Juliet Yates: Houses for more but they must be quality

COMMENT

Auckland City doesn't have a choice about growing. It only has opportunities about how to manage that growth.

Over the next 18 years, at today's trends, the city will have to cater for 141,000 more people within its boundaries. That's greater than Dunedin's population.

Some 63 per cent of these new Aucklanders will be born here; the balance will arrive from elsewhere in New Zealand and overseas, many as a result of urban drift in search of jobs and opportunity.

Without careful planning, the result will be haphazard development under planning rules that were not designed for the growth we are encountering.

Auckland City has made significant changes to control where and how developments can take place. We have to avoid the sometimes shocking examples found in construction under the old rules, where apartments in business zones were not designed to cope with commercial development next door, or where design and location suitability could not be considered.

The city council has taken some important steps. These include plan changes to deal with apartments in business zones; an urban design panel to assess central city developments; urban design guides for special areas; next year an urban design guide for the whole city; community consultation on growth, Auckland urban living and liveable communities plans; research to identify criteria for growth capacity; and careful rules to ensure good residential amenities.

The new residential 8 zone, approved unanimously by the council last week, is a significant step toward ensuring that we can have high-quality intensive development in areas of the city that can reasonably accommodate the growth.

These are areas served by an existing town centre and which have the infrastructure and stormwater systems to cope with more intensive development, access to public transport, employment and community services.

Initially available to areas such as Glen Innes, Panmure, Mt Wellington Quarry and Newmarket, residential 8 is a new process. A separate plan change will be needed each time, and the council has to be satisfied that the location and urban design criteria are met, as well as the district plan rules. Then full public notification, submissions and hearings procedures follow.

Residential 8 means housing up to three storeys in residential areas, up to four storeys around suburban centres and up to five storeys within 2km of the city centre. It is not a recipe for high-rise development and cannot be imposed on communities unaware.

While it means more intensive housing in a few selected areas, it also means an end to battery-hen-style apartments because residential 8 won't accept anything less than 40 sq m.

The emphasis will also be on quality design. Developments under the first design guidelines associated with a city planning zone will have to be attractive to the eye and preserve privacy and achieve noise controls. People won't be able to peer into their neighbours' houses, and residents will be able to sleep at night.

Residential 8 cannot be crammed on to sites that are too small. It will be available only if the site is 1ha or more. If developers today can't afford to meet the requirements set by residential 8 rules, it is better the sites remain development opportunities for when tomorrow's architects design better buildings.

A significant result of all the council research is that areas not suitable for change have been identified. People living in what might be called stable or traditional suburbs, often with heritage characteristics such as villas, leafy streets or valued environmental features, have no need for concern.

Areas such as Parnell, Ponsonby, Mt Eden, Valley Rd-Dominion Rd, Kingsland, Greenlane, Greenwoods Corner, Market Rd and Waiheke are not expected to cater for more growth than is possible under their existing zoning.

Residential 8 has not been sprung on people. The new zone evolved with the benefit of more than five years of consultation on how to cope with growth and continual public input. Hearings into the plan change received input from 104 submitters, many of whose recommendations helped to frame the policy.

Residential 8 becomes an integral part of the council's overall urban growth strategy. That is required by law and must be consistent with the regional growth strategy, which seeks to limit uncontrolled urban sprawl and to accommodate the increasing population within existing city boundaries.

In future Auckland City residents may prefer to stay in a traditional communities with quiet streets, single homes and familiar landscape. Or they may choose to move for the added benefits of a revitalised village or town centre and better access to services. They may choose inner-city living with all its sights and sounds. More and more people are choosing the convenience of apartment living.

It is also a balancing act. Auckland City provides half the jobs in the region. People like to live close to work. It is becoming more of an imperative as traffic congestion takes its toll on commuting. Sprawling suburbs are yesterday's solution to growth. Today we have to design our cities to accommodate more people while ensuring a quality existence.

It can only be achieved through planning that lifts design standards for new development, preserves areas of special character, protects land for adequate business development and makes the city easy to get around.

* Juliet Yates chairs the Auckland City Council's city development committee