Waikanae Garden Precinct, one of Kāpiti's iconic suburbs, is a unique hybrid of ecological preservation and low-density residential dwellings. And the man who helped identify and help preserve it over almost two decades now says it's under grave danger.
Former councillor Tony Jack said the recent amendment to the RMA, which introduced the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS), has the potential to damage this iconic hybrid.
"If you look down from the eastern foothills of Hemi Matenga you cannot see the houses. The green canopy of trees covers the whole precinct," he says.
Tony, a former purchaser for the Public Works Department and who later managed a real estate business, helped entrench the Waikanae Garden Precinct into the District Plan to prevent developers buying the existing large lots and subdividing and clearing it.
The forward-thinking councillor, who was chairman of the council's finance committee, was also responsible for setting up the council's strategic land purchase fund and using it to secure the purchase of the private properties to create a huge public space, now called Otaraua Park. He has the proven credentials to be worried for the future of the Garden Precinct.
We can understand that the MDRS, introduced by the Government, is a powerful tool to solve a housing crisis. The fact that both the Labour Government and the National opposition, in an unprecedented move, jointly announced the MDRS shows the national urgency to solve what the Salvation Army has termed a catastrophe.
The enabling National Policy Statement on Urban Development legislation and the MDRS together represent a sledgehammer to break public opposition (NIMBYism) and in the process has straitjacketed councils.
The new legislation overrides existing special character status/zoning in the operative district plans. The Waikanae Garden Precinct is a Special Character Area in the District Plan but that protection has been castrated by the sledgehammer intention of the new legislation.
Now a significant chunk of the Garden Precinct could see the development of six-storey residential buildings and the remaining area open to lots redeveloped to include three buildings of up to three storeys.
Tony feels disappointed. The rampant force of market-driven development ripping through the special character of the area, between Te Moana Rd and the Waikanae River, that he had helped put a stop to has now been unleashed.
Tony Jack.
In the case of the Waikanae Garden Precinct, the legislation to help the housing crisis will throw the baby out with the bathwater.
"From the Hemi Matenga lookout what you will see is not just a residential zone covered by a green canopy. You will see the Waikanae River and the canopy as one," says the longtime member of the Friends of the Waikanae River ecological restoration group.
"What people forget is that local democracy is about communities creating their own special character. You look at the Waikanae Beach community. Back in 1996 they refused the council's attempt to upgrade the area developing kerb and channel and footpaths. The locals, wanting to preserve the beach character, revolted and won.
"Today, it continues, the local residents are Fortress Waikanae Beach, like Paekākāriki is a community fortress," notes Tony.
There is a moral underpinning to all the local outcome plans and special character areas linked to the council's District Plan. They are the result of community engagement and a historic social contract between the council and our communities.
Just because the Government has wielded a sledgehammer it does not mean that our council staff and elected members cannot explore opportunities to keep faith with our social contract while also solving the housing crisis.
