by Ben Addington | Aug 15, 2020 | Climate Change, Infrastructure, Land Development, Sustainability
The Climate Change Commission has sent a letter outlining six principles for the government to help guide investment decisions being made as part of the economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are: Consider how stimulus investments can deliver long-term...
by Ben Addington | Aug 9, 2020 | Housing, Infrastructure, Local Government, Natural Hazards, Planning, Sustainability
The first national climate change risk assessment for Aotearoa NZ has been released. It identifies 43 priority risks with the following 10 most significant risks that require urgent action: Natural Environment: Risks to coastal ecosystems, including the intertidal...
by Ben Addington | Aug 2, 2020 | Laws and Regulations, Local Government, Planning, Urban Growth
The NZ government has released New directions for resource management in New Zealand. Key drivers of the review were: The way we use land has proved to be unsustainableUrban growth is poorly managedLand use must change to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate...
by Ben Addington | May 9, 2020 | Architecture, Building, Construction, Engineering, Housing, Infrastructure, Land Development, Landscape Architecture, Local Government, Other, Planning, Surveying, Sustainability, Urban Growth
The government has announced that it will undertake a law change to fast-track eligible development. The details are still relatively light but the following types of projects have been singled out for priority at this early stage (my satirical comments added):...
by Ben Addington | Apr 23, 2020 | Laws and Regulations, Natural Hazards, Planning
The Plan Change 1 decision in Whakatane has revoked existing use rights for property owners in Matata. The plan changes are the culmination of work following a debris flow in 2005. The plan change was undertaken alongside a land acquisition process to enable managed...