The Auckland Unitary Plan creates a complete new rulebook defining what can and can’t be built in Auckland. At its heart is the Auckland Council’s desire for intensification.
The proposed plan, published in 2013 was accepted by Auckland Council in August 2016. This followed extensive submissions and consideration by the Independent Hearing Panel.
In 2015 the SMBA commissioned town planning consultants to prepare a submission on our behalf. This formally supported the Westhaven Marina Users Association (WMUA) submission. The SMBA has also worked closely with the Auckland 2040 group.
The appeal period expired on September 16, 2016. It is unclear at present whether the parts of the plan that are not subject to appeal will become fully operative from that date, or whether the two-tiered system that has applied over the past few years (the old “legacy” plans plus the Auckland Unitary Plan) will continue until all appeals have been decided.
Several appeals have been filed in the High Court – including appeals by Auckland 2040, the Character Coalition and the Independent Maori Statutory Board.
The Auckland 2040 and Character Coalition joint appeal focusses on the resolution of an alleged contradiction between the Council’s proposed plan changes late in 2015 which acknowledged that most of the residential zoning was “out of scope” versus the Independent Hearing Panel’s recommendations/Council decision that ruled that the same changes were, in fact, “in scope”.
The Independent Maori Statutory Board appeal relates to the treatment of sites of significance to Maori, of which there are two in St Mary’s Bay (one is at the foot of St Mary’s Road extending eastward from the right hand side of the carpark, and the other is Point Erin which as is an old pa site).
It is too early to say definitively that no appeal will affect St Mary’s Bay, but that appears to be the case. In particular, it is most unlikely that there will be any effect on zoning or the special (heritage) character of our area.
One aspect of the new plan that has some significance for St Mary’s Bay is the zoning towards the top of College Hill and at the start of Jervois Road. The proposed Unitary Plan introduced a Business-mixed zone for the northern side of College Hill from New Street to the old Post Office, and on the northern side of Jervois road from Seymour Street to Shelly Beach Road. SMBA and the residents of Dublin Street made submissions on permissible height for developments in this area. As a consequence the Auckland Unitary Plan reduced the initial height limit from 18.5 metres (four floors) to 13.5 metres (three floors) – far more in keeping with the character of the area.
However, the Auckland Unitary Plan also extended the zone from Shelly Beach Road to Curran Street (that area was initially zoned Terrace Housing and Apartments), without a similar restriction on height – meaning that developments in this area could go up to 18.5 metres.