What will ARC's Regional Planning legacy be?

We had a meeting of the ARC's Regional Strategy and Planning Ctte this week where we discussed the future of the present review of Auckland's paramount planning document: The Auckland Regional Policy Statement. It is being reviewed now, consistent with legislation that required such a review at least every ten years.

The current review has been underway since November 2007. The issue ARC is now facing is that it will be abolished in a few months time. As the report notes:

At this juncture, the decision point is fast approaching as to what to do with the
proposed ARPS. The review commenced in November 2007, and in light of potential
legislative changes (Phase II reforms to the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA),
transport legislation and the Local Government Act (RM2U), new National Policy
Statements (NPS) and National Environmental Standards (NES)), along with
governance changes and the transition to the Auckland Council, it is timely to review
its progression.

The report contains some very robust statements about what the consequences are for regional planning of actions outside ARC's control such as supercity and government's legislative programme:

The governance changes will impact on the nature and form of all resource
management documents in the region. The third Auckland Bill was released on 10
December 2009. This outlines the contents and process for the new Spatial Plan.
Submissions to the Select Committee close on 15 February 2010. The timing of the
Phase II reforms to the RMA, transport legislation and the Local Government Act
(RM2U) is uncertain and their implication for the ARC’s planning documents
unknown.....

Phase II of the RM2U reform may alter the content that an ARPS can/may address,
particularly in regards to setting urban limits, land supply and housing affordability
issues, and in particular, freshwater management. No specific timeframe has been
given for these potential changes....

And in regard to supercity governance changes currently in the wind relating to the possibility of a spatial plan approach the report notes:

The development of a spatial plan clearly has implications for the role and scope of
the ARPS. The future of the proposed ARPS as a legacy item is not assured. It is not
drafted in a manner that reflects the governance and legislative changes outlined
above.

This is very serious stuff.

The ARC agreed to a process where we would adopt the ARPS, but not publicly notify it. Thus we would pass to Auckland Council an adopted draft, ready for its action.

Because I am aware that a huge amount of work has gone into the real core of regional planning in this review, I was anxious that we not throw the baby out with the bathwater here. Leave it all a bit like a damp squib. The core issue has been planning for the staged redevelopment of Auckland's existing urban environment - through re-zoning, some medium and high density development - both for residential and employment generating activities, the roll out of high capacity public transport corridors.

This is critical work, which will need extensive consultation.

Potentially a very hot potato, but good work has been done and this needs to be packaged with the work done in the regional land transport strategy, and made available in a succinct way to the incoming Auckland Council.

The meeting was covered reasonably usefully by Bob Dey. You can see his report of the meeting at: http://www.propbd.co.nz/afa.asp?idWebPage=8338&idBobDeyProperty_Articles=13829&SID=513072092