Minutes of Extraordinary Meeting of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board

02 September 2025

1 Nau mai | Welcome

The meeting was opened with a karakia.

Whakataka te hau ki te uru

Whakataka te hau ki te tonga

Kia mākinakina ki uta

Kia mātaratara ki tai

E hī ake ana te atakura

He tio

He huka

He hau hū

Tīhei mauri ora

Cease o winds from the west

Cease o winds from the south

Bring calm breezes over the land

Bring calm breezes over the sea

And let the red-tipped dawn come

With a touch of frost

A sharpened air

And promise of a glorious day.

2 Ngā Tamōtanga | Apologies

There were no apologies.

3 Te Whakapuaki i te Whai Pānga | Declaration of Interest

There were no declarations of interest.

4 He Tamōtanga Motuhake | Leave of Absence

There were no leaves of absence.

5 Te Mihi | Acknowledgements

There were no acknowledgements.

6 Ngā Petihana | Petitions

There were no petitions.

7 Ngā Tono Whakaaturanga | Deputations

There were no deputations.

8 Te Matapaki Tūmatanui | Public Forum

8.1

Public Forum - Brett Carter - Auckland Unitary Plan – Local board views on the withdrawal in part of Proposed Plan Change 78 - Intensification and draft replacement plan change

Resolution number DT/2025/176

MOVED by Member M Powell, seconded by Deputy Chairperson T Harpur:

That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board:

a) whiwhi / receive the presentation from Brett Carter and thank them for their attendance.

CARRIED

8.2

Public Forum - Margot Mcrae - Devonport Heritage - Local board views on the withdrawal in part of Proposed Plan Change 78 - Intensification and draft replacement plan change

Resolution number DT/2025/177

MOVED by Member M Powell, seconded by Deputy Chairperson T Harpur:

That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board:

a) whiwhi / receive the presentation from Margot Mcrae and Trish Deans and thank them for their attendance.

CARRIED

8.3

Public Forum - Norma Bott and Paul Regtien– Milford Residents Association - Local board views on the withdrawal in part of Proposed Plan Change 78 - Intensification and draft replacement plan change

Resolution number DT/2025/178

MOVED by Member M Powell, seconded by Member P Allen:

That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board:

a) whiwhi / receive the presentation from Norma Bott and Paul Regtien, and thank them for their attendance.

CARRIED

8.4

Public Forum - Nancy Roundtree - Local board views on the withdrawal in part of Proposed Plan Change 78 - Intensification and draft replacement plan change

Resolution number DT/2025/179

MOVED by Member M Powell, seconded by Deputy Chairperson T Harpur:

That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board:

a) whiwhi / receive the presentation from Nancy Roundtree and thank them for their attendance.

CARRIED

8.5

Public Forum – Steven Salt – Takapuna Resident Association - Local Board views on the withdrawal in part of Proposed Plan Change 78 - Intensification and draft replacement plan change

Resolution number DT/2025/180

MOVED by Deputy Chairperson T Harpur, seconded by Member G Wood:

That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board:

a) whiwhi / receive the presentation from Steven Salt and thank them for their attendance.

CARRIED

9 Ngā Pakihi Autaia | Extraordinary Business

There was no extraordinary business.

