Housing plan stirs concerns
An Auckland councillor said the government’s plan to boost housing is just more “Wellington officials determining what is right for our area.”
The government announced this week an ambitious plan to increase housing supply by easing planning rules in cities across the country. This plan has raised concerns among some councillors that urban sprawl could impact fertile rural land in Auckland.
Concerns over urban sprawl
Franklin ward councillor Andrew Baker expressed his support for some changes but emphasised the need to protect his region from becoming “just more suburbs of Auckland,” 1News reported.
“I am concerned that this is a continuation of Wellington officials determining what is right for our area,” Baker said.
He highlighted that the rural-urban boundary in Pukekohe was established through a thorough community-based planning process due to the area’s significant rural land.
Minister’s announcement and reactions
On Thursday, Housing and Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop announced proposed changes to the country’s planning laws.
The changes aim to expand cities at the urban fringe, enable mixed-use developments, and remove the council’s power to mandate balconies or minimum floor area sizes for developments, 1News reported.
“The plan would flood the market with affordable land to develop and make it easier and cheaper to develop that land into housing,” Bishop said.
Protecting fertile land
Manurewa-Papakura councillor Angela Dalton stressed the importance of protecting fertile lands for food growth.
“Auckland Council has housing growth capacity for 30 years, [and we] need to understand what live zoning will mean in terms of infrastructure provision in both green and brownfields development,” Dalton said.
Councillor Daniel Newman said that the Medium Density Residential Standards should be made voluntary in his ward.
“There is significant existing capacity in the operative Auckland Unitary Plan, and [the council] have been staunchly committed to preserving the character and profile of communities that are already under pressure,” Newman said.
He stressed the need for vital transport infrastructure to support growth.
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