KEY POINTS:
North Shore City Council says its controversial option for housing plans on the rural backdrop to Long Bay Regional Park will prevent harm to a site of national importance.
Giving evidence to the Environment Court yesterday, landscape architect Stephen Brown said the council's proposed framework for developing the greenfields site would protect outstanding landscapes and features.
However, the alternative plan put up by the major landowner, the developer Landco, would result in an "extensive and pervasive homogenising" of the landscape with significant loss of character. Mr Brown said experts agreed the Awaruku Ridge headland with its pre- European Maori landscape, a 19th century settler occupation landscape, and World War II gun emplacements "may in many ways be unique in New Zealand".
Landco's plans, however, would preserve only a small representative sample of the archaeological sites, with significant sites buried within land earmarked for suburban development.
The council proposed a heritage protection zone to control development on most archaeological sites and protect the integrity of the areas as a heritage and cultural landscape.
The court has started a three-week hearing of four appeals against aspects of the council's District Plan response to development proposals.
For the council, Dr Royden Somerville QC said the major disagreement between Landco and the council was about the urban footprint in their competing strategies.
Landco had reworked its structure plan to make it in many ways similar to the council proposal's format. With some modification, the use of the stream protection areas and landscape protection areas was also accepted.
Urban planner David Mead said the Landco plan needed more earthworks which would increase sediment runoff and loss of stream tributaries.
Mr Mead said the council had revised its estimate of how many dwellings could fit on the council plan. This allowed 1981 dwellings, in a range of housing densities and choices, for a population of 4500 to 5000 people.
Landco said there should be 1000 more homes than that.
The council wanted to limit urban development to those areas where significant landform modification was not needed. By contrast, Landco's urban footprint would result in earthworks of 5 million cu m at subdivision stage, compared to the council's 2 million cu m.
Council manager of environmental policy and planning, Trevor Mackie, said Landco claimed the effects of its development plans would not be any worse than the council's because of mitigation measures.
But it was hard to reconcile this with the difference in earthworks volumes and differences in a 57 per cent loss of streams compared to 14 per cent under the council plan.
Mr Mackie said the council plans achieved the right balance between providing for development and avoiding harm to the sensitive Long Bay environment.
