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In the Matter of The Productivity Commission Issues Paper “Using Land for Housing” November 2014 Submission by Waimakariri District Council 12 December 2014 Person for Contact: Geoff Meadows, Policy Manager 1 Introduction 1.1 The District The Waimakariri District Council welcomes the opportunity to submit to the Productivity Commission in response to the Issues Paper “Using Land for Housing” of November 2014. This submission provides information about the work of the Waimakariri District Council in planning for land for residential development and its relationship with developers, particularly in the post-earthquake environment when the demand for land for housing escalated. It does not address issues relating to brownfields development and the redevelopment of existing residential areas, or attempt to answer the questions posed in the discussion document. The Waimakariri District is located to the north of the Waimakariri River and is bounded to the south by Christchurch City and the Selwyn District, and to the north by the Hurunui District. It involves a peri-urban area to the south-east of the District with three main urban areas, Kaiapoi, Rangiora and Woodend/Pegasus and rural areas with larger farms to the west and north of the District with Oxford as the main township and a number of other smaller settlements. The District’s population has increased from a usually resident population of 27,800 in 1991 to an estimated resident population as at 30 June 2014 of 54,400. In 1991, 66 percent of the District’s population lived in its four main urban areas while in 2014 almost 60 percent lived in these areas plus the new town Pegasus. The decline in this percentage is largely attributable to the “red zoning” of 1048 homes in Kaiapoi, and the neighbouring beach settlements of Pines Beach and Kairaki. Between 1991 and 2013 the District’s four urban areas, Kaiapoi, Rangiora, Woodend and Oxford together had an increase in their usually resident population of approximately 10,200 people or 56 percent, despite the decline in the Kaiapoi population due to the exodus of people from the areas zoned “red” by the Government. Since its establishment in 1989 with the amalgamation of two boroughs (Kaiapoi and Rangiora), and the Rangiora District and Eyre, Oxford and part of the Hurunui Counties, the Waimakariri District Council has adopted a pro-active approach to residential development. The key assumptions behind its District Plan, notified in June 1998 were that: a) the objective of the District Plan was to “manage growth” so as to maintain environmental values; b) the Council could under the RMA use its role as infrastructure provider to influence the direction of growth; and c) to have residential development it was necessary to have willing sellers of land, and that developer should shoulder the risks associated with development as a commercial activity 1.2 Key points of this submission Councils can play a constructive role in facilitating development by adopting a long- term view with respect to the identification of suitable land to the provision of infrastructure, with the District’s Eastern Districts Sewer Scheme as a significant example. Councils have limited ability to control the availability of land for new housing, as the availability of land for development, once re-zoned for residential development is in the hands of the land owners and developers who play a large part in determining the style and timing of development including the cost of lots offered to the market. 141204133142 1 Submission: Using land for housing EXT-30 : ms Waimakariri District Council Even in cases where the time associated with planning processes were compressed under the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act, and with significant areas of land available for residential development elsewhere in the District, the price of sections has not declined markedly. It is unreasonable to represent community concerns expressed through the planning process as being significant impediments to the provision of land for large-scale residential development, and in some instances participation by members of the community with an understanding of the characteristics of the land in question will provide a significant safeguard against inappropriate development. 2 A long-term planning for residential development: the Waimakariri approach 2.1 Initial impetus for long-term planning When the Waimakariri District was formed in 1989 the local authority areas that were brought together to form the new District had experienced sustained growth during the previous decade. There had also been significant areas adjacent to Rangiora, Woodend and Kaiapoi zoned for residential development under the Town and Country Planning Act. In the rural areas provision was also being made for rural residential development to accommodate the demand for people wishing to live in a rural environment. The release of the 1991 Census results which showed that in the previous five years the District had recorded an 8 percent increase in its population caused some consternation among planning staff as those living in the District were not aware of the extent of growth during that period. As a result the Council established a close monitoring programme tracking the consenting of new dwellings, and calculating the implications for population growth on an ongoing basis against Statistics New Zealand projections. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s this allowed the Council to identify if population growth was in line with or outstripping the official medium/high or high variants. The following graph shows the results of this tracking of the number of new dwellings being consented annually. Waimakariri District: Consents for New Dwellings 1986 -2013 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 Number of Dwellings of consented Number Dwellings 200 0 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 This graph shows the extent to which the rate of new home construction in the District has fluctuated in the years prior to 2012, when the District because of the work previously 141204133142 2 Submission: Using land for housing EXT-30 : ms Waimakariri District Council undertaken to cater for growth, was able to respond to the heightened demand for new dwellings. The Council also tracks the number of dwellings consented monthly by locality within the District, which helps to track the rate of development for the main urban areas. 2.2 1997 – 2016 Directions for Residential Growth In 1997 the Council initiated a major community consultation under its District Development Strategy to support decision-making with respect to the allocation of additional areas for residential development. The project involved an extensive scoping to determine the areas adjacent to the District’s main towns most suitable for residential development from land quality and servicing perspectives. The Council adopted three key assumptions about future growth in the District which were: The population of Waimakariri will be 50,000 in 2016; Most population growth will be in the east of the District with Kaiaipoi, Rangiora and Woodend home at least 65% of the District’s residents; and Most of the future population growth will be accommodated in low density new urban development on the edge of existing towns (“greenfield” development). The discussion document released for comment included assessments of the current vacant residential land and the area required to accommodate the projected population for each urban area. It also highlighted the environmental qualities of each area, the urban design “form and function” issues, and the servicing requirements to cater for the projected population. While there may have been some shortcomings in the presentation, such as the failure to explain that to accommodate the projected population of 15,000 for Rangiora development would have to occur to the west of the town as well as to the east, this project set the scene for the provision of additional areas for residential development in the District Plan. 2.3 District Plan re-zones The Proposed District Plan was notified on 20 June 1998 and did not have any areas rezoned for residential development. At the same time, the Council made it clear that it anticipated property owners with land suitable for residential development, particularly in the priority areas identified in Directions for Residential Growth, to submit to have their land rezoned from Rural to Residential. As the result of decisions on submissions and further submissions the Council announced the rezoning of substantial area to the east and west of Rangiora, north-east Kaiapoi and east Woodend. Just prior to the notification of the Proposed District Plan a commissioner hearing panel approved a private plan change to rezone an area to the north-east of Woodend for a new town capable of accommodating approximately 5,000 people. Because of the timing of this decision it was necessary for the promoters of the new town to submit to have its plans included in the District Plan, despite the fact that it had already achieved planning approval. The new town proposal was approved for the second time, so was added to the areas that the District had rezoned for residential development as the result of the introduction of the District Plan. It has already been noted that the decision to approve the development of a new town to the north-east of Woodend was appealed to the Environment Court. The east Woodend rezone was also appealed by the Canterbury Regional Council. The ability of that area to be serviced, particularly for sewage, was of concern to the Regional Council and the appeal was settled by changing the zoning to “deferred Residential” until the servicing solution was in place. The area immediately to the east of Woodend was subsequently rezoned Residential in 2008.

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