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Resolution
number WH/2022/82
MOVED by Chairperson K Thomas, seconded by Deputy
Chairperson F Amosa:
That
the Whau Local Board:
a) welcome
the opportunity to give feedback on the strategic direction for the Future
Development Strategy.
Partnership with Māori
b)
support the focus
on iwi and hapū aspirations in urban development, alongside a general
approach focused on treaty partnership and elevation of the principles found
in Te Ao Māori around environmental management, including kaitiakitanga
and improving the mauri of both eco-systems and human wellbeing.
c)
urge staff to
ensure that engagement with Māori has a strong focus on mataa waka in
addition to mana whenua, as it is critical that the needs of Māori in
the community be understood and addressed, noting that Māori are
disproportionately affected by deprivation, including in their housing and
access to essential services as well as economic, recreational and social opportunities.
Environment
d)
express its concern
that strategy should go further in its focus on climate change, and supports
bold changes which will enable us to meet our commitments under
Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri and our commitment.
e)
note its commitment
to delivering on Aotearoa/New Zealand’s commitment to the Paris
Agreement, and Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland’s obligations as a C40
city, to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C above
pre-industrial levels and pursue all possible efforts to limit the temperature
increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
f)
express its concern
about about Tāmaki-Makaurau/Auckland’s growth and how this is
managed noting that, while there is a housing crisis, there is also a climate
crisis and the two must be considered together.
g)
support a
transition to a high-quality compact urban form, but is concerned to ensure
that emissions reduction is a key driver of policy direction around urban
planning.
h)
support an approach
to urban development and associated infrastructure that is designed to meet
the challenges of climate in terms of resilience to extreme weather events
and sea level rise.
i)
support
incentivisation of building to the highest possible green star or home start
rating, incorporation of passive principles for heating and cooling,
inclusion as a default of rainwater tanks, solar panels and waste
minimisation tools like bokashi buckets (particularly for
apartment-dwellers).
j)
support an overall
increased focus on our environment including consideration of biodiversity in
our urban planning, with a much bigger focus on provision of parks and
publicly accessible green spaces, restoration of our urban ngahere (tree
cover), protection and restoration of our streams and waterways, and
limitation of impervious concrete surfaces where possible.
k)
urge consideration
of all possible mechanisms to enable tree protection and increased provision
of publicly accessible green open space, noting that current resource
management rules are inadequate, and it is not clear whether proposed
resource management law reforms will adequately address these issues.
l)
support the
reinstatement of much wider tree protection (removed in 2012) to reduce
carbon emissions, noting local government’s relative inability to
protect its significant trees and canopy cover under the RMA as it stands.
m) note its general opposition to greenfields
development, particularly in areas where infrastructure does not already
exist to support development, and supports reconsideration of the status of
land currently designated for future urban growth, in particular in areas
that are:
i)
at risk of flooding
or natural hazards
ii)
a great distance
from the city centre or other metropolitan centres (unless located in the
immediate vicinity of current or future Rapid Transit Network connections)
iii)
productive land
that is currently used for (or is particularly suitable for) food production,
noting the need to ensure sufficient growing land.
n)
express its concern
that some of Auckland Council’s key planning documents and strategies
(and those of the CCOs, in particular Auckland Transport) still assume
sprawling greenfields development as the default norm.
Housing and urban development
o)
support a
transition to a high quality, compact urban form but is concerned about the
current focus on the National Policy Statement on Urban Development on
increasing housing stock with little regard for quality of housing.
p)
support a strong,
directional and aspirational approach to urban development and town planning
is critical for supporting quality high density urban environments, noting
that Aotearoa/New Zealand has an unfortunate history of ad hoc, low-quality
infill leading to poor social, aesthetic, and environmental outcomes.
q)
request that staff
consider what more could be done in respect of waste minimisation and focus
on the circular economy, in particular waste associated with the construction
industry.
r)
support
incentivising the retrofitting of heritage buildings to meet modern
standards, noting that there are relatively few heritage buildings remaining
in the Whau Local Board area.
s)
support in
principle council staff working with Kāinga
Ora and other agencies to enable housing solutions to respond to economic
deprivation and inequality.
t)
note that there
needs to be a shift in our understanding housing to be an integral part of
our social fabric and more than just an investment asset, and support
development of housing to meet diverse needs rather than housing that
achieves the highest yield for developers.
u)
note its support
for the development of new, fit-for-purpose, social housing but at the same
time express its concern about the pace of development by Kāinga Ora
without the involvement of local government in respect of open space and
community/recreational facilities planning.
v)
support local
government moving towards a much stronger and more formalised relationship
between Auckland Council and Kāinga Ora to ensure that community and
green open space infrastructure are planned for proactively and in a
strategic way rather than having infrastructure developed by multiple
agencies in a piecemeal or reactive way.
Transport
w)
support, strongly,
intensive development focused around key transport hubs but note the need for
a focus should be on proactive provision of transport infrastructure and
services to brownfields areas where growth is already taking place, including
feeder buses to areas of intensive development that sit outside walkable
catchments.
x)
support, strongly,
improved walking, cycling and micromobility connections that are safe,
accessible and appealing.
y)
support small
improvements to key corridors like planting more trees within the road
reserve (thereby creating green corridors) would create incentives to uptake
of active modes but this would also in itself assist in mitigating carbon
emissions.
z)
support an increase
focus on technical innovation, including the development of new and
innovative approaches to demand management, to reduce carbon emissions.
aa) support the development of new and innovative
approaches to demand management, to reduce carbon emissions including more
investment in high-speed broadband and telecommunications tools to reduce the
need for travel.
bb) note its concern about the impact of parking
reductions (both off-street as a result of the provisions of the National
Policy Statement on Urban Development and on-street as a result of Auckland
Transport proposed parking strategy) in our neighbourhoods and town centres,
particularly New Lynn.
cc) reiterate ongoing advocacy for a park and ride
in New Lynn, noting the critical and increasing shortfall in parking in and
around the town centre and the fact that New Lynn serves a population from
parts of the Waitākere Ranges and its foothills which are not accessible
by walking, cycling, or public transport.
dd) express its concern that its advocacy on this
matter has been ignored, and that the only advice provided by Auckland
Transport is to note that the Waitākere Ranges is not a future growth
area, noting that this is not an adequate response, and the logical
conclusion of this approach is that people living in the Waitākere
Ranges will drive the whole way into the city due to inability to park at
local Western Line train stations.
ee) reiterate ongoing advocacy for the wider
implementation of the New Lynn Urban Plan 2010, noting its Notice of Motion
of 22 June 2022 (Resolution Number WH/2022/62) requesting advice on why this
important legacy plan was never formally or explicitly incorporated into
Auckland Council’s planning framework.
ff)
support
incentivising uptake of not only EVs but also micro-mobility devices such as
e-bikes and e-scooters provided that they are safe, and that regulation keeps
pace with innovation, noting that access to private EVs is out of the
question for many (probably most) people in the Whau Local Board area.
gg) support expansion of the Rapid Transit Network
to ensure access to the places people need to travel but is concerned about
lack of public transport connection between the southern and western parts of
the Auckland Region, which are at risk of severance.
hh) support completion of the Southdown Rail Link
between Onehunga and Avondale to address this and take pressure off the
Western Line when it reaches peak capacity after the completion of the CRL.
ii)
support
investigating opportunities for public education around the carbon emissions
associated with freight supporting the moving of discretionary consumer goods
and encouraging people to consider the environmental impact of their
purchases and to find greener ways of fulfilling consumer demand.
CARRIED
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