Housing

In a decision that’s likely to please Pukerua Bay residents, the latest version of the Porirua City Council Proposed District Plan has removed any possibility of high-density housing being built in Pukerua Bay.

Read the latest version of the Porirua City District Plan here.

Kāinga Ora had proposed that every part of Pukerua Bay within 800 metres of the train station should be rezoned as ‘high-density housing’, which would have allowed at least six-storey buildings taller than 22 metres. We were worried that the panel was going to agree to that proposal, or at least rezone all the land within 400 metres of the station, which was the original Kāinga Ora proposal.

PCC has accepted the latest version without change as the new proposed plan. In this, the whole of Pukerua Bay is now locked in as ‘medium density housing’, which is the default for the Wellington region. This allows for up to three houses of three storeys each (up to 12 metres high) to be built on all residential properties as a permitted activity (i.e. without needing a resource consent).

Many Pukerua Bay residents, including the Residents Association, sent in submissions opposing the high-density proposal, and the Association is very pleased to see there won’t be any here.

The current version can be appealed to the Environment Court, but unless the court makes any changes, the latest version will be the final operative plan everyone has to follow.

Climate change and resilience added to District Plan

We were also very pleased to see that the panel added a new section on climate change and resilience to the introduction to the District Plan variation that covers the new developments off Muri Road and the Mount Welcome deer farm (i.e. Variation 1 Northern Growth Area).

We had pointed out that there was no mention of the need to both build to anticipate and prevent the impact of climate change in the new developments, and not do anything that would make it any worse. The panel added proposed wording directly from our submission:

The development will incorporate design principles that anticipate the effects of climate change, to mitigate its impacts, to avoid contributing to it and to increase community resilience.

Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities is inviting the public to provide feedback on proposed key features of a potential Specified Development Project (SDP) for the Porirua Northern Growth Area (NGA).

According to Kāinga Ora, the SDP process “supports collaboration between the public and private sectors and mana whenua, and is a tool that can be used to plan and deliver complex and transformational urban development projects, helping address Aotearoa New Zealand’s housing shortage.”

SDPs allow Kāinga Ora to take over some of the rule-making powers from local councils to ensure that multiple developments are integrated with each other and the surroundings. It’s intended to avoid issues where infrastructure is inadequate for growth and funding is not sorted out before work starts. It can also make sure issues like provisions for extra public transport, roading and schools are sorted early on in the process by working with the government agencies responsible for them.

The Northern Growth Area is around 1000 hectares of greenfield land in northern Porirua, primarily made up of seven major land blocks. It is the farmland between Camborne and Pukerua Bay, mostly on the eastern side of State Highway 59, and includes the Mt Welcome deer farm and the Muri block being developed by Barber Commercial (i.e., Jennian Homes).

This area has been identified by the Porirua City Council and the Wellington Regional Leadership Committee as suitable for future urban growth. In August 2022, it was selected for assessment as a potential SDP under the Urban Development Act 2020.

Since then, Kāinga Ora has been working in partnership with Porirua City Council and Ngāti Toa Rangatira to assess whether the NGA should be recommended for establishment as an SDP.

Here is a diagram of the SDP process (PDF). Kāinga Ora in Porirua is currently at step 1 (‘Kāinga Ora carries out initial assessment’).

Kāinga Ora is inviting people to find out more about the proposed key features and provide feedback on the proposed project area, objectives, and governance body, between 31 August and 29 September 2023.

They have organised two local drop-in sessions, which we are all welcome to attend:

• St Andrews Church Hall, 11 Steyne Avenue, Plimmerton, 5pm–7.30pm Thursday 7 September 2023
• Pukerua Bay RSA, 5 Wairaka Road, Pukerua Bay, 2pm–4pm, Saturday 16 September 2023.

You can also make a submission online: Online feedback form on the proposed SDP

If you can’t do either of these things but would like to know more, call 0800 801 601 and the Kāinga Ora team will organise for someone to speak with you. You can direct enquiries to sdp.enquiries@kaingaora.govt.nz.

Please note, this isn’t about the proposal in the District Plan for 6-storied buildings in Pukerua Bay. That is being considered by the panel that heard submissions on the District Plan earlier this year, and we are all waiting to hear the outcome of that. That’s out of our hands now.

Documents and useful links

• Kāinga Ora’s media release announcing the consultation
• Specified Development Project Process diagram (PDF)
• Kāinga Ora brochure explaining what an SPD is (PDF)
• Online feedback form and map of the area identified for a Porirua SDP
• Porirua City Council page on Northern Growth Area SDP

Last weekend we submitted our comments and the changes we want to the proposed variation to the Porirua District Plan for land around Pukerua Bay.

The variation would allow new housing developments on the eastern side of the village, off Muri Road and the Mt Welcome farm (the former deer farm off SH59). Read information on Porirua City Council website.

We suggested a number of changes and additions to strengthen environmental protection, explicitly acknowledge the impact of climate change, the need to identify funding for infrastructure before work starts, and changes to the urban design to improve accessibility and neighbourhood connections. The documents are:

• PBRA submission on District Plan Variation 1
• Marked-up changes to the text of the new District Plan variation
• Submission form to PCC listing our changes

Addendum

On 21 March 2023, Moira Lawler and Iain MacLean presented an oral submission to the hearing panel considering the proposed draft District Plan. These are the notes we provided to the panel in support of the submission.

Kāinga Ora and Porirua City Council (PCC) have announced a plan to look at the Northern Growth Area to the south of Pukerua Bay as a ‘Specified Development Project’ to manage housing developments in the area. The Kāinga Ora media release is below.

Links: Kāinga Ora media release on Scoop; background on Kāinga Ora’s Specified Development Projects.

The Residents Association has prepared a statement in response:

“This is a very surprising decision and there is a lot we need to learn to come to grips with it. We know that there is pressure on housing in the region and a strong demand for it. However, we are concerned about the potential impacts on local communities, and the loss of the local voice in decisions. We have worked with Porirua City Council over many years on the 30-year Northern Growth Plan, and we are currently preparing submissions on changes to the District Plan to allow new housing developments in Pukerua Bay. We would be very concerned to lose the ability to influence decisions affecting our communities if PCC is sidelined from the decision-making process. We would expect to be included as key stakeholders in any decisions Kāinga Ora is making that will affect local communities in this area.”

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Kāinga Ora considers using Urban Development Act housing provisionsRead More »

The community workshop on the draft Structure Plan for Pukerua Bay was well-attended, with animated discussions about the proposed housing developments and lots of feedback given. Read the feedback and comments here.

PCC is also planning to put all the feedback onto an interactive online map. We’ll also put a link to this here as soon as we have it. PCC has to notify this District Plan variation by August 2022. Any of us can submit on the proposal, in writing and in person to the public hearings. We will publicise updates on this process.

You can also go to the Council website poriruacity.govt.nz/your-council/city-planning-and-reporting/district-plan/

A tip from the planners – it’s a good idea to focus on the rules for planning because that’s where the Council has its influence. PCC doesn’t build the houses, but it does set the rules!