Last week to make submissions on Council’s proposed intensification plan change (closes 20 Jan).
To re-cap
– Council has proposed increasing intensification throughout much of Auckland,
as required by the government. However it excluded much of Mt Eden,
Sandringham, Balmoral and Mt Roskill, as they are part of the wider Light Rail
study area. These were to be considered later.
However
many submitters have requested that the LR area be included, and also proposed
much greater intensification eg heights / and greater areas with full THAB, terrace
and apartment zoning to apply – both outside the LR and within it.
There are
submissions supporting the heritage character, which you can support now as
well.
We believe
it will be important to get as many submissions as possible, so that our issues
are taken seriously, and hopefully help drive the type of city you want to live
in.
Submitting.
Firstly
you can oppose submissions which want to bring the LR area into the plan
change. This is the top priority! These submissions are out of the scope of the
plan change, which means people were not aware this could happen and therefore
did not submit earlier on their wishes. So if Council considers these, it has
not given the owner/occupiers within the LR area a proper process in which to
review plans/studies and reasons and to partake in the process properly ie a breach
of natural justice.
On the link below - two-thirds down the page is the
summary of requested decisions – excel and a pdf. These can be downloaded, and
word searched eg for your road, and you will find those submitting – usually
for up-zoning. Some don’t mention specific roads, so a search of Light Rail
will find where Council has noted the submission is for the excluded LR area.
There is a further search tool, to find and download the
specific submission:
Here you select plan change 78 and then the submission
number or name – and you will be able to download a PDF of the submission.
We also
suggest that you visit the Character Coalition website for updates as well.
It would
also help to donate to them to help fund their experts. They will be putting up
the best case for heritage.
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/auckland-deserves-better
Jan 11 2023 Update
Below is some information on the major Kainga Ora
submission (very well resourced via our taxes!):
Their
submission is 873, and all of it, including maps (Maps 71 and 80 are for this
area – in files 11 and 12 of 19) can be
downloaded here:
For example:
Decision requested number 195 below asks
for Mount Eden to all be up zoned from Low Density residential or mixed housing
to all be the Terrace Housing and Apartment Building Zone (THAB) – the highest
residential. Below are just some local streets highlight for the new 6+ storey
zone.
But they
have gone further:
Submission
point 196:
Insert
Height Variation Controls of 22m, 29m, 37m and 43m for various business zones in Grey Lynn, Ponsonby, Freemans
Bay, Eden Terrace, Newton, Kingsland, Mount Eden, Grafton, and Newmarket. Refer
to Appendix 2, Map 071
And 197:
Insert
Height Variation Controls of 29m, 37m and 43m for various residential zones in
parts of Grey Lynn, Ponsonby, Freemans Bay, Eden Terrace, Kingsland, Mount
Eden, Grafton, Epsom, and Newmarket. Refer to Appendix 2 Map 071
196 above impacts the various arterial business areas, including the local centres like Burnley and Royal Terrace shops.
For 197,
the proposed height impacts can be seen in the maps below – remembering that
the current THAB height is 16m (5 storey) – current plan change to meet
government requirement is 21m (6 storey).
Kainga Ora map key
:
So, our
reading is that below shows all THAB zone within blocks of the brown lines
means a height of 37m (9 storey) and green being 29m (7 storey)
So above
are blocks of 9 storey along and off Walters Rd, with some of Cricket/Kowhai as
7 storey shown as green outline.
Seen against Council’s proposed 6 storey, in THAB zones, but not for this area due to Light Rail exclusion.
Below, is
the wider map, also showing brown outlined 9 Storey blocks, along View Rd,
Bellevue, down to Valley Rd
Above we
see green 7 storey along and off Sandringham rd – including both business and
residential.
And above
we see parts of Marlborough/Cromwell having 9 storey along with large parts of
Valley Rd. The rest of the area would be the new 6 storey heights.
Also the 9 storey is likely to be based on “walkability” distance to bus stops/train station – but there are other submissions wanting to extend that distance substantially. So the higher height area could conceivably extend further.
Please
take the opportunity to make sure neighbours and friends are aware of the
planning changes that could occur, if those such as above are ruled as in
scope. We will update more information later this week, along with information
on how best to submit.
Jan 11 2023 Update:
Further submissions on Council’s Plan Change 78 for intensification
have opened, and can be done online, at the link below. This is where people
can submit against or in support of any of the first round of submissions –
especially where they will impact on your property.
They can be done now, and close on 20th
January.
Council has a list of requested changes, and these can
be reviewed in deciding to oppose or support the relief sort (see link below).
