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Waitematā
Local Board
13 December
2022
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Local
Board feedback on Auckland Unitary Plan changes 78-83
File No.: CP2022/16392
Te take mō te
pūrongo
Purpose of the report
1. To seek feedback from the local board on Auckland Council’s
notified plan changes and variations that implement:
· the National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020 (NPS-UD)
· amendments to the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) requiring
medium density residential standards (MDRS) be incorporated
· additions and amendments to the Historic Heritage and Notable Tree
Schedules.
2. To provide an overview of submissions received from 18 August to 29
September 2022 on the council’s plan changes and variations.
Whakarāpopototanga matua
Executive summary
3. Decision-makers on the Auckland Unitary Plan
(AUP) must consider local boards’ views on plan changes and variations if
local boards choose to provide their views. This report is the mechanism for
the local board to resolve and provide its feedback on the plan changes and
variations that seek to implement the NPS-UD and RMA requirements.
4. The
council’s response to the NPS-UD and RMA amendments are set out in plan
changes 78-83 (PC 78–83) and in variations 4 and 5:
· PC
78 is the council’s intensification plan change, and is the main one that
implements the NPS-UD and the RMA amendments
· PC
79 amends the AUP transport provisions to manage effects of intensification on
the transport network. It includes provisions for pedestrian safety,
lighting and electric vehicle re-charging stations for multi-unit
development
· PC
80 amends the AUP’s Regional Policy Statement to align it with the
NPS-UD
· PC
81 adds buildings to the AUP’s historic heritage schedule (Schedule 14)
· PC
82 amends details in the AUP historic heritage schedule (Schedule14), mainly by
enlarging or reducing the size of historic places already scheduled
· PC
83 adds new notable trees and corrects errors in the AUP schedule of notable
trees (Schedule 10)
· variation
4 relates to rezoning of some areas of open space already proposed to be
re-zoned to residential land
· variation
5 relates to a site-specific rezoning (at Schnapper Rock Road in
Greenhithe).
5. Some
amendments to the AUP are mandatory. The council must change the AUP to
implement the NPS-UD and amendments to the RMA. The NPS-UD also allows
the council to make decisions on some other matters to help shape
Auckland’s well-functioning urban environment. These include:
i) the
size of walkable catchments, where enabling buildings of six storeys or more is
required. These are the areas around the city centre, rapid transit stops, and
the ten metropolitan centres (Albany, Takapuna, Westgate, Henderson, New Lynn,
Newmarket, Sylvia Park, Manukau, Botany and Papakura)
ii) the
building heights and density of urban form to enable residential development
within and next to neighbourhood centres, local centres, and town centres
iii) The
“qualifying matters” that will apply in some areas of Auckland that
may allow the council to modify (or limit) the required building heights and
density to the extent necessary to accommodate the qualifying matters.
6. Central
government has identified potential qualifying matters in NPS-UD and RMA
amendments. The council has included other ‘qualifying matters’ in
PC 78 that are important for Auckland.
7. The
plan changes and variations were open for submission over a six-week period,
concluding on 29 September 2022. Submissions have now been coded and
summarised, and further submissions may be lodged from 24 November to 8
December 2022. Further submissions can be made in support or opposition
to an original submission but cannot introduce new matters.
8. Preliminary
analysis of submissions identified these themes:
a) support
and opposition to the zoning changes proposed
b) support
or opposition for the extent of walkable catchments and related
height/intensification
c) opposition
to how qualifying matters have been applied, including opposition from
large-scale developers to the application of the new Residential Low-Density
zone as the way that some qualifying matters are implemented
d) support
and opposition to special character as a qualifying matter
e) support
for water and wastewater infrastructure as a qualifying matter in some
locations e.g. Whangaparāoa, and opposition to this qualifying matter where
landowners seek rezoning that increases the density of development on their
site(s)
f) requests
to rezone and apply MDRS to land in the light rail corridor which is excluded
from PC 78.
9. Local
boards are now invited to provide feedback on the council’s plan changes
and variations which will be provided to the independent hearings panel for its
consideration. These views must be the subject of a local board
resolution.
Ngā tūtohunga
Recommendation/s
That the Waitematā Local
Board:
a) provide feedback on PC 78, PC 79, PC 80, PC 81,
PC 82, and PC 83
b) provide feedback on variations 4 and 5
c) appoint a local board member to speak to the
local board views at a hearing in 2023
d) delegate authority to the chairperson of the
local board to make a replacement appointment in the event the local board
member appointed in resolution c) is unable to attend the hearing.
