'Zoning maps cannot be made operative until the appeal is resolved'

Auckland building consents could be delayed as appeals against the new Unitary Plan grind their way through the courts

Property

Auckland building consents could be delayed as appeals against the new Unitary Plan grind their way through the courts

28th Sep 16, 4:43pm by Greg Ninness

Auckland Council is likely to make its new Unitary Plan only partially operative on Thursday as appeals against the plan work their way through the courts.

Penny Pirrit, the council's Director of Regulatory Services, said an assessment of the 106 appeals lodged with the Environment Court or High Court found that most of them related just to specific sites or provisions of the plan, which meant large parts of the Regional Policy Statement, the Coastal Plan and some parts of the District Plan could be made operative.

However a joint appeal by Auckland 2040 and the Character Coalition was broad in scope and had the potential to impact residential development across the city.

The Character Coalition says its High Court appeal asks the Auckland Council to look again at zoning changes in a number of suburbs such as Onehunga, Westmere, Glendowie, Grey Lynn, Henderson, Grafton and Blockhouse Bay. It says the appeal focuses on "late changes made without public consultation that could put older character homes at risk for no demonstrable benefit."

Because this appeal challenges certain zoning decisions, the zoning maps cannot be made operative until the appeal is resolved, said Pirrit.

That could mean applications for resource consents to develop properties would need to be assessed against the rules in the new plan and the old rules it was replacing, Pirrit said.

"Decisions will need to be made on a case by case basis as to how much weight can be given to the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan versus the operative district and regional plans," she said.

"In practical terms, this will add greater complexity and a degree of uncertainty for applicants while the appeal process is ongoing."

Last year the council processed nearly 15,000 resource consents.

Pirrit said the process and timeframe for resolving the appeals was a matter for the courts but the council would work with all parties to try and resolve them as quickly as possible.

The Council's Governing Body will be asked to make the new plan operative in part on September 29.

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2 Comments

by dtcarter | 29th Sep 16, 12:46pm 1475106410

Historic homes in grey lynn etc are already protected by substantial special character zone overlays. This appeal is a special interest group trying to project their personal housing preferences on all property owners and holding the whole city to ransom in the process. Cant wait to submit my resource concent now. What a joy complying with two conflicting sets of rules is going to be.

Auckland 2040. A group people advocating the city does not change till 2040 by which time they should all be dead.

by Gareth Vaughan | 29th Sep 16, 1:21pm 1475108504

Here's Labour's Phil Twyford;

Nick Smith must urgently intervene to avoid housing delays

National should urgently legislate to make the Unitary Plan operative while allowing a high court challenge to make its way through the legal process, Labour’s Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford says.

“Auckland urgently needs the Unitary Plan to be able to build the number of homes required to meet demand, but appeals by the Character Coalition and Auckland 2040 against provisions to establish higher density zones could stall implementation for up to a year.

“National must urgently legislate to make the Unitary Plan operative now, rather than after the lengthy legal process is finished. That way, any alterations ordered by the courts can be made at the conclusion of the process. The government should also make resources available to expedite these cases.

“For too long, restrictive planning rules have choked off Auckland’s development. Unless we can build more and build better, we can never make room for the city’s growing population.

“We can’t fix the housing crisis and ensure our children are able to afford to buy homes in Auckland in the future unless we get cracking on this.

“Seven years after the advent of the super city, we urgently need implementation of the Unitary Plan. Nick Smith needs to get off the side line and ensure we can get moving right away on fixing the housing crisis,” says Phil Twyford.