Rates, Rates and oh the Rural Urban Boundary

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Otherwise it is all about the rates

 

Do I really want to talk about the issue that has people frothing at the mouth most on a beautiful Sunday morning in Auckland. Yes I do. It is about those things we call Rates – you know, the money from us that funds Council activities.

As the Council year finished on June 30 we have the new cycle under way. This means the next round of rates instalments is on their way to your letterbox (in August). It also means the next round of rates rises or decreases are on their way as we hit the second year of the transition system (which includes the cap of 10% max rise and 5.56% max decrease).

Tomorrow morning there will be a briefing and a Q&A session on the next round of rates instalments. I will endeavour to have the report and commentary up later that night on the latest for the now current Council financial cycle.

Remembering from the 2013/14 Annual Plan discussions that rate rises were averaging 2.9% – below the 4.8% forecast in the 2012-21 Long Term Plan.

 

Rural Urban Boundary

As mentioned earlier in the week on Wednesday the Council and Local Boards will be discussing the Rural Urban Boundary at a Unitary Plan workshop (closed session). While I am not keeping up with state of play for the north and north-west RUB, I am definitely keeping up with state of play for the Southern RUB.

As mentioned in my “Pukekohe Area Plan Maps and Information” reblogged post earlier this week; Franklin Local Board has been working with their community and will be advancing their proposal for the RUB at the Wednesday workshop.

While the green-zone buffer has moved from Paerata to Drury, the “corridor” concept seems to have been stuck to and is what is being advanced. This is similar to what I believe most in Southern Auckland submitted on in general as a RUB option – including myself.

I do really hope as the most practical and “sustainable” of all the Southern RUB options that what FLB have proposed is what will be in the final Unitary Plan when it becomes operative. In saying that I can think of two spanners that can be thrown into the works that would screw the Southern RUB preferred option up:

  1. Dr Nick Smith and his Housing Accord – Special Housing Areas (unless they go inside the RUB preferred option)
  2. Karaka Collective if their option is left out and they decide to challenge it in the Environment Court

 

As the preferred RUB option proposed by FLB and Southern Auckland submitters staves off THAT bridge, there might be some pro-Weymouth/Karaka Bridge supports aggrieved by this situation. This will be a case of watch and see as the Southern RUB preferred option moves through the Unitary Plan processes.

Talking Auckland will be keeping a special eye on the Southern RUB as it does progress through the Unitary Plan.

 

 

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TotaRim Website Launched

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TotaRim Establishes Online Presence

Today marked the formal establishment of TotaRim Consultancy having its presence online (that is a webpage being published).

TotaRim can be found at www.totarim.co.nz (it does redirect at this point and time while the site is still under construction)

Snippet of the front page of TotaRim

TotaRim webpage screenie 1

Over the next eight weeks the website will continue to be updated as more service products are rolled out and interactive/multimedia functions added to the site.

Check back at totarim.co.nz for regular updates and latest company news.

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Unitary Plan Updates – Our Feedback is Coming Through

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Our Feedback for Our Auckland Slowly Coming Through

 

Slowly but surely the trickle of information – that is our feedback to the Unitary Plan is coming through to the #shapeauckland website for our viewing.

I noted on Twitter this morning that Auckland Council has made mention and updated its Shape Auckland webpage indicating the process of the Unitary Plan, as well as an electronic document dump for our feedback:

 

A Screenshot of the Shape Auckland website as of this morning

Shape Auckland screenie

 

 

Unitary Plan Civic Forum – South

On April 6 a group of stakeholders were invited to the Southern Auckland Civic Forum at the Manukau Civic Centre (old Manukau City Council complex). There with the Local Boards, the Deputy Mayor and Planners; we (the residents, businesses(?) and non-for-profit groups) discussed and debated on a series of questions asked in regards to the Unitary Plan for the South (which includes Botany and Howick).

 

Our feedback from the Civic Forum (South) can be seen in the embedd below

You can see the rest of the Auckland “sectors” at the Unitary Plan Feedback page.

