Infrastructure, not more intensification is the answer to the housing crisis, says Auckland Council

Concerns have been raised about the quality of three-storey developments under Labour and National's bill. Photo / Alex Burton

Auckland Council has responded to Labour and National's radical plan for greater intensification, saying the problem is not zoning changes but the cost of infrastructure and skills and building material shortages.

A bill being rushed through Parliament before Christmas allowing three homes up to three storeys on one section needs significant changes, says the council's submission.

The council is calling on the Government to address the significant impacts on Auckland from widespread intensification, poor housing design and the inability to deliver infrastructure to support new communities in the Enabling Housing Supply Bill.

Hamilton City Council has unanimously agreed the bill should be withdrawn, saying it is in "direct conflict" with the council's strategic growth planning and some of the Government's own policies.

Auckland Council says the Unitary Plan is working and delivering record numbers of new houses. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said the proposals will change the face of the city forever. Planning staff said the bill is being rushed through with no detailed analysis, robust engagement or clear understanding of unintended consequences.

Christchurch City Council also has concerns with the bill, such as protecting the garden city's trees and green spaces and wants to be able to decide on the areas for more housing.

The two main parties said the bill will help address the housing crisis and result in at least 48,200 and as many as 105,500 new homes being built in the next five to eight years.

At 1m from the boundary, houses can reach two storeys, and further into the site up to three storeys, (11m plus 1m for a pitched roof). There is no requirement to provide parking.

In its submission, Auckland Council has reiterated its support for more high-density housing close to the city centre and urban areas, public transport and jobs, but says the bill will lead to intensification in areas with poor infrastructure, including public transport.

This includes smaller coastal and rural towns on the outskirts of the city.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff is not happy with Labour and National's plans for greater intensification. Photo / File

Mayor Phil Goff said Auckland has a serious problem with housing shortages and affordability, but the bill must be improved to properly address the critical causes of the housing challenge.

"Under Auckland's Unitary Plan, zoning changes enable more than 900,000 additional dwellings. We are already consenting up to 20,000 homes a year, four times what we were a decade ago, and around two-thirds of new consents are for intensive housing.

"The constraint on housing in Auckland is not zoning changes but the cost of the infrastructure needed to support new developments, as well as skills and building materials shortages," he said.

The council also has big concerns about inadequate design standards in the bill and suggested setting up a working group of design professionals, Government and council officials to agree on standards to go into the bill before it becomes law.

Planning committee chairman Chris Darby said the council supports making it quicker and easier for quality medium density housing to be built but believes the proposed design standards will lead to poor housing and wellbeing outcomes.

Auckland Council has idenitified a problem with three-storey houses it would like addressed in the bill. Photo / Auckland Council

The council's submission included a photo of two, three-storey houses where the occupants enjoy views of a "borrowed park" - the private outdoor space of a single house next door.

The council has recommended reducing the length of new buildings and setting a minimum distance between buildings to address the problem, which is popping up in the city.

"Orienting buildings to the street, and breaking up the mass, produces a much better building product that is also better for the public realm," said the council.