Taupō District Council plans changes for rural and urban development rules

An artist's impression of a proposed eight storey hotel on Tūwharetoa St. It was eventually scaled back by two storeys and granted resource consent. Graphic / Supplied

The Taupō District Council is proposing rules that will allow taller buildings in the CBD, more relaxed rules in residential areas and more definition for urban development in rural areas.

The changes will allow buildings up to 18 metres - roughly six storeys - in the block between Roberts St, Tongariro St, Te Heu Heu St and fronting
Ruapehu St.

The present rule only allows for buildings up to three storeys tall in this area. This has already been successfully challenged by developer Cypress Capital.

Cypress proposed an eight-storey hotel on Tūwharetoa St, which attracted significant public opposition in 2019 and was turned down by a resource consent committee.

It was subsequently challenged in the Environment Court and after negotiations, which saw Cypress revise its proposal down to six storeys, resource consent was granted in 2020.

The new rules will make that process much simpler for future developers wanting to build up to six storeys.

Another major plan change would see the residential building coverage for most residential sections rise to 35 per cent, from the current 30 per cent of a section.

The Rural Environment is proposed to be split into two sections - General Rural Environment and Rural Lifestyle Environment.

This is a big change from the current rules in the district plan, where the Rural Environment is applied to almost all land located outside of urban areas in the Taupō District.

There is no spatial provision for lifestyle or rural-residential development, which means there is no direction about where future urban growth should go. Those decisions have been made at the resource consent stage.

The Taupō District Council is asking for public feedback on the proposed changes.

The Taupō District Plan is the key document for managing the way people use their land. The rules set out what you can do as of right (permitted activities) and what activities need to be looked at more carefully through a resource consent application.

The council ran an informal consultation on the draft changes during May and June and now is calling for formal submissions.

There are six changes proposed to the District Plan, relating to the following: Strategic Directions, Residential Building Coverage, Taupō Town Centre Environment, Deletion of out-of-date fault lines, General Rural and Rural Lifestyle Environments, and Taupō Industrial Environments.

Anyone can make a submission. Council's policy staff can help with interpreting the plan changes. You can contact them on 07 376 0899 or 0800 ASK TDC or by emailing districtplan@taupo.govt.nz.

Plan changes can be found at www.taupo.govt.nz/districtplanchanges or by visiting a council service centre in Taupō, Tūrangi or Mangakino, or a Taupō District library.

Submissions close at 4.30pm on Friday, December 9, 2022.