Council Planners Remark Unitary Plan Wont Be Read by the Layman – YOU!

Written by Ben Ross - Talking Auckland

Unitary Plan Mediation Process is deeply flawed

Yesterday I went home in utter frustration after eight and a half hours cover nine pages of the total of 25 we needed to cover for the Centres and Business Zones of the Unitary Plan. We got stuck on the Introduction, Objectives and Policies for all of the zones before in the last hour FINALLY getting to what I was there for; the Metropolitan Centre Zone.

What shocked me yesterday as we haggled on language was this:

The Council Planners have remarked that no lay person will read the Unitary Plan so wont exactly cater the language for the Unitary Plan to be understood by the lay man – the Private Citizen – people like me!

EXCUSE ME! The Unitary Plan is meant to be able to be read by private citizens and easily understood by private citizens for whatever reason they might have to consult the Unitary Plan. This is seeming that the Unitary Plan is the master rule book that controls things like subdividing your property as well as big commercial or industrial developments.

Tomorrow I will be going back to finish off the Metropolitan Centre zone work from my submission. It involves a fair amount of compromise owing to Council planners not budging. I think it can be safe to say both myself and the big submitters are probably frustrated with the big submitters even more after trying for years to get things through and Council wont budge.

While I work through some of the Super Metropolitan Centre stuff (see Super Metropolitan Centre – A Redux on the SMC) into the existing Metropolitan Centre zone I am wondering if the Unitary Plan situation needs to be made an Election issue with #Auckland2016 next year.

If you why people are put off for interacting with our Local Government democracy beyond voting every three years (and only then 34% vote) then the Unitary Plan mediation and Hearings are proof of a reason why!

3 thoughts on “Council Planners Remark Unitary Plan Wont Be Read by the Layman – YOU!”

  1. Hi Ben

    This unread-ability is no accident of course.

    Any ambiguity also allows council to interpret the rules anyway at anytime they choose.

    It’s all about command and control.

    1. I think both the big and the small submitters (like me) get frustrated by this equally.

      Both just want a simple plan that is easy to read and follow so we can go about our business whatever that maybe (and within reason). Council seems to be grandscheming things that often just dont pan out in reality

      1. In the early nineties you could find out the rule to any building issue summarized on one A4 page. Now you get some reference to some other page which then has two other references etc.

        They have created their own religion and written in a tongue that only the high planning priests can interpret, not for the lay people to question. Do they deserve our faith?

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