Proposed Plan Change 26 – Residential Zone Intensification
Status
Waipā District Council Hearing in relation to Financial Contributions scheduled to commence 20 September 2023 at Bridges Church, 28 Duke Street, Cambridge.
You can view the Hearing Schedule here. Please note times are approximate.
Hearing Recording - Day 1 Session 1
Hearing Recording - Day 1 Session 2
Session 1 - IPI Joint High Level Issues Hearing
You can view Session 1 Recordings and Evidence here
Session 2 - IPI Council Hearing
You can view Session 2 Recordings and Evidence here
Session 3 - Council Hearing in Relation to Financial Contributions
Documentation
- 01. Memorandum of counsel on behalf of Waipa District Council regarding timetabling for hearing on financial contributions.
- 02. Memorandum of counsel on behalf of Waipa District Council regarding Direction 17 NPSIB
- 03. Waikato Regional Council response to Direction 17 - PC26
- 04. Notice of Hearing for PC26 Financial Contributions hearing
- 05. PC26 Summary Statement (Lawrence McIlrath)
- 06. Summary Statement Melissa Needham
- 07. PC 26 Plan Text Changes - Financial Contributions
Council Evidence
- 01. Statement of Evidence of Lawrence McIlrath - Financial Contributions
- 02. Statement of Evidence of Tony Quickfall - Financial Contributions
- 03. Addendum (1) PC26 Financial Contributions S42A Report
- 04. ADDENDUM Plan Change 26 Text - Financial Contributions
- 05. Rebuttal Statement of Evidence Lawrence McIlrath
Submitter Evidence
- 01. Waikato Regional Council - Letter to be tabled Session 3 - Financial Contributions
- 02. Kainga Ora - Waipa PC26 - Financial Contributions - Kainga Ora Corporate statement.
- 03. Memorandum of counsel dated 24-08-23 - Ryman and the RVA - PC26 FCs
- 04. Ryman and the RVA - statement of evidence of Mr Akehurst - Waipa PC26
- PC26 FC Joint statement (McIlrath_Akehurst).pdf
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 |
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 |
17 March 2023 | s42A Report issued - view below |
24 March 2023 | Council's Expert Evidence Due - view below |
29 March 2023 | Commissioner chair direction #13 issued [click here to view] |
6 April 2023 | Submitters Evidence Due 4pm (Expert and non expert) |
11 April 2023 | Commissioner Chair Direction #14 issued [click here to view] |
19 April 2023 | Rebuttal Evidence Due 4pm |
21 April 2023 | Opening Legal Submissions Due 4pm |
26 - 28 April & 2 May 2023 | Hearing Stage Two – Substantive Matters Venue: Bridges Church, |
30 May 2023 | Commissioner Chair Direction #15 issued [click here to view] |
14 June 2023 | Commissioner Chair Direction #16 issued [click here to view] |
11 July 2023 | Commissioner Chair Direction #17 issued [click here to view] |
8 July 2023 | s42A Report Due 5pm |
24 July 2023 | Commissioner Chair Direction #18 issued [click here to view] |
4 August 2023 | Council Evidence Due 5pm |
15 August 2023 | Notice of Hearing - Financial Contributions [click here to view] |
18 August 2023 | Submitter Evidence Due 5pm |
1 September 2023 | Council and Submitter Rebuttal Evidence Due 5pm |
15 September 2023 | Legal Submissions on Financial Contributions Due 5pm |
20, 21 & 22 September 2023 | Hearing Stage Three - Financial Contributions
Venue: Bridges Church, |
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 there are no qualifying matters; 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
Proposed Plan Change 26
Public Notice to Notify - 19 August 2022
Information Brochure
Proposed Plan Change and Section 32 Report
Appendix 1 - Feedback received from Stakeholders
Appendix 2 - Assessment of Existing Qualifying Matters
Appendix 3 - Assessment of New Qualifying Matters
Appendix 4 - Character Area Review for Waipa District Council
Appendix 5 - Residential Modelling Medium Density Residential Standards
Appendix 6 - Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Assessment
Appendix 7 - Open Space Green Infrastructure Network
Appendix 8 - Summary Synthesis Report Infrastructure Report
Appendix 9 - Stormwater Infrastructure Assessment
Please note: all proposed Planning Maps are within Proposed Plan Change 26 (link below) and have not been updated on the main District Plan page or on Maps Online. A number of planning maps have proposed amendments, but for your convenience, we have attached the 2 new proposed maps which show the extent of the qualifying matters for Cambridge (map 56) and Kihikihi and Te Awamutu (map 57).
Proposed Planning Map 56 - Qualifying Matters Cambridge
Proposed Planning Map 57 - Qualifying Matter Te Awamutu-Kihikihi
Summaries of Submissions
- PC26 Public Notice For Further Submissions - Character Clusters
- PC26 Public Notice of Summary of Decisions Requested
- PC26 Summary of Submissions by Submitter
- PC26 Summary of Submissions by Topic
- Proposed Plan Change 26 - Plan Change and Section 32 Report
- Public Notice - 19 August 2022
- Summary Of Decisions Requested PC26 (Character Clusters)
- Summary of Further Submissions PC26 April 2023 - Character Clusters.pdf
- Waipa Plan Change 26 Brochure