Friday, May 10, 2013

Auckland's Shameful Deal with Wellington

Radio New Zealand advises today:

The Government will on Friday announce plans it hopes will ease the housing shortage in Auckland, including faster sprawl into some rural areas.
Radio New Zealand's Auckland correspondent understands a pre-Budget deal has been done to fast-track parts of the Auckland Council's long term development blueprint, even though the council is reluctant.
Auckland is estimated to be short of 30,000 houses.
The Government believes that increasing land supply will slow rising house prices, and accelerate construction.
It is understood to want an announcement in next week's Budget.

Listening to the item Aucklanders hear that a deal can be expected between  Auckland Council and Central Government to the effect that Auckland Council's Unitary Plan intensification plans can be fast-tracked into effect, provided that Auckland Council releases more land at the Rural Urban Boundary for development.

There is no principle in such a deal. It is pure political pragmatism. It will deliver lowest common denominator urban outcomes because it is utterly reliant on the market to deliver liveability. If this deal goes through Auckland Council will have failed to protect the public interest from shonky infill and shabby intensification which is unconcerned with the urban amenity of green spaces, shops, schools, public transport, and community development.

It will be an imposition on Auckland communities of an unregulated development market, while Auckland Council quietly absolves itself of critical planning responsibilities for existing urban neighbourhoods.

The Auckland Council will feel it has achieved something - but it will be at the expense of its vision of making Auckland more liveable. The Government will get what many of its supporters want - easy profits from growth and development - with the social costs born by existing communities.
These are desperate measures. They reflect badly on a Council which says it wants liveability but behind those comforting words takes hasty actions which will take Auckland communities, neighbourhoods and suburbs backwards in terms of liveability.

The only people who will directly benefit from this sort of decision are developers and land owners wanting a quick uplift in land value.

Shame on you Auckland Council.

Previous relevant posts:
Aug 21, 2011
Penny Pirrit Manager Regional and Local Planning for Auckland Council. Presenting Auckland Council's current ideas about consolidating all of Auckland's RMA planning documents into one plan, one Unitary Plan, at the University of ...

Jul 09, 2012
One of the major planning tasks and headache for the amalgamated Auckland Council is the requirement to produce a single Unitary Plan under the Resource Management Act (which itself is under further pressure for ...
Dec 02, 2012
Those preparing the Unitary Plan seem to be adopting a Zone Control approach as the main implementation tool. Thou shalt conform with the Zone. This is causing a variety of reactions ... More importantly - the challenge is to come up with ways that motivate the community to make the change - rather than them feeling the change is being imposed on them by a draconian Council zone. Here's a few extracts from the US thinking.... For sixty years, Americans have ...

Oct 03, 2012
There is considerable public and professional disquiet about the process that has been agreed by Auckland Council for the development of the Unitary Plan. This is to be in Two Phases - which can be seen also as Phase 1 ...

May 05, 2013
Near the top of his list was the fact that Lake Road is bad now, and there are not credible plans to fix it; that there was no evidence of Master Planning by the council - it would just be a developer buying up 2 or 3 adjoining lots and then ... The meeting heard the viewpoint of those organising the meeting: that the unitary plan encourages construction to 4 storeys (14.5 metres); puts no limit on density but encourages high-density development, and effectively discourages ...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree wholeheartedly. what can be done to stop this ratepayers land being handed over to government. It seems in some areas more than others. HNZ are the worst landlords around and we do not need more of these hovels. 8 stories in our area. Shame shame Shame.They sell off big areas of houses getting millions but do not put the houses back in those areas. just stack them up in certain ares and no ammenties.What can be done to wake people up.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Auckland's Shameful Deal with Wellington

Radio New Zealand advises today:

The Government will on Friday announce plans it hopes will ease the housing shortage in Auckland, including faster sprawl into some rural areas.
Radio New Zealand's Auckland correspondent understands a pre-Budget deal has been done to fast-track parts of the Auckland Council's long term development blueprint, even though the council is reluctant.
Auckland is estimated to be short of 30,000 houses.
The Government believes that increasing land supply will slow rising house prices, and accelerate construction.
It is understood to want an announcement in next week's Budget.

Listening to the item Aucklanders hear that a deal can be expected between  Auckland Council and Central Government to the effect that Auckland Council's Unitary Plan intensification plans can be fast-tracked into effect, provided that Auckland Council releases more land at the Rural Urban Boundary for development.

There is no principle in such a deal. It is pure political pragmatism. It will deliver lowest common denominator urban outcomes because it is utterly reliant on the market to deliver liveability. If this deal goes through Auckland Council will have failed to protect the public interest from shonky infill and shabby intensification which is unconcerned with the urban amenity of green spaces, shops, schools, public transport, and community development.

It will be an imposition on Auckland communities of an unregulated development market, while Auckland Council quietly absolves itself of critical planning responsibilities for existing urban neighbourhoods.

The Auckland Council will feel it has achieved something - but it will be at the expense of its vision of making Auckland more liveable. The Government will get what many of its supporters want - easy profits from growth and development - with the social costs born by existing communities.
These are desperate measures. They reflect badly on a Council which says it wants liveability but behind those comforting words takes hasty actions which will take Auckland communities, neighbourhoods and suburbs backwards in terms of liveability.

The only people who will directly benefit from this sort of decision are developers and land owners wanting a quick uplift in land value.

Shame on you Auckland Council.

Previous relevant posts:
Aug 21, 2011
Penny Pirrit Manager Regional and Local Planning for Auckland Council. Presenting Auckland Council's current ideas about consolidating all of Auckland's RMA planning documents into one plan, one Unitary Plan, at the University of ...

Jul 09, 2012
One of the major planning tasks and headache for the amalgamated Auckland Council is the requirement to produce a single Unitary Plan under the Resource Management Act (which itself is under further pressure for ...
Dec 02, 2012
Those preparing the Unitary Plan seem to be adopting a Zone Control approach as the main implementation tool. Thou shalt conform with the Zone. This is causing a variety of reactions ... More importantly - the challenge is to come up with ways that motivate the community to make the change - rather than them feeling the change is being imposed on them by a draconian Council zone. Here's a few extracts from the US thinking.... For sixty years, Americans have ...

Oct 03, 2012
There is considerable public and professional disquiet about the process that has been agreed by Auckland Council for the development of the Unitary Plan. This is to be in Two Phases - which can be seen also as Phase 1 ...

May 05, 2013
Near the top of his list was the fact that Lake Road is bad now, and there are not credible plans to fix it; that there was no evidence of Master Planning by the council - it would just be a developer buying up 2 or 3 adjoining lots and then ... The meeting heard the viewpoint of those organising the meeting: that the unitary plan encourages construction to 4 storeys (14.5 metres); puts no limit on density but encourages high-density development, and effectively discourages ...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree wholeheartedly. what can be done to stop this ratepayers land being handed over to government. It seems in some areas more than others. HNZ are the worst landlords around and we do not need more of these hovels. 8 stories in our area. Shame shame Shame.They sell off big areas of houses getting millions but do not put the houses back in those areas. just stack them up in certain ares and no ammenties.What can be done to wake people up.