How resource management changes and Watercare restraints will affect development in Auckland

For people looking to develop in Auckland right now, there are a lot of moving parts to understand. With the government signaling changes through resource management reforms, Watercare identifying capacity constraints, and Auckland Council navigating plan changes in response, it’s all changing fast.

Here are a few things to know:

Auckland Council draft plan change

Auckland Council’s Planning Committee are considering a draft plan change today (21 August), which fills in the gap left previously for the Light Rail Corridor, amends the city-wide approach to Medium Density Housing (PC78), down-zones properties affected by flooding and slips and increases the zoning/intensity/height around train stations and transport routes. The new maps can be found here.

The council’s summary of the key changes:

• Shift from blanket upzoning: The mandatory Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS), which enabled three-storey housing on most suburban sites, are set to be removed. Many properties will revert to their original zoning

• Hazard management: Approximately 12,000 properties in high-risk floodplain and coastal areas will be downzoned to restrict intensification

• Targeted intensification: To balance capacity, the new plan enables taller buildings near key transit and centres:

  • Up to 15 storeys in walkable catchments of rapid transit stations (this includes around the stations of Maungawhau (Mount Eden), Kingsland, and Morningside)

  • Up to 10 storeys in other catchments around major centres and stops (this includes Mt Albert and Baldwin Avenue stations).

  • Six-storey development along frequent transport corridors

  • Expanded Terrace Housing and Apartment Building (THAB) zoning around 25+ centres and corridors

• Focus is on infill, not greenfield: These changes relate specifically to intensification within existing urban areas. Greenfield development will continue to be planned through Structure Plans, with the timing of public and private plan changes guided by the Future Development Strategy (FDS)

• Next steps: Council must decide by early October whether to withdraw PC78 and notify the replacement plan. If so, a new plan change will be formally notified, and fresh public submissions will be required. Previous PC78 submissions will not carry forward

The next step, if the politicians approve this (and that’s likely), is that there needs to be a publicly notified plan change.

Previously, the government required this to be notified by 10 October, but the RMA Amendments last Friday have given the council a longer timeframe than that – it just needs to advise what its intentions are by October.

It may be that the council release this as a draft in the same way as they did with the Unitary Plan, or may just go straight to public notification (given they still have tight timeframes imposed by the government).

What seems likely is that it will withdraw the rest of PC78 by October – it needs to advise on this by then. Either way this is notified, there will be a period where submissions are invited, which can be site-specific or topic-based.

One thing that we've seen for another client is a down-zoning on their property, which appears to relate to an SEA (MHS zone gone down to Single House zone). So it may be worth checking the implications of the zoning changes for your properties.

All of this still needs to be considered in light of Watercare’s restrictions on servicing sites. You can check if your site has capacity limitations here, then check this with an engineer.

We can also expect to see the Auckland Council announce changes to the Future Development Strategy to take on board the zonings, Watercare restrictions and other government directions.

This will signal Auckland Council’s sequencing for growth, particularly for Future Urban zoned land.

These changes partly relate to all the recent changes coming from the government, which include:

• A full replacement for the RMA will be introduced to Parliament this year, be passed into law next year and be in effect by 2027. This will involve two new acts: A Natural Environment Act – focused on managing the natural environment, and a Planning Act – focused on planning to enable development and infrastructure. The Natural Environment Act will focus on the use, protection, and enhancement of the natural environment. This includes our land, air, freshwater, coastal and marine water, and other natural resources. The Planning Act will focus on land-use planning and regulation. It will enable the urban and infrastructure development that New Zealand needs and align with the Government’s Going for Housing Growth plan and the 30-year National Infrastructure Plan

• In the meantime, there are changes being made to the current RMA through the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill which should be enacted this week – one of these amendments allows Auckland Council to opt out of the MDRS as long as they introduce a Plan Change to provide for the same capacity across the city (2M population) – hence the reason for Council’s draft plan change discussed above. In addition, there have been changes to the national standards (rules) on things like granny flats and national policies introduced providing the government’s direction on Infrastructure and Natural Hazards, among other things. See a summary of these changes

• Feedback on more changes signalled through the government’s Going for Housing Growth package of initiatives is currently being considered, and this is likely to lead to further amendments to the RMA, introducing policies and new rules. These changes were discussed recently by our senior planner, Bryce Powell, here and include:

  • Consideration of out-of-sequence growth - proposal to make the land “development-ready” without requiring a formal plan change process by setting criteria or identifying infrastructure projects that need to be completed before urban development can proceed

  • Prohibit the application of a rural-urban boundary to contain urban areas

  • Intensification of existing urban areas – providing for heights of more than six storeys in the right locations

  • Councils would be required to offset lost housing capacity from land that cannot be intensified due to a natural hazard being present, or the area having less development potential because of its special character

  • Greater ability to provide for mixed-use developments - to make it easier to provide for mixed-use developments and/or non-residential activities within residential neighbourhoods

 That’s a snapshot of things right now – if you want to discuss any of this, contact our Auckland planning manager, Clare Covington.