Comment by Cameron Brewer – 17 December 2015:
Auckland Council has released its revisions to the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan (PAUP) the draft of which was signed off on 30 September 2013.
The eastern suburbs have been hit hard by the rezoning, which is upsetting many locals following huge public meetings and outrage early in 2013 when they thought they’d been listened to.
Back then the Mayor and councillors agreed to water down the intensification plans after significant public outcry. I worked closely with the Orakei Local Board and community groups to secure some provisions in the PAUP which would protect the special character of our surrounding neighbourhoods.
Now much of that watering down has been strengthened up again in secret and without any public mandate. Glendowie in particular has been hit hard by Auckland Council’s intensification measures. Roughly 70 percent of the suburb has been rezoned from Single House to Mixed Housing Suburban and up to 15 percent is now classed as Mixed Housing Urban where before there was zero.
This proposed intensification comes at the same time residents are worried that Auckland Transport is set to take away bus services for the eastern suburbs.
While the push to stop high-rise apartments being built along Kohimarama beach front may have been successful, up to 50 percent of Kohimarama has undergone some form of intensification with large swathes of Mixed Housing Suburban being upzoned as urban which strips these areas of any meaningful density controls.
Large areas to the south of and surrounding Remuera’s village have been upzoned to allow for more Terraced Housing & Apartment Buildings (THAB) while alarmingly almost a quarter of the Single House zones on Remuera’s northern side have been reclassified as Mixed Housing Suburban.
St Heliers has also seen several areas intensified with housing around Glover Park being rezoned as Mixed Housing Suburban and Terraced Housing & Apartment Buildings continuing down St Heliers Bay Road to St Heliers School/ Riddell Road.
The suburb of Orakei has also been upzoned considerably.
It’s not just height, it’s density (see table below). In the widespread Mixed Housing Suburban zone, all a developer now needs to secure is a quarter of an acre. By combining the likes of two neighbouring sections, he can then put in a low-rise apartment complex with no density restrictions whatsoever right next to you in your quiet leafy suburb.
That’s a serious backtrack to what the public was promised in 2013. I was pleased to sign Councillor Dick Quax’s Notice Of Motion recently to push the issues back to the public to allow for people’s views on these changes to be heard.
Sadly Mayor Len Brown threw out that Notice Of Motion at the last council meeting of the year. For the nine of us councillors who supported the failed Notice Of Motion these changes are dramatic and completely undemocratic.
At least the public can now see exactly what’s going on and can really lean on the councillors ahead us passing the final Unitary Plan next year – unfortunately that is the best and next chance to secure any significant change.
Like it was in 2013, this will be a huge local body election issue in 2016, and there’ll be many political causalities if Auckland’s concerned voices are not heard.
Changes in density provisions since 2013:
| Zone | 2013 PAUP Notified density provisions | Changes proposed by Council through the Residential zones hearing |
| THAB | · No density controls | · No density controls(No change) |
| Mixed Housing Urban | · one dwelling per 300m2 net site area, or· one dwelling per 250m2 net site area for front sites or · No density applies where four or more dwellings are proposed for sites over 1200m2 net site area. · Additional rules requiring road frontage and site widths | · No density controls for all sites· No additional rules requiring road frontage and site widths |
| Mixed Housing Suburban | · One dwelling per 400m2 net site area, or· One dwelling per 300m2 net site area for front sites or · One dwelling per 200m2 where four or more dwellings are proposed for sites over 1200m2 net site area. · Additional rules requiring road frontage and site widths | · One dwelling per 200m2 for sites smaller than 1000m2· No density controls for sites larger than 1000m2 · No additional rules requiring road frontage and site widths |
| Single House zone | · One dwelling per site· Minimum site size of 600m2 to subdivide | · One dwelling per site· Minimum site size of 600m2 to subdivide(No change) |
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Hi Cameron
Thank you for your article on the Council’s proposed zoning changes. The planned changes in the Eastern Suburbs are not sensible. Do you know what is the process hereon?
regards
Chen Jiang
High Cameron,
Thank you very much for you articles alerting us all to the non notified Changes the Auckland Council have made in respect of Intensive Housing in areas in the Orakei Ward. Your Vigilance is most appreciated!!
This a totally unacceptable situation, and I agree with is going to cause a huge Outcry and protest in our Ward, especially now that we know that Len Brown at a Council meeting threw out a motion proposed by those Councillors that were against intensive Housing in our Ward.
Now you know why we all wanted you to run fore Mayor of Auckland, which is because of a lack of suitable Infrastructure to back you. At least please stand for Council again representing our Ward.
Look forward to hearing more from about Len Browns Cockle mania scheme in respect of Intensified. Another very important in respect of this Intensified Housing is that Auckland does not have the Infrastructure and utilities in place that will adequately cope with this intensification. Thus their will even more Council debt incurred in developing the necessary infrastructure, and no doubt will be passed on to the Rate Payers.
Guy King.