Consultation on the proposed National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity closes soon and some of the submissions by local government are fascinating. The ones I have seen (through Council Committee agendas) almost all reference a perceived tension between biodiversity protection and urban development. It’s unfortunate that such a false dichotomy exists in planning because we […]
The Dunedin Town Belt Story Map combines text, maps and multimedia to tell the story of the Dunedin Town Belt. I’ve been fascinated by Story Maps ever since I found out about them from the team at e-Spatial. I think that Story Maps could replace the traditional Assessment of Environmental Effects Report in the resource […]
In most cities and districts the infrastructure requirements for subdivision are usually different from the NZ Building Code. This is because subdivision infrastructure is often shared and must last longer than the buildings it serves. It serves the land, which will be around a very long time indeed. There are some helpful rules of thumb […]
I’m really impressed with the direction of the Thames-Coromandel Shoreline Management Planning (SMP) Project. I’ll overlook the fact that participants of the summer survey go in the draw to win a petrol voucher… The project appears to be based on the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) approach. The European Union has developed eight principles of […]
The Christchurch City Council is proposing to regulate what they call ‘home share accommodation’ through the District Plan. This approach presumes that the resource management issue is a land use problem, when in reality it’s a technology problem. Defining home share accomodation as something different from ‘normal’ residential accommodation is a seemingly arbitrary activity based […]
During 2019 five regional councils (including Auckland) and ten territorial authorities declared a ‘climate emergency’ in NZ. An emergency is a a dangerous situation requiring immediate action. It’s probably fair to say that Council’s don’t have a reputation for acting quickly. Nonetheless, a policy triage of sorts is underway to determine the order of regulation […]
The Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister recently used legislative power to remove parking requirements from Lyttelton in an attempt to stimulate growth. Parking requirements have long been identified as an insidious planning tool that is criticised by movements like #blackfridayparking. At any given moment there are probably over 3 million cars just parked in NZ, doing […]
I came across the Tararua District Visitor and Walk-Cycle Strategy and Action Plan recently. One thing that struck me was the use of the word ‘enabler’ throughout. This includes with respect to the delivery of regulatory services (like resource consents). Red carpet provider: Provide regulatory services in a way that expedites and supports visitor development […]
Sometimes it seems like every project goes over time and budget. Here are three tips to help you keep costs and programme under control. Avoid rework There are many professionals and contractors involved in land development. This is especially true during the design process. Getting it right the first time is so important. You can […]
The Road to Zero: New Zealand’s Road Safety Strategy 2020-2030 contains some pretty sobering statistics, including: In 2017, there were 7.9 fatalities per 100,000 population. In 2018, 182 drivers and 5 cyclists were killed. The majority of serious crashes result from simple errors of perception or judgement by otherwise compliant people. It focuses on making […]