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...
by Ben Addington | Apr 22, 2020 | Land Development, Planning, Sustainability
Four issues have been identified: Our native freshwater species and ecosystems are under threatWater is polluted in urban, farming, and forestry areasChanging water flows affect our freshwaterClimate change is affecting freshwater in Aotearoa New Zealand A must read...
by Ben Addington | Apr 20, 2020 | Laws and Regulations, Local Government, Planning
Under Alert Levels 3 and 4 many people will be working from home. But there are rules for this! Most District and City Plans will have requirements to manage the effects generated by working from home activities. This is just one area that the full consequences of the...