This is a follow up article from the Plan Change 120 discussion held on Tuesday 25 November written by Ward Councillor, Desley Simpson and her team.
Thank you for those who were able to attend the public meeting we held on Tuesday 25th November at St Chads. Thanks again to Charmaine Vaughan of Meadowbank St Johns Residents Association who hosted.
We did four things at the meeting.
First we heard from Council’s general manager of planning and consents John Duguid. John gave an introduction to the plan change, and covered off the background that has led us to this point, including the Labour-National deal that produced the “Medium Density Residential Standards” (MDRS) and Plan Change 78 (PC78).
He covered how the storms of 2023 made Council rethink PC78 and ask government for more ability to downzone in areas with natural hazards, especially flooding and unstable land. Government gave us that ability this year – but with the requirement to keep the same capacity as PC78, as well as significant upzoning on City Rail Link stations on the western line, plus near our metro centres.
John talked about how that’s put pressure on us to also upzone along transit corridors, and in areas with good access to shops, jobs, parks, beaches, healthcare, and other services.
Second we did a Q and A to cover off the most frequently asked questions, such as:
Where did the 2m capacity figure come from?
That’s our estimate of capacity under the old PC78 – so we have to match that. It was produced after extensive detailed modelling at a granular level.
Will our infrastructure cope? It isn’t coping right now!
We’re investing $295b over 30 years in water and transport infrastructure, in a planned way. Yes it isn’t there yet, but it will align with when and where development happens. Things like central interceptor will have a big impact on improving water quality in Orakei ward from 2027 onwards.
Planning by its nature is for the future, and even now we don’t have everything in place for what the Unitary Plan of 2016 set out.
Remember too that no matter what a plan says, development can be stopped if the current infrastructure isn’t in place, especially for water infrastructure. That’s the role of consenting.
Another helpful thing is that often developers are required to upgrade infrastructure (or contribute funds towards upgrades) to support their development – and that helps us all.
What about schools and healthcare?
While that is government’s responsibility, we actively work with them so they know what our housing plans and pressures are. We know they are sometimes a bit slow, we hear you and will keep reminding them of their need to invest in these things. You should write and tell them too!
What about parking? What about narrow streets and cars parked all over them?
We are not allowed by law to require minimum parking for developments. Generally developers do provide for car parking when they put new developments together, but we know it is not enough. The aim is that by putting most development near good transport, more people won’t have to use their cars or have second cars.
What about better design and better rules?
Yes, we are also proposing stronger rules about protecting gaps between dwellings, setbacks, and recession planes for upper stories to protect sunlight. More green space in big developments is also going to be required. The detail of this is in our factsheets online – have a look at the ones about the mixed housing urban zone for example.
Have we got this right?
In short no! The long answer, as our planner said, is there’s definitely improvements we can make. We need your local knowledge, and your perspectives about whether we have the strategic approach right (ie. to focus on corridors plus some upzoning in suburban areas).
The third part of the meeting was answering questions from the floor.
What about sewage outflows? – they are so common in Orakei ward in our beaches and Hobson Bay/Orakei basin.
We all know we face bad problems with sewage flows into the sea. This will improve over the next decade. Central Interceptor will mean major improvements for this problem, by taking wastewater away from our overworked Orakei main sewer. The Newmarket Gully project (construction 2029 to 2034) will have a major positive impact on diverting wastewater out of Hobson Bay. Many smaller projects will also help.
The reality is that the many private and often illegal connections – many of which we do not know about, we just know they’re there because of the downstream effects – will continue to cause problems into the future. But Council is ensuring that our infrastructure plans can cope with future planned housing development.
New development means less permeable surfaces, can Council stop this happening?
The Unitary Plan has rules around how much of any given development has to be permeable and this is a matter considered when resource consents are granted. Developments are often also required to install stormwater detention tanks to slow the flow of water into the public system.
Can we realistically stop intensification around Meadowbank station or is it a done deal?
You can definitely submit about the level of intensification there, given the narrow streets and limited road access back to main arterials. It is likely there will have to be some intensification, simply because the rail and cycle link to town is excellent, but whether we’ve got it right is definitely up in
the air. Please give us your views in submissions.
Why is there still more density where there is overland flow paths, or flood prone areas?
Overland flows and flooding areas are dynamic and in tools like Council’s online Flood Viewer, are only shown in 2 dimensions. Some overland paths are shallow and others are very deep and hazardous. Some flow slowly, and others very quickly. So what you see on Flood Viewer is only one part of the picture – you need to check with Council about site specific information that we hold.
Because of this, it is possible to still build where there is an overland flow path or even flood prone land. Engineering can often make these places safe to build, and this will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
There are some areas that we know are so hazardous to coastal inundation or flooding that we have downzoned them to single house straight away (and are already in effect). The same applies to some land that is unstable (mostly cliff edges).
The last part of the meeting was a chance to ask one on one questions with our staff, and view the maps. We hope you found that helpful.
Most important – how can you make a submission and what you should submit on:
Remember some key points:
• Council has to do this – we can’t just refuse, so we need your constructive feedback
• Because of the capacity requirement, if you want to downzone somewhere, we also need to
go up somewhere else.
• Think about sensible ideas for how and where that could be. Maybe more density in some corridors, taking pressure of suburbs (both in Orakei and in other accessible parts of the city)
• What local knowledge do you have about hazards or topography that council needs to know, because it has simply got the maps wrong?
Submissions close 19 December. Here are some useful links:
There are lots of fact sheets here You need to scroll down the page to find them.
This video shows how to make a submission
Discuss your submission with your friends and neighbours, and your local residents association, a more collective view being shown to Council will also be helpful.
If you are struggling with your submission, we have the Friend of Submitter service. These are real people who can talk you through how to make a submission. More details on the Friends of Submitter service here. Email and mobile details are here – please do try this service if you need help.
Friend of submitter 1:
• Email:
• Ph: 0274 612 315
Friend of submitter 2:
• Email:
• Ph: 027 525 7214
Friend of submitter 3 (specialising in Māori planning issues):
• Email:
• Ph: 021 380 985
Lastly, for more specific questions about your area or your property, you can email
Or failing that – email me and my staff will come back to you as soon as we can. They know that time is of the essence!
Thank you again for attending the meeting, and for being an engaged member of our community. We look forward to hearing what you have to say.
Desley
Councillor, Orakei Ward
Deputy Mayor of Auckland
Note from the Meadowbank St Johns Residents Association
If you live in the Meadowbank or St John’s area and appreciate the work the Resident’s Association do which includes organising the PC120 meeting and sharing this follow up information please consider becoming a member and supporting the Residents Association for only $15/year.