necessary to set ambitious goals to push yourself. ‘‘If we don’t go for it, where can we push?’’
She also said the special areas should be in places where infrastructure and transport links already existed to make the houses attractive to live in.
But many questioned the legitimacy of the accord. Iona Pannett and Andy Foster both voted against agreeing to the accord.
Pannett said it was a case of agree or have it forced on you by the Government, and the council would be the ones ‘‘hung out to dry’’ if the targets were not met.
Foster also questioned the targets, and attempted to extend the timeframe to six years. ‘‘Do we set ourselves up to succeed or do we set ourselves up to fail?’’
His motion lost by five votes to 10.
Other councillors voted for the accord – but only because the Government had the power to go ahead with it anyway. Justin Lester said he had ‘‘deep concerns’’ about the process, but it was better to be ‘‘inside the tent’’.
Helene Ritchie labelled the accord a sham that was completely unnecessary and would not result in any more houses – but she still voted for it. ‘‘It’s a sham, but it probably is a sham we’re better to sign up for.’’
However, Simon Marsh backed the accord and said it was good to set ambitious targets. ‘‘People who move into those houses are going to think it’s a success . . . let’s get on and start working on this as soon as possible.’’
Wade-Brown said there was the ability to renegotiate if the targets were too ambitious.
Potential ‘‘special housing areas’’ are yet to be identified, but six areas are under investigation including Churton Park, Kilbirnie, Adelaide Rd and Johnsonville.
Editorial