Source: New Zealand Government
The Government will today introduce legislation to amend the Resource Management Act and reduce the minimum housing capacity required for Auckland Council’s Plan Change 120, Housing and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop says.
“Housing growth in Auckland is critical to fixing our housing crisis, driving growth and raising living standards for New Zealanders,” Mr Bishop says.
“Aucklanders have been clear that they want housing growth, so long as it happens in the right places and where infrastructure can support it.
“Cabinet has agreed to revise the minimum housing capacity required by Plan Change 120 down from 2 million to 1.4 million homes.
“Our expectation is that this revised capacity number finally brings consensus on this important issue. Aucklanders deserve certainty on this city-shaping plan change.
“Advice from officials estimates that capacity enabled by PC120 is still likely to be around 1.6 million homes once mandatory requirements under the National Policy Statement on Urban Development and upzoning around the City Rail Link are taken into account.
“This means Auckland Council will still need to provide for significant housing growth, including upzoning around key transit corridors and town centres.
“The legislation also addresses a transitional issue affecting approximately 400 developers and property owners following the withdrawal of an earlier plan change in 2025.
“Some people had already started projects under the Medium Density Residential Standards and were left in limbo when those rules were withdrawn.
“This legislation provides certainty. Where approvals were already in place or projects were partway through the building consent process, those projects can continue.
“Alongside PC120, I intend to investigate planning provisions that may be holding back Auckland’s city centre, with a view to making regulations under the RMA if the statutory criteria are met. If further opportunities for housing development are enabled through this work, they will count toward PC120’s revised capacity requirement.”
Auckland Council’s Guiding Principles
“Auckland Council has set guiding principles for how it will change the plan in response the new minimum housing capacity,” Mr Bishop says.
“The guiding principles include: downzoning in areas where homes are more susceptible to natural hazards such as flooding; enabling intensification in mandatory areas including around stations benefiting from investment in the City Rail Link; reducing housing capacity in areas more than ten kilometres from the city centre as a starting point; and reassessing requirements in places that are less well-served by public transport.”
Next steps
The legislation will be progressed quickly to minimise disruption to the existing Plan Change 120 process.
“Plan Change 120 has already received more than 10,000 submissions. Those submissions remain valid,” Mr Bishop says.
“Once the new capacity requirement is in place, Auckland Council will decide which parts of the plan change to withdraw or amend.
“If parts are withdrawn, the existing Auckland Unitary Plan zoning will remain in place.
“For parts that continue, updated provisions and maps will be made publicly available, and Aucklanders will have further opportunities to provide feedback.”
“This process will be transparent, and Aucklanders will be able to have their say.
The independent hearings panel will then consider submissions and make recommendations before Auckland Council makes final decisions on Plan Change 120.”