Housing
Auckland’s mayoral candidates cast their lot behind special character areas in the development versus conservation debate
The leading Auckland mayoral candidates have expressed their support for the protection of special character areas as Auckland is opened up for more intensified development.
This is an issue that has sharply divided people across the city, with much of the disagreement centered around the extent to which special character areas need to be protected.
These are proposed areas outside the walkable catchment area of fast transportation, where 66 percent of properties received a score of five or six on the council’s scale of special character value. Within walkable areas from fast transportation, 75 percent of properties should be of this standard.
The Auckland Council’s planning committee is expected to decide on Thursday whether to confirm the exact institutions that make this protection possible.
The decision follows months of public consultation, which has led to nearly 8,000 Aucklanders talking about whether to hedge protection for special character areas in the changes to the Unity Plan.
Both individuals and organizations have expressed their views on where more intensified development will be allowed across the city.
It is a set of decisions that will determine the future of Tāmaki Makaurau, as the map is drawn by where high-density housing and its required infrastructure will be allowed to grow.
As part of determining exactly what the new rulebook will look like, Auckland Council has opened consultation with Aucklanders to measure support for the elements of the rule changes over which the council has control.
The most important of these is what falls under ‘qualifying matters’ – that is, the special circumstances that would prevent higher-intensity housing from continuing.
The council must present robust evidence to the Government so that something can qualify, and it is special character areas that have come under scrutiny the most.
According to the Auckland Unity Plan, special character areas are “specific residential and business areas identified as having collective and cohesive values, importance, relevance and importance to the communities within the area and wider Auckland region”.
In responses from individuals, 72 percent of the people from the 6226 first answers supported the idea of protecting special character areas, while 19 percent did not want any special character areas to be qualifying matters. A further 4 per cent of people said they did not know, and another 5 per cent chose ‘other’.
Of organizations that responded, 49 percent were behind special character area protection, while 16 percent did not want any. The rest were evenly distributed, 18 percent of respondents chose ‘I do not know’ and 18 percent chose ‘other’.
Matt Lowrie from the blog Greater Auckland said many Aucklanders resist change, and it is the squeaky wheel that gets the fat.
“Many people do not want change. And the council is more receptive to those complaints. “
The Character Coalition, a group set up to advocate for the preservation of character and heritage buildings, calls the results an emphatic endorsement of special character areas by Aucklanders, and says the results have “such a strong signal to the council and sent the government that Auckland values its SCAs and wants them to be kept ”.
Coalition leader Sally Hughes said: “The question now is whether Auckland’s local body members have the character and leadership qualities to stand up for Auckland in the face of [what] Wellington dictation ”.
mayoral race
Hughes said Auckland is looking for its champion in the upcoming mayoral race. But what do the candidates say for greater intensification versus greater protection for special character?
The Character Coalition approached each of the mayoral candidates and asked them to set out their position on the issue, and received support from Efeso Collins, Leo Molloy, Viv Beck, Wayne Brown and Craig Lord.
Current councilor Efeso Collins said he supported the council’s position, which is to include most of the properties in special character consultation areas in the unit.
planned as a qualifying matter where the intensification rules do not apply, but also expressed some concern that such protection could also keep people out of the housing market.
“I agree that Auckland’s historical character needs to be valued and preserved, but it needs a sharper focus on what parts of our history are worth preserving, so that we do not use conservation as a tool to get people out of the housing market. “in some of us. most sought-after and established suburbs,” he said.
Leo Molloy also wants to find a balance, apparently by supporting special character areas, but acknowledges that some parts of the city center urgently need to be sharpened.
“Auckland’s special character areas are part of the material that makes up our beautiful city and in fact defines it. Protecting their aesthetics should be a priority. However, we need to step up and I recognize that certain areas of the city center are suitable for this purpose, “he said.” As mayor, I will explore all options that will make Auckland more livable and affordable without becoming part of the city’s identity. to lose. and history. “
Former Heart of the City CEO Viv Beck was unequivocal in her support of special character and said “the proposed changes will have a major detrimental impact on the character and identity of our city and once it is over, can it is not restored “.
She promised to “lead talks with the government to change these plans and protect the preservation of character and heritage” if elected.
Lord set out on a journey to Dubai where he was disappointed by the number of historic buildings destroyed in light of rapid modernization. Despite this, he said he fully supports medium- and high-density dwellings in the vicinity of major transportation hubs.
“Going up does not completely make sense and solves a lot of problems,” he said. “But again, there must be very particular warnings to this.”
And former Far North mayor Wayne Brown has said he owns a listed building – his last home being a Gray Lynn villa. He was also involved in the preservation of the Kemp House and Stone Store, among other heritage buildings that “used his engineering and heritage construction expertise”.
It is noteworthy that heritage buildings are generally protected under the Resource Management Act and their place on the New Zealand Heritage List. This means strikingly self-contained historic buildings will have protection ensured by other parts of the rules.
Special character areas are a vague concept: the historical and aesthetic values of entire neighborhoods, which tend to be the leafy and rich streets of downtown suburbs like Ponsonby and Remuera.
Special character is extended to collections of homes that represent periods of history in Auckland’s growth, with many of them 19th-century cottages, late Victorian villas, Edwardian villas and California-style bungalows from between the world wars.
Special character and heritage were sometimes a distinction that is difficult to analyze in the argument between the traditionalists who value heritage conservation and those who want to accelerate a clean, green and compact city – and the many variations that fall between them .
However, protecting buildings like Kerikeri’s Stone Store is not the same cause as fighting for special character overlays in Auckland’s residential areas.
Former mayoral candidate Jake Law has found a diplomatic resting place between the two poles, saying “as a young person we want to find ways to make housing more affordable and equitable while protecting what makes our communities unique, special and safe places for all residents to live ”.
Local board chairmen will also be given a five-minute slot to talk about possible changes to the Unity Plan. This will be to give feedback to the broader council on the plan and the changes that have already been made.
Who was consulted?
Most of the responses were concentrated over a three-week period during May, with the majority picked up online through virtual ‘say your say’ events and information webinars. Personal briefings and assistance by the council’s community engagement partners to reach diverse and sometimes hard to reach communities also played a role.
The respondents represent a mostly self-elected 0.4 percent of Auckland’s total population – although it is impossible to say with authority which side will benefit from this self-selection.
Auckland councilor and head of the planning committee Chris Darby said Aucklanders have strong views on housing in the city.
“We want them to help us understand if we are on the right track with the limited decisions we can make,” he said of the consultation process. “While most of the government’s changes are mandatory, the council’s decisions will be crucial in shaping how our city grows to meet the housing needs of current and future Aucklanders.”
Meanwhile, councilor Josephine Bartley, deputy chair of planning, said it was imperative that the diverse communities across Auckland make their voices heard on how the city is growing in the future.
“These changes will have a direct impact on how we allow more housing and more choices for all people in communities across our entire city,” she said.