Please make a submission to protect trees and heritage buildings from the new Government housing rules

The Government has recently passed new legislation that will enable significant intensification of properties within our cities - without requiring consents.

This Resource Management Amendment (Housing Enabling) Act will enable 3 buildings of up to 3 stories to be placed as a permitted activity onto existing properties.

Auckland Council is required by law to initiate a plan change to the Unitary Plan by August 2022 to implement these new rules.

Obviously these changes to the planning rules will threaten trees on private land. There will be no space to accommodate trees on these new developments. They also threaten historic heritage.

It is therefore extremely important that the plan change ensures that trees currently legally protected by being included in Schedule 10 (Notable Trees) and Significant Ecological Areas (SEAs) as well as other provisions are included as "qualifying matters". This is not guaranteed. We need to make submissions to argue that this is essential to protect these important natural assets for our city, so that consents will still be required to remove or significantly prune currently protected trees.

This plan change also represents an opportunity to add new trees to the Schedule of Notable Trees and to correct any errors that might exist in the current schedule. We need to make submissions to call for the scope of the plan change to include these pieces of work.

What can you do?

Please make a submission on the Council's consultation regarding this plan change. The link to the submission process is here: https://akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/housing

The deadline is Monday 9 May 2022 (next Monday).

You could include some or all of the following points in your submission:

• Qualifying matters must include all current legal tree protection elements in the Unitary Plan so that these trees continue to require consent for removal / pruning under the new rules.
• This includes Schedule 10 (Notable Trees), Significant Ecological Areas rules, Riparian Margin rules and rules that protect coastal Pohutukawa.
• The scope of the Plan Change to enable these changes to the Unitary Plan must also include correction to any identified errors in Schedule 10.
• The scope of the Plan Change to enable these changes to the Unitary Plan must also include the addition to Schedule 10 of any new nominations for scheduling that have been received by Auckland Council.
• The new MDRS housing rules will enable permitted development of all Single House Zone properties with up to 3 new dwellings. This intensification will inevitably encourage the removal of any trees that remain legally unprotected. This will be a disaster for the urban forest and for climate change amelioration, resulting in the permitted removal of many thousands of trees. It is therefore essential that the current (few) legal protections in the Unitary Plan for urban trees on private land are retained and that the opportunity is taken to identify and schedule new qualifying trees that have been nominated. New nominations should be encouraged as part of the plan change process.
• Qualifying matters must include the Historic Heritage Schedule.
• The scope of the Plan Change to enable these changes to the Unitary Plan must also include correction to any identified errors in the Historic Heritage Schedule.
• The scope of the Plan Change to enable these changes to the Unitary Plan must also include the addition to the Historic Heritage Schedule of any new nominations for scheduling that have been received by Auckland Council.
• Qualifying matters must include all current Historic Character areas in the Unitary Plan.
• The scope of the Plan Change to enable these changes to the Unitary Plan must also include correction to any identified errors in the Historic Character areas.
• The scope of the Plan Change to enable these changes to the Unitary Plan must also include the addition to the Historic Character areas of any new nominations for Historic Character areas that have been received by Auckland Council.
• Qualifying matters must include all current reserves, parks and open space. It is essential that as much public green space as possible is retained in an intensified city to make it liveable, especially as the new MDRS rules will reduce the amount of outdoor space on private sections significantly.
• View shafts for the Maunga and other landmarks must be protected as qualifying matters so that current rules regarding building height are retained and not increased in these areas.
• Housing density and height should be retained as current rules allow within Special Character areas, on Historic Character scheduled properties and around public open space and not increased, to enable those special parts of our city to retain their character and open space provisions.
• Overlays such as the Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area must be included as qualifying matters so that intensification and increases in height are prevented in this special area as this would be a breach of the Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area Act.
• I support the proposed walkable distances of 15 mins (1200m) to the city centre and 10 mins (800m) to metropolitan centres and train / busway stations within which development of up to 6 stories may be enabled, providing that the qualifying matters protections listed above are enabled.

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