 

Now we wait to see what weight and what progress will be made of the Civic Forums feedback from the entire city. And yes good old Manukau is in there folks as that campaign pushes on.

TALKING AUCKLAND

Talking Auckland: Blog of TotaRim Consultancy Limited

TotaRim Consultancy
Bringing Well Managed Progress to Auckland and The Unitary Plan

Auckland: 2013 – YOUR CITY, YOUR CALL

 

 

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Pukekohe Area Plan Maps and Information

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What has been formulated and up for deliberation next Wednesday at the Unitary Plan – Rural Urban Boundary Workshop.

It looks very similar to both the Corridor Option in the RUB Draft and to what I had also proposed in-part. Main difference is that the greenbelt has been flipped over from the south to the north.

Personally I am happy with what has come from the Franklin Local Board on this.

 

Council Statement on Rural Workshop Today

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From Council on Today’s Unitary Plan Workshop

All things Rural

 

Sorry folks media are not allowed into the workshops at the moment so we do rely on the statements that do come out. This is the latest one on all things Rural in Auckland.

Unitary Plan workshop supports protection of productive rural areas
 
 
Managing the effects of rural and countryside living, while preserving productive farm land, were among issues discussed by councillors and local board chairs at the third Auckland Plan Committee draft Unitary Plan workshop today.
 
Subjects raised for political direction included:
 
  • Rural subdivision
  • Countryside living lot sizes, location and extent
  • Mixed-rural zone
  • Second or subsequent dwellings on rural sites
 
There was general agreement with the direction of the Auckland Plan for rural areas to remain rural in character and future rural population growth to be focused in existing towns and villages.
 
These sentiments were reflected in much of the feedback so far on the draft Unitary Plan.
 
Suggested approaches discussed at the workshop today included:
 
  • No net increase in the number of rural sites, to protect productive land and avoid fragmentation
  • Investigate additional countryside living areas and potential for different lot sizes around rural towns and villages
  • Review the location of the mixed rural zones and whether additional mixed rural zones would be appropriate
  • Investigate providing for second or subsequent dwellings on rural sites
 
Council staff will continue to do further work on these areas.

—–ends—–

All recommendations from the Rural workshop will head to the July 25 Auckland Plan Committee. Hopefully that Committee will not be treated as a joke by Grandstanding Councillors as yesterday’s one on the Mixed Housing Zone splitting.

 

 

 

 

 

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Media Statement From Council

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Statement on Today’s Auckland Plan Committee Proceedings

 

Council has just released a media statement on today’s two-hour session at the Auckland Plan Committee that was meant to be discussing the first two workshops (June 19 and 26). That technically did not happen and as I speak I am writing my exclusive post up on today’s proceedings now (to be out by 6pm).

From Auckland Council:

Council continues review of draft planning rules
 
Auckland councillors today continued the task of reviewing potential changes to building heights and housing zones in the draft Unitary Plan based on community feedback.
 
At a public meeting of the Auckland Plan Committee, councillors agreed to refer a set of nine directions on heights and housing zones to local boards for their consideration, guidance and feedback.
 
The principles may be used to guide changes to the draft plan in response to public feedback.
 
Council staff will undertake further work on changes that have been outlined following the first two workshops.
 
“Final decisions will not be made until the end of August,” said Auckland Plan Committee chair and Deputy Mayor Councillor Penny Hulse. “We have a lot of work to do to ensure the notified version of the plan reflects as best as we can what the public has told us.”
 
Councillors were also assured that public feedback will be available on the council’s website allowing people to search for the comments of individuals and organisations.
 
The interim directions (outlined in the report) relate to:
 
  • Principles for building heights in centre zones
  • Principles for building heights around centres in the Terrace Housing and
  • Principles for notification for height infringements in centres and the Terrace
Housing and Apartment Building zone
  • Principles for volcanic viewshafts and blanket height sensitive areas
  • Approach to design quality
  • Provisions in the Mixed Housing zone
  • Notification of development control infringements.

 

—ends—

As I said I am getting my own commentary on today written up now

 

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