Urban Design Statement

J Singh 74 Marine Parade & 45 Grove Avenue Mount Maunganui Urban design / landscape assessment June 2020 P976 p (09) 520 5084 e will @ thresher.co.nz PO Box 109-656 Newmarket Auckland P976_74 Marine Parade & 45 Grove Avenue_Urban Design / Landscape Assessment 74 Marine Parade & 45 Grove Avenue For J Singh 1. INTRODUCTION Thresher Associates have been requested by J Singh to provide urban design advice and assessment of potential urban design/landscape effects of a proposed hotel and mixed use development at 74 Marine Parade and 45 Grove Avenue, Mount Maunganui. In order to understand the proposed design in relation to its context, a site visit was undertaken on 18th March 2020. The assessment is based on the plans prepared by Thorne Group Architecture (dated 18/06/2020). This report provides analysis of the context and identifies the opportunities and constraints offered by the site. In addition, the proposed design is evaluated in relation to the planning context and planned environmental outcomes under the Tauranga District Plan. 2. EXISTING SITE CONTEXT AND CHARACTER The site is located towards the northern end of the Mount Maunganui Peninsula, and to the east of Tauranga Harbour (Figure 1). Figure 1 Site location /Users/willthresher/Desktop/P976_20200622_UD report_FINAL.docx 2 P976_74 Marine Parade & 45 Grove Avenue_Urban Design / Landscape Assessment Located to the north-east of Tauranga's city centre, Mount Maunganui was an independent town from Tauranga until the completion of the Tauranga Harbour Bridge in 1988. Mount Maunganui sits on top of a sand bar that connects Mauao to the mainland, and developed primarily as a coastal resort town and beach settlement. First settled in the 1900’s, the Mt Maunganui Surf Club was formed early on in 1914. Some houses were clustered at the foot of the mountain, while railway workshops and associated housing occupied the site of the existing port before the construction of the East Coast main trunk line. The 1950 decision to establish a deep-water port contributed to the growth of Mt Maunganui. The site was first developed some time between 1943 and 1959 when Marine Parade was also constructed. Figure 2 Mount Maunganui aerial photograph 1959 The site is zoned Suburban Residential and currently occupied by a motel and dwelling. It is generally defined by its coastal location and context adjacent to the beach (Conservation Zone and Special Ecological Area). The Tauranga Landscape Study includes the neighbourhood in the Omana-Arataki character unit, just outside The Mount character unit to the north. The units covers the residential area between Marine Parade and Maunganui Road, and includes the Bayfair Shopping Centre. The description notes that the area is suburban in character and “Between Banks Avenue and Tweed Street a remnant secondary dune ridge extends parallel to the coastal edge, providing elevated residential lots and some relief to the coastal flatlands of this unit.” In addition, the description states: “Street trees are sporadic with some streets comprising reasonable tree cover, whilst other streets are void of planting. Parts of this unit have low to moderate amenity values yet other areas have high amenity values due to narrow streets, /Users/willthresher/Desktop/P976_20200622_UD report_FINAL.docx 3 P976_74 Marine Parade & 45 Grove Avenue_Urban Design / Landscape Assessment good tree framework and open street frontages.” The description is intended to identify the defining elements, views, landscape patterns and processes of the area, including ecological and land use patterns. In addition, amenity values are described at a broad level for the unit, including opportunities to enhance the character and threats to the degradation of the identified character. Management guidelines have been derived from the analysis to inform both Tauranga City Council and the public for future development and use. The identified Landscape Character Values for the unit are set out below, noting that not all these attributes and values apply to the site. Defining Elements: Suburban residential built form of detached dwellings. Some medium density apartment housing. Bayfair Shopping Centre (Arataki). Mount Maunganui Golf Course. Coastal residential edge. Viewshafts to Outstanding Natural Features and Landscapes: Mauao. Amenity Values: Some areas provide quality streetscapes with tree cover. Open street frontages from detached housing enhancing the streetscene. Mixture of detached dwellings and medium density housing Large dominant tree cover found in open space areas, including the Mount Maunganui Golf Course. Opportunities to Enhance Landscape Character: Planting of large coastal specimen trees (e.g. Pohutukawa). Improve street connections to open space and coastal / harbour