Horopaki
Context
Policy development
10. The NPS-UD and RMA amendments require that a
proposed intensification plan change be notified by 20 August 2022. The
Planning Committee and local board chairs (or their delegates) attended
workshops and meetings throughout 2021 and 2022. Since October 2021,
local boards and mana whenua have contributed to the development of the PCs
78-83, resulting in the approval of six plan changes and two variations to the
AUP.
Decision-making
authority
11. Each local board is responsible for communicating the
interests and preferences of people in its area about the content of Auckland
Council’s strategies, policies, plans, and bylaws. Local boards provide
their views on the content of these documents. If the local board chooses to
provide its views, those views will be provided in writing to the independent
hearings panel.
12. Decision-makers must consider local boards’ views
when deciding the content of these policy documents (as required by sections
15-16 Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009). PCs 78-83 and
variations 4 and 5 will be included in the AUP, if approved.
13. An amendment to the RMA created a different hearings
process for PC 78 and variations 4 and 5. The independent hearing panel
makes recommendations to council about these. For PCs 79-83, the hearings
panel is delegated responsibility to make the decisions on these, without reference
back to council.
14. Local board members may then present the local
board’s views at the hearing of the plan changes by the independent
hearings panel. Local board views will be considered when the council makes
decisions on the recommendations for PC 78 and Variations 4 and 5.
15. This report provides an overview of the plan changes and
variations, and a preliminary summary of submissions’ key themes. Local
board views must be the subject of a local board resolution(s) if those views
are provided to the panel.
Tātaritanga me ngā
tohutohu
Analysis and advice
16. Local board feedback on PCs 78-83 and variations 4 and 5 is now
sought through resolutions at this meeting. This feedback will be forwarded to
the independent hearings panel for its consideration.
17. Plan change provisions over which council has some discretion
include the following key matters in PC78:
i) the extent of walkable catchments from the
edges of the city centre and metropolitan centres and around rapid transit
network stops (as required under NPS-UD Policy 3(c))
ii) the approach to, and extent of, intensification of areas within and
adjacent to town, local and neighbourhood centres (as required under NPS-UD
Policy 3(d))
iii) the selection of, and approach to, “any other qualifying
matters” that limit the height and density that would otherwise be
required by the NPS-UD Policy 3 and/or the medium density residential standards
that must be applied to Auckland’s relevant residential zones.
18. Submissions
were received on plan change matters that are mandatory in the NPS-UD and RMA
amendments. Mandatory matters include the introduction of walkable
catchments, the enablement of six storey buildings in all zones in walkable
catchments, and the incorporation of MDRS in all “relevant residential
zones” (Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone, Mixed Housing Urban
and Low-Density zone) outside walkable catchments. As these matters
are mandatory, the independent hearings panel will be unable to recommend
changes in response to these submissions.
19. All submissions have
been numbered, organised and allocated to topics in the summary of decisions
requested to enable evaluation and assessment by staff and the public.
This information is available to local boards via the Auckland Unitary Plan
webpage when it is publicly notified from 5 December 2022. It will
also be provided to the independent hearings panel to assist the panel with
understanding the public’s view of the council’s plan changes and
variations, and with formulating arrangements for hearings in 2023. Table 1 provides the numbers of submissions received.
Table 1 Submissions received
on PC 78 and related changes
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Plan change
number
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Plan change
name
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Number of
submissions received
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Spatial
application of the plan change
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78
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Intensification
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2398
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All Auckland except Hauraki Gulf Islands
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79
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Amendments to the
Transport Provisions
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128
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All Auckland
except Hauraki Gulf Islands
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80
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Regional Policy Statement
Well-Functioning Urban Environment, Resilience to the Effects of Climate
Change and Qualifying Matters
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88
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All Auckland
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81
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Additions to
Schedule 14 Historic Heritage Schedule
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53
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Various
locations, see Attachment A
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82
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Amendments to Schedule 14 Historic
Heritage Schedule
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33
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Various locations, see Attachment A
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83
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Additions and
amendments to Schedule 10 Notable Trees Schedule
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25
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Various
locations, see Attachment A
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Variation 4 to PC60
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Open Space and Other Rezoning Matters
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12
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Various locations, see Attachment A
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Variation 5 to
PC66 (Private)
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57 and 57a
Schnapper Rock Road
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5
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Greenhithe, see Attachment
A
Upper Harbour
Local Board
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Tauākī whakaaweawe
āhuarangi
Climate impact statement
20. Objective
8 and Policy 1 of the NPS-UD set out a policy framework that signals the need
for decisions under the RMA to reduce emissions and improve climate resilience.
21. This
framework is in line with the ‘built environment’ priority of Te
Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri: Auckland’s Climate Plan, which has a
goal of achieving “A low carbon, resilient built environment that
promotes healthy, low impact lifestyles”. The plan states that:
“To move to a low carbon and
resilient region, climate change and hazard risks need to be integral to the
planning system that shapes Auckland. Integrating land-use and transport
planning is vital to reduce the need for private vehicle travel and to ensure
housing and employment growth areas are connected to efficient, low carbon
transport systems.”
