IN THE MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) AND IN THE MATTER of a Board of Inquiry appointed under s149J of the Resource Management Act 1991 to consider Notice of Requirements and applications for Resource Consent made by the New Zealand Transport Agency in relation to the EWL roading project in Auckland. STATEMENT OF EVIDENCE OF STEPHEN KENNETH BROWN ON BEHALF OF AUCKLAND COUNCIL LANDSCAPE & URBAN DESIGN 1 Brown NZ Ltd: EWL Statement April 2017 Application - East West Link (Final) 2017.docx Table of Contents: PAGE: Executive Summary …………………………………………………………… 3 Introduction and Experience ……………………………………………… 5 Code of Conduct ………………………………………………………………….. 8 Scope of Evidence ……………………………………………………………….. 8 PART 1.0: KEY ISSUES & FINDINGS …………………………………... 10 1.1 Onehunga At Present & The EWL proposals …………………... 10 1.2 Effects in Relation to Onehunga …………………………………….. 17 1.3 Mangere Inlet At Present ………………………………………………. 28 1.4 Mangere Inlet Effects ……………………………………………………. 31 1.5 Anns Creek …………………………………………………………………... 41 1.6 Hamlins Hill / Mutukaroa ……………………………………………… 46 1.7 Otahuhu Creek ……………………………………………………………… 58 1.8 Southern Motorway Margins & Otahuhu Interchange …….. 59 1.9 Summary of Findings …………………………………………………….. 62 PART 2.0: PROPOSED CONDITIONS …………………………………. 63 PART 3.0: RECOMMENDATIONS ………..…………………………….. 67 2 Brown NZ Ltd: EWL Statement April 2017 Application - East West Link (Final) 2017.docx EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. This statement addresses the landscape and urban design effects of the proposed East West Link project. It is based on my previous analysis and review of the project in December 206 and January 2017, but also takes into account the review of the proposal by Auckland Council’s Urban Design Panel on March 6th 2017, as well as meetings with NZTA and its experts both and after the UDP presentation, and meetings with other Council experts after notification. My analysis addresses the EWL in terms of the following locations and features: § Onehunga town centre; § The Mangere Inlet coastline; § Anns Creek; § Hamlins Hill; § Otahuhu Creek; and the margins of the Southern Motorway and the Otahuhu Interchange. 2. The majority of this statement focuses on the first two of these areas – Onehunga and Mangere Inlet – as these are the locations most affected by the EWL and where there is also the greatest need for modification of the current EWL proposal in my assessment. 3. The proposed road corridor, together with its Neilson Street bridge over SH20 and trench, would have four key effects in relation to Onehunga: a) It would exacerbate the existing physical and perceived ‘severance’ of the town centre from its waterfront area – including the existing port and old Mangere Bridge. In this regard, Onehunga already suffers from the incursion by existing transport and power infrastructure, with the area around Gloucester Park / Te Hopua a Rangi Tuff Crater (ONF 46) and the Manukau Harbour’s margins criss-crossed by SH20, its various slip roads, and three major 110kV and 220kV transmission corridors. The proposed EWL would compound this ‘dissection’ of Onehunga and the separation of its harbour area from its town centre. 3 Brown NZ Ltd: EWL Statement April 2017 Application - East West Link (Final) 2017.docx b) Much of the area around the existing port is also blighted by a haphazard array of light to heavy industrial development and the port’s own, rather dilapidated state. The EWL, as currently proposed, would also compound these qualities, further diminishing any residual amenity values still found in the vicinity of Onehunga Wharf. c) It would further isolate Onehunga’s three key natural (or, at least, mostly natural) features: Te Hopua Crater, the recently redeveloped Onehunga Bay foreshore (Taumanu Reserve) and the Onehunga lagoon – on the opposite, inland, side of SH20. d) It would also reinforce the isolation of some of Onehunga’s key heritage features, notably Aotea Sea Scouts Hall (on Orpheus Drive and next to the Waikaraka Walkway), The Landing (on Onehunga Harbour Road), Shaldrick House (next to Onehunga Mall) and the original 1924 Onehunga Wharf (within the port area). 4. Down the northern coastline of Mangere Inlet, the EWL would involve reclamation, both for the proposed road corridor and to assist with creation of a new, more ‘natural’ coastal edge. While some benefits would be derived from this process, it would also, at a macro level, help to cement in place the current concentration of industrial activities along Mangere Inlet’s northern shoreline and, more specifically, it produce significant effects in relation to: a) The physical connectivity between Mangere Inlet and Onehunga’s hinterland; b) The ambience, character and values of Waikaraka Cemetery and Park; and c) Current recreational use of the Inlet’s margins – especially in relation to the current ‘shared path’ that extends from old Mangere Bridge through to Hugo Johnston Drive, providing more far reaching connections with Ambury Park, even Puketutu Island and the Otuataua Stonefields. 