10	Auckland Unitary Plan – Local board views on the withdrawal in part of Proposed Plan Change 78 - Intensification and draft replacement plan change
	Documents were tabled. Copies have been placed on the official minutes and are available on the Auckland Council website as a minutes attachment.
	Resolution number DT/2025/181 MOVED by Member M Powell, seconded by Deputy Chairperson T Harpur: That the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board: a) tautoko / support the withdrawal of Proposed Plan Change 78 - Intensification with a draft replacement plan change as outlined in Attachments A-F of the agenda report, with the following feedback: b) tautoko / support the stronger requirements included in the replacement PC78 which seek to mitigate the risks of natural hazards. This is welcomed by our community who were affected by severe flooding in the January 2023 flooding event. c) tautoko / support downzoning areas impacted by coastal erosion/inundation and encourage that housing development in risky coastal environments are avoided, noting that the Devonport Takapuna Local Board comprises of 26km of coastline. d) tautoko / support the removal of MDRS from the PC78 replacement e) tautoko / support an increase in land zoned for two story medium density housing f) tautoko / support building heights of up to 10 stories in 23 walkable catchments around Rapid Transit Stops, except in flood zones or areas susceptible to coastal erosion, such as Sunnynook. Walkable catchments within the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area are Sunnynook, Smales Farm, and Takapuna. g) tono / request additional consideration to increase capacity around Smales Farm and limit capacity around Sunnynook h) tautoko / support building heights of 15 stories in 20 of the 21 walkable catchments around Rapid Transit Stops, excluding Sunnynook due to the area being a flood zone i) tuhi tīpoka / note that the walkable catchments within the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area are Sunnynook, Smales Farm, and Takapuna. j) strongly support the New ‘Coastal Character Qualifying Matter’ in residential areas approximately 100m back from the coast inside walkable catchments, where Residential – Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings Zone has been changed to either Mixed Housing Suburban or Mixed Housing Urban zone. This will prevent tall buildings being built hard up against our coast and will prevent inappropriate development in coastal inundation zones k) tono / request that the replacement PC78 is reviewed to put in place better management tools such as height boundaries and set back rules between Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings Zones (15 storey) and neighbouring single housing zones. l) tono / request set back rules are put in place for buildings greater than 4 storeys in all zones m) tautoko / support the FAR mechanism is used providing there is a setback control for the adjoining buildings n) tono / request a percentage of the development contributions is returned back to the local board area o) tūtohu / recommend extending Belmont town centre zone to include the western side p) tono / request extending the upzoning to 6 storey in Hauraki corner q) tautoko / support a New ‘Lake Pupuke Lakeside Qualifying Matter’ in Devonport-Takapuna area (zoning change and removal of some additional height in Height Variation Control areas) to recognize the landscape qualities around the lake. This will prevent tall buildings right up against the lake. r) tūtohu / recommend that the Lake Pupuke Lakeside Qualifying Matter be extended to include the properties between The Promenade to Henderson Park to ensure consistency along Lake Pupuke s) tūtohu / recommend properties between Lake Pupuke and the coastline along Hurstmere Rd from Eric Price Ave to the southern end of Henderson Park be single house zone. Intensification should not be enabled here due the narrow land mass, risk of coastal erosion and potential threat to the critical roading infrastructure t) tautoko / support Heritage listed buildings, objects, natural features and sites of significance to Māori all remain protected within the Devonport Takapuna Area, this is one of the Government Listed qualifying matters u) āhukahuka / acknowledge Devonport is NOT categorised as a walkable catchment near a rapid transit zone or a metropolitan centre and therefore special character homes and buildings in the area receive stronger protection under the new plan change compared to PC78 as the MDRS is no longer applied to all properties as the underlying zone v) tuhi tīpoka / note that under PC78 properties where special character did not apply or where single house zone applies under the new plan change, these properties all reverted to MDRS (3 storey, 3 houses with no requirement for resource consent) w) tūtohu / recommend that the urban design panel is strengthened to provide confidence to our communities that we are ensuring building designs achieve quality design features x) tūtohu / recommend creating an Architecture Design Review panel to ensure architecture design and quality in acceptance with new developments and do not detract from the surrounding areas y) āhukahuka / acknowledge there are no changes to the maunga viewshafts in the proposed plan change z) tuhi tīpoka / note that Devonport-Takapuna Local Board has 160 homes categorised as Category 3 and offered buyouts. 