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The Hibiscus and Bays Local Board has opposed Auckland Council’s proposal to upzone large parts of the Coast, citing a lack of infrastructure and fairness to ratepayers.
The Council has to implement the Government’s housing density directives set out in the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPSUD) and the Medium Density Residential Standards. To do this, it is withdrawing the current Plan Change 78 (PC78), and replacing it with a new plan, which focuses on intensification in town centres and along main transport routes while protecting the most flood-prone land.
If the proposed changes go ahead, most areas on the Hibiscus Coast that are not in a flood or coastal inundation zone, and are currently zoned single house, would be upzoned to mixed housing suburban or mixed housing urban. This includes Army Bay, Tindalls Beach, sections of Manly above the inundation zone, Stanmore Bay, Red Beach, Silverdale and Ōrewa. However, some areas, such as the Ōrewa and Waiwera foreshores, have been downzoned.
At its August 26 meeting, the Board resolved that it does not support any upzoning in the Hibiscus Coast subdivision. It said upzoning was “entirely inappropriate” in the current environment where no new developments can connect to the wastewater system due to the Watercare Army Bay pump station being near capacity and awaiting renewal.
Furthermore, any rezoning would increase property valuations in the next assessment, meaning residents would face higher rates for gains they could not realise, which it described as “unduly unfair”.
Figures in the draft plan show that upzoning would affect more than 13,000 homes across the Coast:
- 5500 from single house to mixed housing suburban
- 6925 from single house to mixed housing urban
- 766 from mixed housing suburban to mixed housing urban
The Board said a more appropriate approach would be to set staging triggers, such as network capacity thresholds or project milestones, before any zoning upgrades take effect in constrained catchments.
Another change proposed is the removal of water and wastewater servicing constraints as a qualifying matter. Under PC78 it was stated that these constraints were not expected to be removed during the life of the plan. The qualifying matter aimed to ensure that additional dwellings were not built where water or wastewater services were unavailable, or where the level of service was inadequate.
A Council spokesperson said that instead Watercare would be responsible for assessing network capacity and constraints, which would function similarly.
The Board also raised concerns that housing growth on the Hibiscus Coast has outpaced local employment growth. Upzoning without a jobs and transport strategy, including committed corridor capacity, was seen as likely to increase commuting and congestion on already stressed routes.
The resolution noted that updated planning maps for the area were only received at 7.30pm on the evening before the August meeting.
While acknowledging that the NPSUD directs councils to remove restrictive planning rules and allow for growth, the Board said intensification is not its preferred outcome.
Next steps will see Auckland Council’s Policy and Planning Committee review feedback and decide whether to withdraw PC78 in part and notify the replacement plan.
If it decides to proceed with a replacement plan change at the end of September, subject to agreement from the Minister for Resource Management Reform, it will notify a replacement plan change so that the public can make submissions, These will be heard by a panel of experts before making final decisions.