5. In addition, I am aware that Council’s coastal and ecological experts have concerns about the profile of the proposed ‘lava flows’ extending out into Mangere Inlet, while Council’s stormwater experts have also raised concerns about the elevation of the bunds framing proposed stormwater ponds. 4 Brown NZ Ltd: EWL Statement April 2017 Application - East West Link (Final) 2017.docx 6. I address all of these matters in my statement, from a landscape / urban design standpoint. In my opinion, all of the matters raised above require further design refinement and development of more effective mitigation measures before the EWL proposal might be regarded as acceptable from my professional point of view. 7. On the other hand, I have far fewer concerns in relation to the proposed EWL corridor and its effects on Anns Creek (including the lava flows of ONF 89), Hamlins Hill (ONF 38), Otahuhu Creek, the margins of the Southern Motorway and the Otahuhu Interchange. My statement addresses these findings and explains why I have reached these conclusions. INTRODUCTION & EXPERIENCE 8. My name is Stephen Kenneth Brown. I hold a Bachelor of Town Planning degree and a post-graduate Diploma of Landscape Architecture. I am a Fellow and past President of the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects, an Affiliate Member of the New Zealand Planning Institute, and have practised as a landscape architect for 35 years. During that period, the great majority of my professional practice has focussed on landscape assessment and planning. This has included evaluating the landscape, natural character and amenity effects associated with numerous projects, including: • Waterview Connection Project, NZ Transport Agency, 2009-12 Assessment of landscape, amenity and natural character effects. Management of a design team within Brown NZ developing the concept design for open space around the motorway corridors, including rearrangement of sport fields and reserves, the provision of new walkways, the location of realigned streams and new stormwater ponds, and the design of planting and the noise barriers next to SH20) and the Great North Rd Interchange. • Weiti River Crossing Review, 2000 & 2015 Evaluation of the effects of a proposed bridge over the Weiti Estuary and the coastal environment near Stillwater; subsequent review of the AEE assessment undertaken for the Weiti corridor in 2015. • Onehunga Foreshore Restoration Project, Auckland Council, 2011 5 Brown NZ Ltd: EWL Statement April 2017 Application - East West Link (Final) 2017.docx Peer review of the landscape, natural character, amenity and urban design effects associated with rehabilitation of the Onehunga foreshore. • Glenfield Rd Designations Review, 2004 Review of the effects of implementation of three Outline Plans Of Work and resource consent applications related to the widening of Glenfield Rd, an arterial route within North Shore City, including evaluation of impacts in respect of amenity, streetscape and open space values for North Shore City. • Lake Rd Designations Assessment, 2002 Detailed analysis of the effects associated with widening of Lake Rd, including impacts upon residential amenity, streetscape and open space values; and appraisal of mitigation measures. • Waitemata Harbour Crossing Options Assessment, Opus/Transit NZ, 2002-3 Evaluation of the visual and amenity effects of 9 harbour crossing options, including bridges, tunnels, submerged tubes, reclamations, ventilation and service structures, trenches and motorway interchanges. • Dominion Rd Transport Designation, Auckland City Council, 2000 Detailed analysis of the amenity and visual implications of proposed transport corridor designations, including road widening and LRT corridor deviations off Dominion Rd. • Tauranga Northern Arterial Review & Arbitration, 2000 Evaluation of the proposed northern arterial's implications utilising assessments prepared by LA4 and Priest Mansergh, followed by site visits, and provision of recommendations to Transit NZ, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council about the landscape mitigation measures that should be employed in conjunction with development of the arterial corridor • ALPURT B2 Waiwera River Crossing Review, Auckland Regional Council, 1999 Review of the effects of a proposed bridge and related roading developments on the Waiwera and Puhoi Estuary coastal environs. • Auckland International Airport Eastern Access Way Impact Assessment, Auckland International Airport, 1989-91 Appraisal