Mount Maunganui residents battle intensification projects on their boundaries

An artist's impression of the three-storey, 20-unit development proposed for Maranui St and Oceanbeach Rd. Image / Supplied

Mount Maunganui residents are pushing back on plans for intensification projects on their boundaries.

One developer is facing opposition from neighbours for three separate multi-storey projects in the suburb, dropping one recently after neighbours moved to appeal an independent commissioner's decision to grant resource consent.

TYBI Limited director Shannon Moyle said he decided not to continue with plans to build a three-storey building with four apartments in Commons Ave.

He said there had been interest in the apartments but none had been sold.

Plans for apartments in Commons Ave have been dropped. Image / Supplied

A consent hearing was held last week for another TYBI proposal - a

Both proceedings were being closely watched by a group of residents from Pitau St, who were concerned about the company's proposal for six townhouses on three sections in their street.

The company has applied for resource consent for 17 to 21 Pitau Rd but Tauranga City Council has yet to make a decision about whether the application will be publicly notified.

Intensification, or infill housing, is a hot topic in Tauranga.

The city's population grew by more than 22,000 people in the last five years but house building lagged, according to new Census 2018 data.

Tauranga's fastest growing suburbs. Graphic / NZME

Another 45,000-plus people are expected in the next 30 years.

With major greenfield developments in Te Tumu in the east and Tauriko West years behind schedule, both central and local government are looking at ways to encouraging intensification.

The Government this year announced a review of the Resource Management Act and, more recently, a new draft policy statement on urban development that specifically targets growth cities including Tauranga.

Tauranga City Council has two plan changes in the works to enable more intensification in existing urban areas, with a special focus on the Te Papa peninsula.

But Mount Maunganui's hot property market and attractive amenities has already drawn developer attention.

Excessive density was the main concern of neighbours who opposed plans for a 20-unit development at the eastern end of the coastal suburb.

Another view of the proposed 20-unit development. Image / Supplied

It would cover seven sections - bought up over 15 years - at 1-9 Maranui St and 360 and 362 Oceanbeach Rd.

The area is in the suburban residential zone, mainly set aside in the City Plan for low-density housing.

The standard maximum density is one dwelling per 325sq m of land, but higher densities can be allowed on a case-by-case basis, depending on the impact on the neighbourhood.

The proposed is more than twice the maximum density with one dwelling per 143sq m.

A council planner assessed the development as high-density but found the effect on the surrounding area was minor and recommended the consent be approved.

At a hearing last Wednesday before independent commissioner Richard Knott, neighbouring property owner Geoff McDonald said he was not opposed to a development on the sections, but what was planned was "excessive".

He and his partner lived in Queenstown but planned to retire in their Mount Maunganui home.

He had concerns about the extra noise from the new building and loss of light in his outdoor areas.

"It's going to force us to retreat inside."

Jim McTamney is among neighbours fighting plans for a 20-unit development. Photo / Andrew Warner

Another neighbour, Jim McTamney, said he and his wife had lived at their property for seven years and loved it.

If the development went ahead, he said they would have three lots of tenants looking down on them.

He could not understand how developers were able to "contravene" density rules in the Tauranga City Plan.

McTamney said he felt out of his depth in the planning process and hired Beca planner Keith Frentz as an advocate.

Frentz gave evidence he was not opposed to development. His main issue was the integrity of the city plan and the ability of everyday people to navigate it.

A layperson reading the plan would expect density limits would mean what they said. The higher density proposed would have an impact on the character of the neighbourhood.

"If this development had 14 houses on it, I wouldn't be here."

Some neighbours feared having three storeys of families looking over them. Image / Supplied

Lachlan Muldowney, lawyer for TYBI Limited, argued the area was in the midst of being renewed and already had other higher density builds.

"There is a move towards higher density as the area undergoes a regeneration."

It was probably "some of the hottest real estate in New Zealand".

"Anyone who relocates to this area expecting a sleepy, suburban, low-density lifestyle is in the wrong place."

Knott said it was not unusual for developers to seek consent for developments bigger, higher, denser than the standards in the plan as a discretionary activity.

In those cases, the decision would be made based on the effects of the development.

His decision was reserved.