SPECIAL CHARACTER AREAS – SPATIAL EXTENT

While Council has correctly included Special Character Areas as a qualifying matter, it has not carried forward all the Special Character Areas that are currently contained in the Unitary Plan as Special Character and/or Heritage Areas.

Council has:-

1. Wrongly set a threshold of “high quality” in deciding which Special Character Areas it has carried forward ;

2. Wrongly concluded that a Special Character Area is only of “high quality” or sufficient quality if 75% or 66% (depending on whether the area is within a walkable catchment) of the properties within it have scored 5 or 6 on its scale;

3. Applied an incorrect and/or inadequate methodology and/or used incorrect and/or inadequate criteria in assessing the value of properties within Special Character Areas;

4. Wrongly excluded from consideration a number of properties in Special Character Areas because it has incorrectly applied its methodology in scoring them;

5. Wrongly applied the methodology it has adopted in determining what is an area it deems to be of “high quality” and therefore suitable for inclusion as a Special Character Area.

6. Wrongly failed to include a number of areas of Special Character value as Special Character Areas.

7. Wrongly failed to include relevant matters in the character statements for some or all of the Special Character Areas it has retained.

Taken together, these errors mean that a number of areas that should be protected from insensitive and inappropriate development are now unprotected.

The failure of the proposed Plan Change to include and protect these areas:

1. Is contrary to the purpose of the Resource Management Act 1991 as set out in Section 5 and Part II.

2. Does not recognise and provide for the protection of historic heritage from inappropriate subdivision, use, and development as required by S6 (f) of the Act.

3. Fails to have particular regard and/or sufficient regard to the matters set out in Section 7 of the Act, and in particular S7:

(b) the efficient use and development of natural and physical resources:

(c) the maintenance and enhancement of amenity values:

(f) maintenance and enhancement of the quality of the environment:

(i) the effects of climate change.

4. Will have significant adverse effects on the environment, and in particular on the people of Auckland and their communities, on the amenity values in the areas thus excluded and on the social, economic, aesthetic, and cultural conditions which are affected by those matters.

5. Is not required to give effect to the requirements of the Resource Management (Housing and Other Matters) Amendment Act 1991 or of the National Policy Statement – Urban Development, because the Plan Change with all the Special Character Areas included as a qualifying matter would provide more than enough capacity for Auckland’s future housing needs for the foreseeable future.

The Character Coalition seeks the following decisions to be made by Council:

1. The inclusion of all the Special Character Areas currently in the Unitary Plan as Special Character areas in the Proposed Plan Change.

2. In particular, the inclusion of the following properties and/or areas in or as Special Character areas in the Proposed Plan Change:

a. An area or areas in Epsom as shown outlined in blue on Attachment A.

b. The expansion of the area of Queen Street in Northcote Point (currently identified as a Special Character Area on the Council’s map of Survey Areas 65 & 66 dated August 2022) as shown in Attachment B.

c. An area or areas in Ayr & Laurie Streets in Parnell as shown outlined in blue on Attachment C.

d. The properties in West End Road shown on the Council’s map of Survey Area 25 dated August 2022 but which now have been removed from the area identified as a Qualifying Matter

e. The properties in St Stephens Ave Parnell shown on the Council’s map of Survey Area 26 (part) dated August 2022 as having been removed from the Special Character Overlay.

f. The properties in the Ohinerau/Mt Hobson Area currently shown on Council’s map of Survey Area 41 (Isthmus C only) dated January 2022 which were previously in a Special Character Area, but which have not been included in the area identified in the Plan Change as a Qualifying Matter.

g. The properties in Middleton Rd, Ada Street, Bassett Road and Seaview Road, Remuera shown on the Councils map of Survey Area 5a (Isthmus A only) dated August 2022) as having been removed from the Special Character Overlay.

h. The properties from 2-18 Lucerne Rd shown on the Councils map of Survey Area 5a (Isthmus A only) dated August 2022 as having been removed from the Special Character Overlay.

i. The properties in Bassett Rd, Remuera shown on the Council’s map of Survey Area 5b (being Isthmus B properties only) dated April 2022 as having been removed from the Special Character Overlay.

j. The properties from 60 to 118 Arney Road Remuera and all the properties in Seaview Road, Remuera shown on the Council’s map of Survey Areas 6 and Part 56 (Isthmus B ) dated August 2022 as having been removed from the Special Character Overlay.

k. The properties in Remuera East outlined in red on Attachment D.

l. The properties in Aldred Avenue and Victoria Rd, Remuera shown coloured on attachment E.

m. The properties from 28 to 58, 31 to 39 and 55-65 Kelvin Avenue, Remuera, shown outlined in yellow on attachment F.

3. Any other or further changes to the Proposed Plan Change which are required to give effect to those changes listed in 1 and 2 above and to protect the properties and areas referred to in 1 and 2 above from inappropriate subdivision and development.

OTHER MATTERS

The parts of the plan and/or areas upon which Character Coalition is submitting

The reasons for our concerns.

What we want done to meet those concerns (see tables below).