138 of those homes are in Milford. These are not just houses. Each resident has their own unique experience of the Jan 2023 flooding event and recovery experience over the last 2.5 years. aa) āhukahuka / acknowledge in this tight housing market, the stress of finding alternative accommodation by the buyout homeowners is affecting the health of those residents. bb) tuhi tīpoka / note families and elderly people with Category 3 home buyouts in Milford and Sunnynook are seeking extensions on their settlement dates as they are struggling to find suitable alternative homes. cc) āhukahuka / acknowledge that 6042 homes across the North Shore flooded and were assessed by Auckland Council and issued a white, yellow or red sticker as a result of the Anniversary weekend flood event. dd) tuhi tīpoka / note the position of the Insurance Council of New Zealand to Devonport Takapuna Local Board (May 2025, letter attached) who caution housing intensification in flood zones. “From an insurance perspective, greater density of housing means more risk for insurers to take on. Higher density in flood-prone locations leads to a higher aggregation of risk to be borne by the insurance industry and may lead to increased premiums.” ee) tuhi tīpoka / note the Devonport Takapuna Local Board community members feel frustrated at the limited time for public consultation to input into the proposed PC78 replacement ff) ohia / endorse the extended notification period as requested at the extraordinary Policy and Planning Committee meeting on 21 August 2025 (Resolution number PEPCC/2025/123). gg) tono / request the Auckland Council Flood Viewer tool is used to determine the flood plain so the public can make decisions about where to purchase and build homes. https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/cbde7f2134404f4d90adce5396a0a630 hh) tūtohu / recommend the language used to potential consent applicants for development in natural hazard zones is DO NOT build here, rather than AVOID building here. ii) tautoko / support sites within approximately 200m either side of the road corridors on Auckland Transport’s Frequent Transport Network is zoned Terraced Housing and Apartment building zone, except in flood plains. Corridors within the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area are; i) Smales Farm – Takapuna – Milford ii) Northcote – Takapuna (via Akoranga) jj) āhukahuka / acknowledge the work and advocacy the Policy and Planning Committee have achieved since January 2023 for this work to legislatively prevent building homes in flood zones. kk) tautoko / support higher controls in the replacement PC 78 that that will be implemented for all resource consents i) tūtohu / recommend consent applications neighbouring or within a flood plain are publicly notifiable ii) tūtohu / recommend subdivision development in flood prone areas are avoided. iii) tūtohu / recommend that irrespective of whether the development meets the rules of the zone that if they are proposing greater than 75 per cent utilisation of height allowed, they must apply for a resource consent and notify their neighbours ll) tūtohu / recommend that the areas impacted by the buy outs in Milford and Sunnynook that suffered significantly by the January 2023 storm be reviewed and downzoned including but not limited to, Stratford Avenue, Seine Rd, Alma Rd, and Nile Road. CARRIED
Note:	Pursuant to Standing Order 1.8.6, Member George Wood requested that their dissenting vote against the motion be recorded
	Attachments a LETTER Insurance Council of New Zealand

11 Te Whakaaro ki ngā Take Pūtea e Autaia ana | Consideration of Extraordinary Items

There was no consideration of extraordinary items.

The chairperson closed the meeting with a karakia.

Unuhia, unuhia

Unuhia mai te urutapu nui

Kia wātea, kia māmā,

te ngākau te tinana, te hinengaro

i te ara takatū

Koia rā e Rongo

e whakairia ake ki runga

Kia tina! Haumi e!

Hui e! Tāiki e!

Draw on, draw on

Draw on the supreme sacredness

To clear and to set free

the heart, the body and the inner essence

In preparation for our pathways

Let peace and humility

be raised above all

Manifest this! Realise this!

Bind together! Affirm!

11.50 am The chairperson thanked members for their attendance and attention to business and declared the meeting closed.

CONFIRMED AS A TRUE AND CORRECT RECORD AT A MEETING OF THE Devonport-Takapuna Local Board HELD ON

DATE:.........................................................................

CHAIRPERSON:.......................................................

Chairperson	Melissa Powell
Deputy Chairperson	Terence Harpur
Members	Peter Allen
	Gavin Busch
	George Wood, CNZM