Tag: Auckland Council

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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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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Auckland Conversations – Urban Economics

Ben Ross - Talking Auckland's avatar

I am here at Aotea Centre waiting for the start on today’s Auckland Conversation piece on Urban Economics: Up or Out.

I will be tweeting live from the event as it happens.

I also wonder if I should open live bets on the questions. That is will we get some actual real questions asked to the panel (which includes our Deputy Mayor) today or will we get the same patsy questions from the same patsy people pushing their same patsy barrow.

I suppose we will soon see.

Status · ·

Transport Announcements

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And Here We Go

 

The Prime Minister has announced what is effectively an ULTRA spend up on transport in Auckland for the next wee-while.

I am still working through the material and am most likely to post a full response tomorrow.

Also I am just re checking material I have written over the last three years. I don’t know if Council or Government has ever read my submissions in related to transport or not, I am not particularly fussed. But the CRL, the AWHC, AMETI and other things seem to be on a very similar timetable to what I suggested in my Auckland Plan submission:

From Page 49 of my Submission to the Auckland Plan

The Priority System

As resources and capital is scarce, a priority system is needed best allocate those scarce resources and capital to extend Auckland’s Transport System. This priority system in this submission will be brief with extended details provided in a separate submission to the Auckland Long Term Draft Plan.

 Priority One (To be completed by 2018)

  • Building of the Eastern Highway (to the Sub-Regional Standard Option as mentioned in Section 3.5 of the EASTDOR Final Report
  • Realigning the Westfield Diamond
  • Relocating or adding rail stations
  • Re allocating bus routes, improving bus feeder systems to rail stations or bus RTN systems
  • Feasibility Study of the Airport Rail Line including freight option
  • Starting the bus RTN roll out especially along State Highway 20, 20A and 20B
  • South-to-Manukau Rail Link Completion

Priority Two (To be completed by 2025)

  • Completion of Inner City Rail Link
  • Third Rail Line from Port to Papakura
  • Airport Rail Line (if deemed feasible)
  • Second Harbour Crossing
  • South West Rail Line (if freight is still moving to Northland)
  • Rail Electrification to Hamilton (not mentioned or included in this submission)

Priority Three (To be completed by 2040 or optional)

  • Botany Rail Line
  • North Shore Rail Line
  • Upgrade Eastern Highway from Sub Regional Function option to full Regional Function option

This priority system was created in attempt to create an idea on how transportation projects should be rationalised and built over the next thirty years with scarce resources and capital. Priorities can change as the transportation needs change for Auckland. Through creating the basic outline of the Auckland Transportation Network over the next 30 years, and through more technical analysis in the Long Term Plan Submission, it is hoped that Auckland’s transport needs will not virtually bankrupt the city and allow the city to be known again for its affordability and economic progress. Also the Auckland Transport Network ideas outline is designed to complement the LADU system also mentioned in this submission. The LADU system proposed in this submission is to allow the submission’s goal to be realised and affordability plus economic progress not be strangled by DURT!

…

You can see my original submission in the embed below.

As I said above I will comment in full later while I digest all this (and my lunch). You can see the initial Herald reaction HERE.

My Original Auckland Plan Submission (check page 49)

 

Housing Simulator Feedback

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What Was Said

 

Council has released a summary on the Unitary Plan Housing Simulator into the Shape Auckland website this afternoon.

Looking at both the Shape Auckland blog post ans subsequent 20-page PDF file the range of simulator “outputs” and comments were as diverse as those who live in Auckland. This is a good thing because it means we are getting 632 individualised attempts and pieces of feedback out of the simulator from across the spectrum.

Yours truly was one of the first to have an attempt on the simulator, you can find what I went with and my commentary in my “My Housing Mix in Auckland” post.

As for the summary of the Housing Simulator results, check out the “Unitary Plan Housing Simulator: Key themes and results” in the embed below:

This feedback from the simulator will go to the Auckland Plan Committee workshops for consideration and deliberations. We will know the outcome from this soon enough.

 

I also notice Council has just posted up a table of all the Unitary Plan workshops after Councillor Wood went for an apparent leak with it yesterday (and subsequently got posted into the blog). Not sure if Council was intending to release this because of George “leaking” but it is up and will be covered in the next post.

Your thoughts on the Housing Simulator and what came out with it? Leave a comment below.