edge. Protect key views of Mauao from roads and open space. Encourage street interface from residential properties. Threats to Degrade Landscape Character: Further loss of remaining vegetation. Commercial creep into residential areas. Loss of active street interface due to non liveable ground floor developments / uses (e.g. car parks) dominating the streetscape. Built form incongruent with coastal landform and surrounding residential character. Bulk and scale of built form in conflict with suburban landscape character. Residential building and landscape design being out of character with the coastal landscape. Management Guidelines: Protect views from identified viewing places. Provide and enhance public tree planting within streets and reserves to assist in developing mature tree cover within the unit. Improve the streetscene interface between medium density living through liveable ground flood space and visual connections. Encourage low boundary fence / wall interface on street boundary. Built form, scale and character in keeping with residential character. Built form and scale to fit with the coastal landscape. Manage and remove encroachment of building curtilage along the coastal edge. The Tauranga Residential Character Study (2010) identifies18 distinct Character Areas throughout the urban area of the city, with the site located in the Mount North character area. The built form character varies through the area with high density residential in the northern part and traditional lower density elsewhere. A loose grid street pattern was developed to fit the narrowing peninsula resulting in good connectivity, although the few main streets out of the suburb mean that gridlock and congestion is common. The orientation of the streets /Users/willthresher/Desktop/P976_20200622_UD report_FINAL.docx 4 P976_74 Marine Parade & 45 Grove Avenue_Urban Design / Landscape Assessment allows numerous high quality views of Mauao from various locations within the character area. The description of built character elements identifies the significant redevelopment that has occurred in the area and the predominance of multi-unit redevelopment over the last ten to 15 years. The major influential elements are identified as natural features including the beachfront Norfolk Island pines and pohutukawa that dominate the vegetation and offer a transition between residential and natural areas. The “comprehensive range of retail, hospitality-related and other commercial activities in Mount North” are characteristic of the area. Figure 3 Residential and beach context The following is a summary of the character area. The Omanu character area is a continuation of the coastal development in the Mount North character area. It is, however, more suburban in nature with lower residential density and scale. The beach resort character that is predominant in the Mount North character area is also present in the Omanu character area in the streets on the high and low dune systems adjacent to the beach. However, the streets close to Maunganui Road have a suburban residential character. This contrast in character across the character area given by a combination of building, street width and underlying topography results in a real diversity of building and site responses. The most notable attribute on an area wide basis is the variability and lack of consistency from one street to the next. Limited comprehensive redevelopment has taken place in the area. Where it has happened, a resort style approach has been used. Infill development is prevalent throughout the Omanu character area. As with the Mount North character area allotments are generally long and narrow, particularly along the coast. Infill development on these allotments are often based upon right- of-ways. With infill and redevelopment, site coverage is increasing significantly and the vegetative components of the coastal character are diminishing, particularly as large mature trees are removed. The value to public open space amenity that was previously gained from private open space is /Users/willthresher/Desktop/P976_20200622_UD report_FINAL.docx 5 P976_74 Marine Parade & 45 Grove Avenue_Urban Design / Landscape Assessment decreasing as a result. The visual quality and physical elements of the street, such as footpaths, berms, widths of carriageways are variable. Footpaths tend to be on one side of the street only. The berms are wide and provide the opportunity to significantly increase street amenity as the existing level of amenity is variable. Overhead wires visually dominate some of the streets, particularly where there is a lack of vegetation. 3. PLANNING CONTEXT 3.1 RMA The term ‘urban design’ is not used in the RMA. However, there is a correlation between requirements

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