Colours codes for protected property

Thousands of Auckland City home owners are being sent maps with green spots on them to show their properties merit demolition or removal controls.

It is Auckland City Council's second shot at preserving heritage character in the Residential 2 zone - leafy low-density neighbourhoods in Mt Albert, Herne Bay, Epsom, One Tree Hill, Parnell, Remuera, Kohimarama and St Heliers.

Five years ago, the council caused an outcry when it proposed that the whole zone should have controls requiring resource consent for demolition or removal of any building built before 1940.

This blanket approach affected about 16,000 homes.

It led to appeals, and the council brought in heritage architect Jeremy Salmond to study the zone using specific criteria to warrant controls.

Mr Salmond's study confirmed many of the owners' claims that not all pre-1940s homes warranted protection.

The criteria for quality of architecture and streetscape have been approved by the Environment Court.

They have resulted in the redrawing of planning maps for the proposed District Plan change. Fresh versions show 2942 properties with demolition controls and 898 without.

Although the criteria have been settled now and parties to the court appeals are largely in agreement on the maps, the court has directed the council to publicly notify the latest version.

Residential 2 properties shaded in green were built before 1940 and will need consent to demolish or remove.

Properties now shaded grey means they were built after 1940 or do not meet the criteria to justify controls.

The court seeks owners' views by July 9 and they will be referred directly to the court for hearing, instead of going through another council committee hearing.

The chairman of the council's city development committee, Aaron Bhatnagar, said it was an opportunity to build on the commonsense foundation of a court-approved agreement.

Owners of green properties would be able to demolish and rebuild something sympathetic to the neighbourhood.

However, councillor Glenda Fryer said it was also a chance for people to make their views known "if they are living in a place that is going to be subject to controls, or if they live next door to one which won't be subject to controls".

"Now it's an assortment of houses, and people have told me they are happy their home is subject to controls but fearful that the house next door can be pulled down and a new one put up that is quite out of character with the zone."

Parnell Heritage spokeswoman Kate Tolmie Bowden said "positive changes" had been made.