Councillors warned of ‘hard’ choices ahead to fix city housing issues

Wellington City councillors need to toughen up and face some hard decisions if they want to carry out their ambitious affordable housing plans, their chief executive warns.

‘‘We all want high-quality and affordable housing but that is not going to be plain sailing,’’ Kevin Lavery told councillors at a meeting yesterday. ‘‘It’s going to be really hard.’’

They might find themselves having to support developers in the face of opposition from residents and voters but that was the price of achieving their goals, he said.

If they failed to make the tough decisions, they could find developers pulling their money out.

Lavery told the meeting his council officers were ready to deliver the ‘‘game-changing’’ agenda councillors said they wanted but he questioned whether they were ready for the challenge.

‘‘It’s going to require hard work and painful decisions. We [officers] hope you are up for it ... It’s not going to be easy, and I think it is important to remember that,’’ he added.

There is an estimated shortfall of 3900 homes in Wellington, and an extra 37,000 dwellings will be required to meet its expected population growth of between 50,000 and 80,000 people by 2043.

Councillors were meeting to discuss the mayor’s housing taskforce recommendations, on which they will vote this week.

Those recommendations include increasing building heights and allowing more site coverage, stepping up council-led developments, and a partnership agreement with the Government.

Lavery warned that most developments would be in urban areas, such as the CBD and, if Wellington was going to be a high-growth city, change was the only way it would work.

To deliver the housing agenda, the city’s resource consenting processes needed to be streamlined, and that would mean adopting a new version of the Housing Accord and Special Housing Areas Act.

The accord allows fast-tracking of certain residential developments and gives developers the ability to push through applications without the need for public notification.

Wellington Deputy Mayor Paul Eagle, who led the housing taskforce, agreed with Lavery. ‘‘If the council is going to be pulling parts of the city and different owners together to develop housing, it’s going to be very complex and there will be difficult issues. There will be tough conversations if the council is serious about delivering expectations.’’

But Sarah Webb, from the Inner City Wellington group, said residents were concerned councillors would be at the beck and call of developers. ‘‘We feel they might let developers do what they like.’’

The group also worried that more apartment blocks, such as Soho on Taranaki St, would be erected. ‘‘They are tiny, and not a good example of community living.’’

Mayor Justin Lester said in a statement after the meeting: ‘‘It’s really good to see the whole organisation putting housing at the top of the agenda. Wellingtonians have been really clear they see this as a top priority.

‘‘We want to be a city where housing is affordable and accessible, and that is going to mean major reform. The strong message is our council is up for this, and we will leave no stone unturned.’’