22. Implementing the NPS-UD will enable additional residential
intensification to occur in areas where jobs, services and amenities can be
easily accessed by active modes and public transport. This will contribute to
reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the more efficient use of land will
reduce growth pressures in areas more susceptible to the effects of climate
change. In some places, applying the MDRS required under the RMA amendments
will also achieve this outcome. However, a key aspect of the council’s
submission on the RMA amendments was that enabling three-storey medium density
housing across Auckland’s urban environment, is likely to result in a
greater number of people living in areas where it is extremely difficult to
provide a high level of public transport service.
Ngā whakaaweawe me
ngā tirohanga a te rōpū Kaunihera
Council group impacts and views
23. All relevant council departments and some Council Controlled
Organisations contributed to preparing the council’s plan changes to
implement the NPS-UD and the RMA amendments. Auckland Transport and Watercare
will have an ongoing role during the hearings, contributing to the
council’s evidence presented to the independent hearings panel. Eke
Panuku is a submitter, and so is not part of the council team that will prepare
and present evidence to the independent hearings panel.
Ngā whakaaweawe
ā-rohe me ngā tirohanga a te poari ā-rohe
Local impacts and local board views
24. Local boards were briefed in October and November 2021 on the
implications of the NPS-UD and local board chairs were invited to the series of
Planning Committee workshops run in 2022 on the NPS-UD. Local boards also
received a detailed briefing on the council’s preliminary response in
March and May 2022.
25. Although not local board views, as these require a business meeting
resolution, the following local boards provided local board input to Planning
Committee regarding the government’s intensification directives:
· Ōrākei Local Board presented on the Resource Management
(Enabling Housing and Others Matter) Bill on 4 November 2021, and on the
National Policy Statement on Urban Development on 31 March 2022
· Albert-Eden, Devonport-Takapuna, Henderson-Massey, Kaipātiki,
Mangere-Ōtāhuhu, Ōrākei, Puketāpapa, Waitematā,
and Whau Local Boards all presented to the Planning Committee on NPS UD on 30
June 2022
· Manurewa Local Board presented regarding provision and protection of
green space where intensification is planned on 4 August 2022, the meeting
where the plan changes were approved for notification.
26. Factors the
local board may wish to consider in formulating its view:
· interests
and preferences of people in the local board area
· well-being
of communities within the local board area
· local
board documents, such as the local board plan and local board agreement
· responsibilities
and operation of the local board.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
Māori
Māori impact statement
Context
27. Auckland
Council has obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and council’s
Significance and Engagement Policy to take special consideration when engaging
with Māori and to enable Māori participation in council
decision-making to promote Māori well-being. The Schedule of Issues of Significance is a statutory document that
guides the Independent Māori Statutory Board’s advocacy to Auckland
Council, Local Boards and Council-Controlled Organisations, for and on behalf
of Māori in Tāmaki Makaurau.
28. If the local board chooses to provide its views on the plan
changes it includes the opportunity to comment on matters that may be of
interest or importance to Māori People, well-being of Māori
communities or Te Ao Māori (Māori worldview). More than 180,000
Aucklanders identify as Māori, as at the time of the 2018 census.
Potential impact of plan changes and variations for
Māori
29. The NPS-UD
provides for the interests of Māori through intensification to increase
housing supply, alongside its identification of qualifying matters. The
widespread intensification sought by the NPS-UD has the potential to affect
Māori both negatively and positively. This includes with respect to
culturally significant sites and landscapes, Treaty Settlement redress land,
the urban form as it reflects mātauranga Māori and accessibility, and
Māori facilities where customs and traditions are observed (such as
marae).
30. None of the
plan changes or variations trigger an issue of significance as identified in
the Schedule of Issues of Significance or Māori Plan (2017, Independent
Māori Statutory Board).
Māori involvement and feedback
31. The relevant qualifying
matters set out in the NPS-UD and RMA amendments include matters of national
importance that decision-makers are required to recognise and provide for under
section 6 of the RMA 1991, and matters necessary to implement, or to ensure
consistency with, iwi participation legislation.
32. Policy
9 of the NPS-UD sets out requirements for local authorities as follows:
“Local authorities, in taking
account of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) in
relation to urban environments, must:
a)
involve hapū and iwi in the preparation of RMA planning documents and any
FDSs by undertaking effective consultation that is early, meaningful and, as
far as practicable, in accordance with tikanga Māori; and
b)
when preparing RMA planning documents and FDSs, take into account the values
and aspirations of hapū and iwi for urban development; and
c)
provide opportunities in appropriate circumstances for Māori involvement
in decision-making on resource consents, designations, heritage orders, and
water conservation orders, including in relation to sites of significance to
Māori and issues of cultural significance; and
d) operate
in a way that is consistent with iwi participation legislation.”
