Time to press pause on higher-density rules
Ahefty agenda awaits city councillors at their full council meeting tomorow. The year’s penultimate meeting will finally see councillors vote on shortterm and permanent solutions geared at resolving the odoriferous saga of Bromley’s organics processing plant.
Also looming large on the agenda is another major fork in the road – the housing density debate. The change of government has increasingly called into question the futility of soldiering on with this independent hearings panel, given the looming regulatory changes.
As The Press reported last week, more than $2 million has already been spent on this hearings process, which is primarily considering the application of intensification directives forced upon Christchurch by the former government.
The hearings panel into plan change 14 (PC14) is scheduled to resume on January 30 and the total budget is $4.2m.
Pleasingly, the council’s interim chief executive, Mary Richardson, has read the room and asserted some refreshingly clear-headed leadership, instructing council staff to formulate a recommendation on the best way forward. Staff are now recommending to councillors that they vote to place the hearings process on hold.
The Combined Residents Associations of Christchurch (CRAC) is welcoming the major change in tune, urging councillors to vote yes to requesting a pause from the Environment Minister.
One of their leading lights, Tony Simons, tells me that he personally sees “no merit persisting with PC14 given we never needed it and never asked for it”.
“It was way over the top and would be incredibly damaging for our city.”
But given the nature of our elected council, I’m expecting a cliff-hanger vote. Many councillors remain ideologically wedded to the previous regime’s directives on medium-density residential standards, and even higher-density developments around suburban centres.
Cr Sara Templeton doubled-down on social media last week, opposing stopping work on PC14. “We've spent a huge amount of money for this plan change and I'd be reluctant to throw that away just because it is now no longer compulsory,” says Templeton.
Cr Sam MacDonald tells me that he welcomes the “pragmatic approach” council staff are recommending. The postquake district plan ”works effectively in Christchurch. We should be populating our central city, first and foremost”, he says.
Curiously, deputy mayor Pauline Cotter, who has been a staunch defender of our “fit-for-purpose” district plan, wouldn’t show her hand.
“I would prefer to wait until we’ve had a briefing from staff,” she said.
In contrast, Hornby councillor Mark Peters believes pausing the process would be sensible. “I’d like to see the Government give us the opportunity to revisit PC14 in order for us to make a more Christchurch-centric intensification solution.”
During the public submission process, PC14 had notified allowing six-storey housing blocks to take shape in the commercial centres of Riccarton, Hornby and Papanui. But council staff then took it upon themselves to change that high density template to 10 storeys within those zones, while also recommending seven-storey housing towers be allowed to proliferate for 800 metres beyond those centres.
In Shirley, Linwood and Halswell staff also proposed allowing seven-storey housing blocks to stretch as far as 600 metres from those centres. That prompted CRAC to cry foul over “staff running amok” and called on the Ombudsman to suspend the hearings process, in October. The Ombudsman’s office is yet to rule on that complaint.
But tomorrow’s council vote could also override the need for any such external intervention. To place the hearings process on hold, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds will need to issue an amended gazette notice, which is what a successful vote tomorrow will formally request. She is receptive.
Simmonds tells me, “I expect to hear more from the council after their meeting”.
An amended gazette notice would suspend the PC14 process, until legislative change reclassifies the medium-density residential standards as optional. At that point, the council could reconsider whether to box on, change or withdraw PC14.
I believe there are some elements within PC14 worth pursuing, like tree coverage rules for new developments. That could be implemented by a standard RMA process.
But for now, let’s stand up for localised decision-making on density’s destiny. The city’s operative district plan has ample intensification capacity for the next 30 years. Defending that plan’s integrity is now in councillors’ hands.