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 […]
Category: Laws and Regulations
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 […]
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 […]
Buried in Attachment A for Item 5 of the Dunedin City Council Meeting Agenda from 6 May 2019 is: Action 1.4: The Council becomes a member of the ‘Cities for Adequate Housing’ and implements housing as a human right and ends homelessness in Dunedin. Housing Action Plan for Dunedin, April 2019 The Cities for Adequate […]
There are currently two landmark housing programmes in New Zealand. One is the somewhat infamous Kiwibuild and the other a lesser known KiwiBuy. But there is an older approach to housing affordability not discussed much these days. Kiwibuild The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development states that KiwiBuild has three core aims: increase home ownership […]