33. Policy 9 directs the council to involve iwi and hapū in the
NPS-UD, during the preparation of planning documents, and to take into account
the values and aspirations of hapū and iwi for urban development in the
region. In the context of the NPS-UD, the council must involve mana whenua and
mataawaka within the region.
34. Individual
and collective engagement raised key themes relating to matters like the
protection of scheduled and known cultural heritage and managing potential
interface effects from new development with existing marae. This is supported
by research undertaken by the council team in advance of these discussions with
mana whenua. This has drawn on a wide range of council documents and publicly
available information.
35. Common
themes shared in hui include:
a) universal
access to be provided in residential design for less able whānau members
b) access
to open space for health and wellbeing
c) safe and
connected whānau and communities
d) avoiding
development in areas poorly served by infrastructure
e) access
to affordable housing options
f) maintaining
access to customary activities e.g. waka launching, kaimoana gathering
g) protection
of Māori sites and places of cultural significance. Maintaining precincts
that protect cultural values or are otherwise culturally sensitive (such as
Ihumātao)
h) avoiding
negative effects of intensive residential development on established cultural
activities/facilities (such as marae)
i) provisions
for Kohanga reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori in urban areas
j) use
of Māori design concepts in the development of commercial centres and in
large residential developments
k) use of
mātauranga and tikanga Māori in the management of resources
l) the
support of measures to maintain and improve water quality, ecological areas,
volcanic viewshafts, and the coastline.
m) avoiding
exacerbating natural hazard risks
n) maintaining
the cultural significance of the Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area
o) concern
that Future Urban Zone land will be prematurely rezoned.
Ngā ritenga
ā-pūtea
Financial implications
36. NPS-UD implementation has been progressing within existing budgets.
However, the RMA amendments resulted in a significant increase in the scale and
complexity of the project, without any changes to the NPS-UD implementation
timeframes. This requires a greater than anticipated level of change to the
AUP, for example there are changes proposed to more than 60 AUP chapters.
37. The financial impact of these changes will affect the current
2022-2023 financial year, and potentially the following year. While it is
expected that additional costs in the current financial year can be met through
a re-prioritisation of work programmes within the Chief Planning Office,
further costs (primarily relating to operation of an independent hearings panel
and engagement of specialists) may require re-prioritisation of other work
programmes from across the council. Any impacts will be of a scale
that will not affect the council’s overall financial position, nor affect
any boards’ assets or operations.
Ngā raru tūpono me
ngā whakamaurutanga
Risks and mitigations
38. There is a
risk that, due to timeframes, the
local board will be unable to provide its views and preferences on the plan
changes and variations if it doesn’t pass a resolution. This report
provides:
· the
mechanism for the local board to express its views and preferences
· the
opportunity for a local board member to speak at the relevant hearings.
39. If the local
board chooses not to pass a resolution at this business meeting, these
opportunities are forgone.
40. The power to
provide local board views regarding the content of a private plan change cannot
be delegated to individual local board member(s) (see Local Government Act
2002, Sch 7, cls 36D). This report enables the whole local board to decide
whether to provide its views and, if so, to determine what matters those views
should include.
Ngā koringa ā-muri
Next steps
Local board views
41. Resolutions
of the local board will be provided to the independent hearings panel in the
first quarter of 2023. The local board member delegated the authority to
speak to local board views will be invited to the relevant hearings.
Local board resolutions will also be reported to the Planning, Environment and
Parks Committee for its decision-making on the recommendations it receives from
the independent hearings panel.
Process for plan changes and
variations
42. Staff continue to analyse the submissions received, and this
analysis will be presented in evidence to the independent hearings panel during
the hearing of submissions in 2023. A report to the Planning, Environment
and Parks Committee will request a sub-group be established as
decision-maker for policy shifts that may arise during the hearings (as
decisions may be required more quickly than can be achieved by reporting to
meetings in compliance with the Local Government Official Information and
Meeting Act).
Ngā tāpirihanga
Attachments
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No.
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Title
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Page
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a⇩
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Local board areas in which changes are proposed for
historic heritage or notable trees and variations
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15
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Ngā kaihaina
Signatories
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Author
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Eryn Shields - Team Leader Regional, North West
and Islands
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Authorisers
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John Duguid - General Manager - Plans and Places
Louise Mason - General Manager Local Board Services
Trina Thompson - Local Area Manager
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