The Electoral Office has added business school owner Susanna Kruger to the list of candidates standing for the Auckland mayoralty.

Looming lapse of the affordability rule in up to half of special housing areas sparks land-banking accusations.

Auckland Council wasted $90,000 to reveal only a tiny minority of Aucklanders are satisfied with its performance, the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance says.

Property developer Helen O'Sullivan says Unitary Plan will greatly help solve Auckland's housing crisis by enabling developers to build mid-priced housing.

The names of two men caught up in local body election dramas this week will remain on the ballot.

A block of art deco-style flats in central Auckland have kept heritage protection in a new planning rulebook for the city.

Auckland Council says 25 names were left off its candidate list for the upcoming local elections due to an "administrative oversight".

Auckland councillors yesterday farewelled the days of traditional single houses for a new era featuring apartment living.

There are 17 people in the running for the Auckland Council's top job.

Auckland councillors have voted by the narrowest of margins to stop housing being built on the Crater Hill volcano at Papatoetoe.

A wooden carving commissioned as part of a regional public art programme has been vandalised.

Unless last-minute candidates step up today, many councils cannot fill positions.

Four new candidates have joined the Auckland Council mayoralty race, with less than 24 hours to go until nominations close.

Auckland councillors have relaxed rules to make it easier for developers to build houses outside the rural urban boundary.

A meeting to make final decisions on a new blueprint for Auckland took a major twist this morning when members of the Maori Statutory Board opted out of the process.

The report of the Independent Hearings Panel on the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan injected a good dose of realism into the plan.

Council officers release "major policy shifts" to the latest draft of the Unitary Plan.

A proposal to build homes on one of Auckland's most prized volcanoes looks set to be rejected by Auckland councillors.

Labour MP Phil Goff vows to cut fat, introduce road charges and cap rates rises at 2.5 per cent if he wins the Auckland mayoralty in nine weeks.

Falling scaffolding and a dropped hammer are among five "near misses" on the multi-million-dollar fix-up job to Auckland Council headquarters.

A smoking ban in open spaces, such as footpaths, civic squares and beaches, is to be investigated by Auckland Council.

COMMENT: There's a cargo cult hysteria erupting over the magical cure-all abilities of Auckland Council's proposed unitary plan.

Regulation is hard to get right. The political climate tends to swing from excessive freedom to excessive restriction or vice versa.

Auckland Council is not saying if it holds investments in soft drink, alcohol and tobacco companies only days after it purged fizzy drinks at its leisure centres.

A new council regulation requiring charter boats to have a liquor licence will create a dangerous "pub-like" environment when they are docked.

Shoebox apartments could be back in Auckland after they were banned in 2007.

Labour MP and mayoral candidate Phil Goff says he supports the overall thrust of the Auckland Unitary Plan.

A huge jump in more intensive housing permitted in central Auckland may be the breakthrough frustrated first home buyers have been looking for.