Give me the highlights
Central government has instructed a compulsory change to our District Plan to increase and accelerate housing intensification in Waipā.
A list of frequently asked questions are here
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What is the issue
An amendment to the Resource Management Act mandates councils to increase housing density in residentially zoned areas of Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Kihikihi and relax policies that would normally protect urban character and amenity in the district. Waipā District Council’s District Plan needs to change significantly to accommodate the legislation, similar to other councils specified in the Amendment Act as Tier 1 growth councils. For example, landowners on most sites can extend existing buildings or build up to three houses with up to three stories without land use consent subject to a maximum site coverage, heights and setbacks. The changes also introduce no minimum lot sizes for associated subdivisions.
The legislation
On 20 December 2021, the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 (The Amendment Act) was passed into law. New Zealand councils were not consulted on this change of legislation before it happened. The Act aims to increase and accelerate urban housing supply in New Zealand by amending the Resource Management Act 1991. The intent is to speed up implementation of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) and enable more medium density homes through an Intensification Planning Instrument (IPI) and an Intensification Streamlined Planning Process (ISPP). We have called our IPI Plan Change 26. You can read more about The Amendment Act here.
What is the Council’s position
Our Councillors do not support the Amendment Act because it was deemed not fit-for-purpose for Waipā’s towns. There are concerns it would take away from the character and good urban design in Cambridge and Te Awamutu and have the potential to overload stormwater, water and wastewater infrastructure by retrofitting into existing pipework. The Amendment Act also doesn’t consider the impact of increased population density on our parks and reserves.
What is the fix
An Issues and Options report for the Amendment Act identified three possibilities for the Council to implement the compulsory legislative changes. All councillors were united in their fight against ‘uncontrolled urban intensification’ and voted for option three at a council meeting on 5/04/2022. Option three, creates potential for the Council to maintain some control over where mandatory intensification occurs within residential zones.
Summary of option three:
- Attempts to leverage ‘qualifying matters’ to potentially make parts of residential zones of Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Kihikihi exempt from the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS)
- Reviews financial contributions as a mechanism for developers paying for any resulting infrastructure upgrades
- Identifies the impact of increased residential intensification on our existing infrastructure and the Waikato and Waipa Rivers and their catchments
- Inserts the government’s MDRS into the district plan
Who is the Council collaborating with
We are collaborating with other local authorities in New Zealand as well as the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development to develop a plan change that best reflects the housing needs of our district. During the hearing process, the independent hearings commissioners will be aligned with Hamilton City Council and Waikato District Council to achieve consistency in decision making with the plan changes.
How to get involved
Plan Changes 26 will be notified to the public by 20 August 2022 and residents are encouraged to have their say. More information about submissions and the ISPP will be available when the public are notified.
Webinars
Register for one of our Changes to Planning Rules webinars to learn more about Plan Change 26:
If you've got a question you want us to answer in the webinar that isn't in our Frequently Asked Questions, please submit it by emailing us here using 'Plan Change 26' in the subject line.
The Process