Checking in on Height and Metro Magazine

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Enquiry away with Council

And Apparently I got a mention in the July Issue of Metro

 

I have sent an email away to Council seeking clarification around the “themes” to which our submissions are being codified against. This has been done after a comment was raised by Mark Thomas of Orakei Local Board in regards to the issue of height and my comment on the first workshop that looked at height in particular.

The said comments were reflected in my “Update on Unitary Plan Submission Counts” in particular Mark’s comment:

And the top “themes” submitted on are:

  • “Rezoning requests”,
  • followed by ‘Natural Environment”,
  • “Residential”
  • and “Transportation”.
  • Oddly, height (which doesn’t need speech marks because you know what it means) is not a theme submissions are being coded against….

 

The extract from my email back to Council outlining the query and reason for the clarification around the issue:

Okay this is leading to confusion amongst my readers and even myself. Here we had the workshop on “principles of development” in regards to our centres in particular height yesterday.
Yet at this point in time knowing that height was a major issue right across the city (including where I live in Papakura and where I often conduct business in Manukau) (not just three particular areas that were in the MSM) it is not a theme in which submissions are being codified against – unlike zoning which is a theme (the biggest one) and being codified for.
Further more I know from blog correspondence that quite a few individualised submissions (that is those that were not pro-forma) when mentioning height as a “theme,” those particular submissions often had alternatives for the heights that were recommended in the Draft UP (including my own submission).
So height is not as a theme submissions are being codified against – yet we have individualised submissions talking about it as a theme and often with alternatives in contrast to the UP?

Once I get a reply back from Council in regards to issue I will post it back into the blog. Seems things have evolved from being just a blogger and commentator to now blogger, commentator and investigative journalist. Ah well such as the nature of the beast that is social media.

 

As for Metro Magazine; apparently I have received a mention in the editorial section of July’s issue of Metro Magazine. I believe it might be in relation to my Unitary Plan Twitter Spam but, will have to check. I shall get my copy of Metro today and take a look and if so inclined stick it up on the blog tomorrow.

In saying that make sure you get your July issue of Metro for some winter reading (Simon the invoice is being sent to you for that little spiel later today 😉 )

 

From Yesterday’s Workshop

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Sorry Folks Have Not Got Much Here

 

Yesterday in my “The Next Steps for the Unitary Plan – Those Workshops” post I made mention that the Auckland Plan Committee and Local Board Chairs held their first workshop. The workshop was on “the principles of development” around our centres – in particular height (which is not being codified as a theme against from our feedback).

In the same post I also made mention that at the end of each workshop a public statement will be released for our consumption. Despite a small glitch from the Council I have that statement which reads the following:

Heights discussed at first Unitary Plan workshop
Today elected members of Auckland Council attended the first post-engagement workshop following feedback on the draft Unitary Plan.
 
Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse said the workshop brought together Local Board Chairs and the Auckland Plan Committee members to talk through the principles governing heights in centres and give interim direction on how changes will be made to the draft plan.
 
“The political direction that came out of today’s workshop is that, while we all agree we need a range of heights across our centres, we would like to see greater refinement to allow for variety within a centre where it is appropriate.”
 
The direction-setting workshops, which will be held over June and July, reflect the main topics in the 22,700 pieces of feedback Aucklanders gave over 11 weeks of engagement.
 
“We have started with centre heights as our first topic, as they set the framework for the level of development in other parts of Auckland. 
 
“Proposed height limits for Auckland’s metropolitan, town and local centres have been widely debated, with clear argument coming through from each side of the debate. Our challenge for heights is to get the balance right and I believe we can do that,” said the Deputy Mayor.
 
Work will now start to refine the principles relating to height in centres as directed. These will then be presented for discussion at the next Auckland Plan Committee.
 
For further details on the feedback and the next steps in the Unitary Plan process, please see the Shape Auckland site.

 

Sorry folks that is all we have right now. Unless a Councillor or Local Board Chair would like to make a further statement this is all we (the city) have to go with for now. And I am going to assume it will be like this until the July 2 Auckland Plan Committee where all the workings of the workshops reach the committee and are discussed in the “open.”

In saying that I will go and ask about the situation that arose to this comment yesterday:

  • Oddly, height (which doesn’t need speech marks because you know what it means) is not a theme submissions are being coded against….

Follow up to that bullet point and my Part Three post will come up later today.