Proposed Plan Change 26 – Residential Zone Intensification

Status

Character Cluster Online Submission Form 5

Printable Character Cluster Form 5

Hearing update: 15/2/23

The Hearing will commence at 9am Wednesday 15th February. Please use the links below for live streaming.

Day 1 - Cancelled
Day 2 – 15 February 2023
Day 3 – 16 February 2023
Day 4 – 17 February 2023

You can view the schedule here. Please check this regularly as it may be subject to change.

Daily Recordings

Day 1

Day 2

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What is Plan Change 26

On 20 December 2021, the Amendment Act was passed into law. NO consultation occurred with councils in the drafting of the Bill, only a submission process to the select committee was provided. before this happened. The Amendment Act aims to increase and accelerate urban housing supply in New Zealand. 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 ‘Residential Zone Intensification’.

You can read more about The Amendment Act here.

An amendment to the Resource Management Act 1991 requires councils to increase housing density in the residentially zoned areas of Cambridge, Kihikihi and Te Awamutu. As well the Council is required to relax policies that would normally protect the 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 Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 (the Amendment Act) as Tier 1 growth councils. The legislation requires Council to allow, landowners on most sites to 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.

What we’re doing?

An internal Issues and Options report on 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 April 2022. Option three provided the 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, Kihikihi and Te Awamutu and subject to modified provision of the Medium Density Residential Standards.
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 Waipā Rivers and their catchments.
Inserts the mandatory Medium Density Residential Standards into the district plan.

Council has developed Proposed Plan Change 26 to implement the mandatory changes required. Proposed Plan Change 26 proposes to:

Enable up to three, three-story residential units to be built in residential zones in Te Awamutu, Kihikihi and Cambridge without the need to obtain resource consent, if all the standards are met; and
Modify the Medium Density Residential Standards where qualifying matters have been identified as applying, such as cultural and heritage sites, Te Ture Whaimana o Te Awa o Waikato; and
Update the character cluster overlays to include new properties in Cambridge, Kihikihi and Te Awamutu;
Update the financial contribution provisions in the district plan; and
Include consequential amendments.

FAQs

Follow this link to a list of frequently asked questions about this plan change

A list of frequently asked questions are here

Timetable

Date	Activity
9 August 2022	Draft Plan Change presented to the committee for approval to notify
19 August 2022	Proposed Plan Change 26 publicly notified, submissions open for 30 working days.
19 August 2022	Commissioner chair directions #1 issued [click here to view]– Hearing Procedures and Directions
25 August 2022	Commissioner chair direction #2 issued [click here to view] – Invalid and Late Submissions
01 December 2022	Commissioner chair direction #3 issued [click here to view] – Updated timetable for pre-circulation of evidence and legal submissions for the opening hearing
09 December 2022	Commissioner chair direction #4 issued [click here to view] – Timetable for the PC26 Session 2 report and evidence exchange
20 December 2022	Commissioner chair direction #5 issued [click here to view] – Scope of Hearing 1
28 November 2022	Further submissions open 10 working days
20 December 2022	Councils’ report (prepared in accordance with s42A of the RMA) and expert evidence related to strategic matters to be available on the relevant Council’s website and submitted to the Hearing Coordinator
23 December 2022	Commissioner chair direction #6 issued [click here to view] – Invalid, Late and Out of Scope Submissions.
18 January 2023	Commissioner chair direction #7 issued [click here to view] – Inclusionary Zoning/Affordable Housing Provisions
1 February 2023	Commissioner chair direction #8 issued [click here to view] – Process For Filing Submissions On Scope Matters
By 1 February 2023	Submitter’s evidence (both expert and non-expert) related to strategic matters to be submitted to the Hearing Coordinator
3 February 2023	Commissioner chair direction #9 issued [click here to view]
By 8 February 2023	Any rebuttal evidence to be provided to the Hearing Coordinator
By 10 February 2023	Opening legal submissions by all parties to be submitted to the Hearing Coordinator (Councils may choose to submit joint submissions relating to matters that are common to all Councils)
3 March 2023	Commissioner chair direction #10 issued [click here to view]
8 March 2023	Commissioner chair direction #11 issued [click here to view]
10 March 2023	Commissioner Chair Direction #12 issued [click here to view]
14 - 17 February 2023	Hearing Stage One – Joint opening hearings -Strategic Matters Venue: Hamilton City Council Civic Reception Lounge, Ground Floor Garden Place, Hamilton
17 March 2023	s42A Report issued - view below
26 - 28 April & 1 - 3 May 2023	Hearing Stage Two – Substantive Matters Venue: Bridges Church, 28 Duke Street Cambridge

Session 1 - IPI Joint High Level Issues Hearing

Section 42A

Waikato IPI's Opening Hearing Themes and Issues Report

Council's Expert Evidence

Statement of Evidence of Tony Quickfall - 20 December 2022

Directions

Legal Memo's

Joint Memorandum - The Councils - Regarding IHP Direction #2 - 22 December 2022
Joint Memorandum - The Councils - Regarding IHP Directions #7 and #8 - 01 February 2023
Memorandum - The Adare Company Limited - Regarding IHP Direction #5 - 17 January 2023
Memorandum - Synlait Milk Ltd - 31 January 2023
Memorandum - TAL, PG, HFL - Regarding IHP Directions #5, #6 and #7 - 31 January 2023
Memorandum - WDC - Regarding Procedural Matters - 22 February 2023
Legal Submissions on Scope for WDC - 24 February 2023
Memorandum on Scope - Pokeno West Ltd & Ors - 28 February 2023
Reply Legal Submissions on Scope for Triple 3 Farm Ltd - 28 February 2023
Reply Legal Submissions on Scope for RVA and Ryman Healthcare Ltd - 03 March 2023
Memorandum - WDC - Seeking amendment to IHP Direction #4 - 07 March 2023

Submitter's Strategic Evidence

Strategic Legal Submissions

Anna Noakes and MSBCA Fruhling Trustee's Company Ltd
Fonterra
Waipa DC, Waikato DC & HCC
Kainga Ora
Hamilton City Council
Waikato District Council
Waipa District Council
Housing and Urban Development
Waikato Heritage Group
Pokeno Village Holdings Ltd
The Adare Company Ltd
Synlait Milk Ltd
Havelock Village Ltd
RVA and Ryman
RVA and Ryman - Submissions in response to Directions #5, #8 and #9
Triple 3 Farm - Submission on Scope
WCLT, WHI, HFH, MW and BHT - Joint Submission on Scope

s42A Report