Where Ben is for the next round of Unitary Plan Community Meetings

 

One thing that I have been doing with the Unitary Plan is that I have been travelling as much as I can around the city attending the Unitary Plan community meetings. At these community meetings I will usually take a seat and take notes while observing the meeting quietly. Once the meeting is done I will often go one to one with either: planners, councillors, Local Board members, the Deputy Mayor (no luck there yet 😛 ), and/or residents and discuss aspects of the Unitary Plan at both local and regional level. Sometimes I might put forward my alternative to get the creative juices flowing in which the residents will have a very good yarn (a productive one at that) on what they like to see both local and regional, as well as concerns (often transport and over-intensification in the centres).

The following day I will usually follow-up with BR:AKL commentary and a round of “spam” on social media depending on what is going on with The Clunker.

Next week I return back to my home in Southern Auckland with the next round of community meetings focusing in the Manurewa and Papakura Local Board areas. Between now and May 1 I have four meetings to attend to here in the south followed by a presentation that I am going to be giving in Orakei next month on – yep The Unitary Plan. Also I have my usual Transport Committee and Auckland Transport Board meetings I trundle along too as well as I keep the spotlight still shining in that particular direction

So this is where I will be between April 15 and May 1

• April 15 – Monday: Karaka Hall on most likely the RUB, existing urban development, and transport. With the Karaka Collective from this area and in support of the Karaka North and West RUB development option, and the Weymouth-Karaka Bridge; we should be hearing from them in putting their argument forward why those options should happen. 
• April 16 – Tuesday: Council Transport Committee at Town Hall. Some developments and going-ons need to be kept tabs of especially around the Manukau South (Rail) Link and our flagging rail patronage. While I am not speaking this time around I will be sure to remind AT and the Committee of the situations.
• April 17 – Wednesday:  Telstra Clear Events Centre (now Vodafone Events Centre) with the topics on intensification and transport. Manurewa town centre being classed as a Town Centre (so up to eight storeys) in the Unitary Plan is bound to stir the over-intensification debate there. As for transport – well getting reliable and accessible public transport would be a nice start for most of the community. 
• April 18 – Thursday: Weymouth Primary School on round two of the Unitary Plan and transport – more to the point that Karaka-Weymouth Bridge. I will be in attendance for that one as I have commented on this very extensively here at BR:AKL previously and gone one to one with planners and residents over this. Now I do have an alternative to stave off this bridge for 30 years while still getting RUB development and even a bonus regional park if Council pulls finger. I have also been receiving documents and comments from both sides of the bridge debate either putting their case forward or clarifying a point. It is of note to the Karaka Collective at this point and time I can not support the development of Karaka North and West, nor the bridge due to both have greater detrimental affect to the wider sub-region of Southern Auckland than the benefits supposedly received if this particular option and bridge went through. However you can still state your case and try to convince me on how the benefits would out-weight the costs.
• May 1 – Wednesday: Alfriston Hall on zoning. Oh those residential and business zones are causing so much grief and debate across Auckland through the draft Unitary Plan it is not funny. Time to have a good thrashing analysis of these zones and get some sense and sanity back into them so that we can truly get a more liveable city
• May 2 – Orakei (confirmed): Presentation on Special Character Zones – how the one size fits all brush in regards to centres will not work and the introduction of The Special Character Zone.

 

 

Unitary Plan commentary continues as does my actual submission to this part of the Unitary Plan feedback process as the plan draws closer to be coming operative (whenever that might be).

 

BEN ROSS : AUCKLAND