The first round has created some serious issues for
the Mt Eden, Sandringham and Balmoral areas. These areas aren’t in the plan
change – as Council excluded them as being part of the Light Rail corridor area
– with a variation to come for that next year once the route is decided.
However numerous submitters have requested the greater
intensification also be applied to these areas now. These submitters include
major government funded organisations such as Kainga Ora, and other groups such
as the property council, and many developers.
In our view these submissions are out of the scope,
and the panel should not consider them, as there was no opportunity for the
local property owners and communities to submit originally, as the area was
clearly not in the proposed plan change.
While the panel may well rule these up zoning
submissions out, we strongly recommend people submit to directly oppose them.
Otherwise, if the panel decided to consider them, there would be no opportunity
for local people impacted to be heard. A large number of submissions
highlighting the area was not in the plan change also substantially raises the
out of scope issue.
On the page linked below is a link to complete an
online further submission (at top).
Two-thirds down the page is the summary of requested
decisions – excel and a pdf. These can be downloaded, and word searched eg for
your road, and you will find those submitting – usually for up-zoning. Some
don’t mention specific roads, so a search of Light Rail will find where Council
has noted the submission is for the excluded LR area.
There is a
further search tool, to find and download the specific submission:
Here you
select plan change 78 and then the submission number or name – and you will be
able to download a PDF of the submission.
Almost all
the submissions wanting our areas to now be included are professionally
prepared and very planning/legal in wording. They include broad requests around
up zoning (eg 6 storey or more) to the whole area, along with more technical
issues around height controls etc.
While you
can submit at that level of detail, you can also just settle on the high level
fact that any submission targeting the Light Rail excluded area is out of scope
and not to be considered.
There are
also submissions which target parts of our area for higher than 6 storey – both
residential and business zones. Kainga Ora for example wants heights of 7 and 9
storey through large parts of the area. Again these should be out of scope of
the plan change, but need to be addressed.
In the
next few days we’ll try and get a sample and details of submissions you can
oppose, to make the process easier. If we have time we’ll try to update our
website with details, and/or email example maps etc.
Again it
will be crucial to have a say, and to also encourage others to submit
themselves.
The
character coalition is also a good source of information:
https://charactercoalition.org.nz/
Dec 2022
Council’s
Intensification Plan Change 78
Council has had to propose a Plan Change to intensify large parts of Auckland, and to increase the level of intensification allowed – both density and heights, due to a government requirement.
The
notified plan change last year excluded the Light Rail study area (large parts
of Mt Eden, Sandringham, Balmoral and Mt Roskill), which would be re-zoned
later.
However,
many submitters have requested both that this area be included, but also that
it have much higher intensification via major apartment areas, with many up to
9 storey.
These submitters include major government funded
organisations such as Kainga Ora, and other groups such as the property
council, and many developers.
Some also
propose no heritage protection for the area. They propose this across the whole
area, and not just limited to arterial roads as the Unitary Plan tended to do.
This opens up the chance for 6-9 storey apartments appearing anywhere within
the Sandringham Rd to Dominion Rd block, and further up towards Mt Eden Rd.
There is
now a second round of submissions where people can submit and oppose or support
these submissions. The deadline for further submissions is 20th
January. This can be done online.
We will
provide an update closer to the close of submissions with help to make
submissions.
It will be
very important that these submissions are opposed – partly because they are out
of the scope of the original plan change – which has limited meaningful
consultation.
Prior to
our next update, you can investigate the submissions and decisions requested
that may affect your property and the general area:
On the page linked
below is a link to complete an online further submission (at top).
Two-thirds down the
page is the summary of requested decisions – excel and a pdf. These can be
downloaded, and word searched eg for your road, and you will find those
submitting – usually for up-zoning. Some don’t mention specific roads, so a
search of Light Rail will find where Council has noted the submission is for
the excluded LR area.
There is a
further search tool, to find and download the specific submission:
Here you
select plan change 78 and then the submission number or name – and you will be
able to download a PDF of the submission.

2022
Cricket and
concerts
As we
predicted, Auckland Cricket have confirmed their strategy to move from Eden
Park after the introduction of concerts.
From
Chair’s report 2022 Annual plan:
"…cricket’s
dedicated play window is under severe pressure in competing with Eden Park's
ability to host concerts…"
Full report here: https://aucklandcricket.co.nz/annual-report/
From the
Chairs' report 2021 Annual Plan:
"Eden Park can now hold six concerts a year.
This has influenced new thinking from the new Council Controlled Organisation
Auckland Unlimited…..
…Therefore, the board is undertaking negotiations with the Eden Park Trust and
Auckland Unlimited in finding a new home for our Auckland sides. This is now
reflected in our strategic plan."