Month: April 2013

Outline for Submission to Unitary Plan

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My Submission to The Unitary Plan

 

As May 31 – the deadline to get in your feedback to the Draft Unitary Plan approaches, I have been slowly assembling all my bits and pieces and begun writing my submission for the Draft Unitary Plan a.k.a The Clunker.

However, with The Draft Unitary Plan covering some 1700 odd pages included 510 of those pages being large-scale maps it is near impossible by myself to comment on every single aspect of The Clunker. So I have narrowed down the submission to key points of interest to me in regards to wider Auckland.

Version 1.0 of my submission to The Draft Unitary Plan will cover thus far:

  1. Why I am covering the respective points here in this feedback document
  2. Brief recap on The Draft Unitary Plan as it currently stands
  3. 400,000 homes and one million people – where are they going to go?
  4. My Housing Mix using the shapeauckland.co.nz Housing Simulator
  5. The Zones: My Alternative to the Unitary Plan Zones using work from my Auckland Plan submission – this will include:
    1. Implementing the Centralised Master Community Plan (CMCP), the Semi-Liberal Plan Districts (SLPD), and the Municipal Utility District (MUD)
    2. Reworking the zones including adding, deleting, or modifications to the Unitary Plan Zones using zone definitions from my submission to the Auckland Plan
  6. Over Intensification with the centres – who gets upgraded and who gets downgraded. Also covered is redrawing the height restrictions imposed on some centres
  7. Manukau and St Heliers; special places deserve special recognition as one size does not fit all with the Unitary Plan
  8. CMCP’s and SLPD’s and applying them to select individual places in Auckland as examples of my alternative in regards to the Unitary Plan. Papakura and the Southern Rural Urban Boundary Greenfield sites will be two of the examples used
  9. The Rural Urban Boundary in Southern Auckland:
    1. Which of the three options per the Rural Urban Boundary Addendum
    2. Why I chose that particular RUB option
    3. How it would work (this will tie in with Point 8) and its effects to wider Auckland
    4. How it affects me personally
  10. Observed Transport issues stemming from the Unitary Plan. The Auckland Transport Integrated Transport Plan will be mentioned here
  11. Other infrastructure (including social) issues stemming from the Unitary Plan
  12. Any other notes and observations from the Unitary Plan
  13. Conclusion(s)

Urban design will be covered in multiple points rather than just one set specific point.

 

Even this is quite a bit to cover so I better get cracking with the writing. In the mean time I will continue my jet setting around the city participating and observing Unitary Plan community meetings (which I do have an opinion of as of current) and any more Civic Forums if they come up.

 

But for now I need to go book another holiday – I need it – or focus my spotlight back on my favourite crowd who must be wondering “What’s Up;” – Hehe Auckland Transport I am still here 😉

 

My Housing Mix from The Auckland Council Housing Simulator (Attempt One using Shape Auckland Housing Simulator)

 

What I came up with to give my take
What I came up with to give my take

 

That Letter

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The Letter The Herald is Banging On About

 

I have a copy of that letter the Herald article “Compact city rulebook hits wall” talks about. You can read it in the embed below and post your reactions accordingly. BR:AKL is of the belief that this is going too fast – the Unitary Plan consultation rounds, but I do disagree with Central Government and delaying the Clunker by three years. One extra year should be adequate enough at the ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM before it gets drawn out beyond a joke.

 

That Letter

 

Other reactions from me with The Unitary Plan can be found else where on this blog

 

 

Port of Auckland Debate

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Port of Auckland Debate is Back

 

I have brought back my Auckland Waterfront Index to the front page after putting into suspension with Port of Auckland (POAL) making another attempt in its bid to extend the port in its current location at the downtown waterfront.

This has been brought on after commentary from ATB on Port of Auckland’s scaled back expansion program proposal which can be seen at this post: Do we need a port in downtown Auckland?

 

Admittedly I was wondering why I got such a large spike in traffic on what are usually quiet Sundays for me. I send my thanks to Sacha for his link back to my “POSSIBLE PORT OF AUCKLAND RELOCATIONS” post which did stir some debate although somewhat one-sided.

 

So it seems after a 12 month break, the POAL chestnut is back on the table with me opening around of commentary on Facebook:

Tony Gibson is as unvisionary as Councillor Ann Hartley who shot down Part Two of the Upper North Island Port Review which to look at ALL OPTIONS for Port of Auckland. And by ALL OPTIONS I mean whether:
1) Expanding the Port as is where is, is a good idea
2) Moving the Port to Clevedon is a good idea}
3) Moving the Port to Marsden Point and Port of Tauranga is a good idea

The review would have looked at all costs AND benefits to each of those three options so at least Auckland knows where it stands in any future decisions
http://www.3news.co.nz/Ports-move-too-costly—CEO/tabid/421/articleID/293399/Default.aspx

 

Port of Auckland have replied through Twitter after I posted the above with them noting that I am most likely to be opposed to the new expansion idea – which I am.

 

A reminder to all that I support moving the Port to Clevedon unless a comprehensive report will all the pro and con’s for my reading and comprehension is undertaken and presented.

 

I better keep an eye out when the public consultations start on POAL again…

My Housing Mix in Auckland

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I am mentioning My Housing Mix again today as I am off to the Southern Auckland Civic Forum at the old Manukau City Council building this morning from 10am. We will be discussing today housing options hence why the reblog on my attempt at housing mixes:

I have been invited to another Civic Forum on the Unitary Plan to which I am going to the Manukau session this Saturday. By the looks of the invitation we will be looking at with the Unitary Plan team:
Key things are:
how we create housing choices and more affordable housing
how we enable businesses to develop and grow
how we protect our region’s environment, heritage and character.

So residential, commercial and industrial matters which I have covered previously in these posts: “THE UNITARY PLAN, AND THE CMCP AND SLPD’S,” “THE CLUNKER AND BUSINESS ZONES,” and “THE CLUNKER AND RESIDENTIAL ZONING“ are going to be feedback sort after as well as; environment, heritage and character.

Will post feedback on the forum either tonight or tomorrow.
In the mean time this rain is welcome

Ben Ross - Talking Auckland's avatarTalking Southern Auckland

Attempt One using Shape Auckland Housing Simulator

 

Auckland Council has released today an interactive housing simulator for YOU to experiment around with in how you as a theoretical Auckland Unitary Plan planner would fit in those extra 400,000 new dwellings for those one million extra people over the next thirty odd years. You can find the simulator HERE!

 

So I decided to play around with it and follow through my idea of the housing mix for Auckland in line with my submission to the Auckland Plan which called for 60% development in Brownfield Land (often intensification) and 40% in new Greenfield sites. This is what I got as I went through the process:

 

Stage One – How You Are Introduced to the Simulator

 

You can see the sliders which controls what housing goes where, the total you are giving and how many short or surplus…

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