Ruakura Plan Change Request Summary Document

RUAKURA PLAN CHANGE REQUEST SUMMARY DOCUMENT

Background:

The Ruakura Area was brought into Hamilton City in July 2011 to enable the orderly expansion of the City in the East. Ruakura has an area of (822 ha), of which Tainui Group Holdings (TGHL) and Chedworth Park Ltd (CPL) own approximately 500 ha and 116 ha respectively.

The land is identified within the Hamilton Urban Growth Strategy, the Access Hamilton Transport Strategy, the Future Proof Growth Strategy and the Proposed Regional Policy Statement as a strategic employment area for the growth of the City. The Proposed Regional Policy Statement specifically sets out a future industrial land allocation for Ruakura of 405 ha. The Proposed District Plan is required to give effect to the Regional Policy Statement.

Accordingly, Tainui Group Holdings Limited (TGHL) and Chedworth Properties Limited (CPL) have been working with Hamilton City Council and other organisations including the New Zealand Transport Agency, to develop a Structure Plan which sets out the overall layout and range of landuse areas for Ruakura. The Structure Plan was adopted by Hamilton City Council in December 2012 and included as part of the Proposed Hamilton City District Plan.

Submissions, and further submissions have been received by Hamilton City Council on the Proposed District Plan, including submissions on Ruakura, and hearings on the Proposed District Plan are expected to commence in August 2013.

In the interim, while the land has been transferred into Hamilton City Council jurisdiction, the existing planning rules under the Waikato District Plan continue to apply, until the Proposed Hamilton City District Plan is operative (i.e. all appeals have been resolved). The Waikato District Plan (now the Hamilton District Plan: Waikato Section) contains a rather unusual rule which applies over the Rukura Area. This rule prohibits any planning application for urban development being made. This situation does not apply to any other growth area in Hamilton and could result in significant delays to the project.

To address this issue TGHL prepared a private plan change to remove the prohibited activity rule from the relevant part of the District Plan therefore setting up a reasonable planning framework prior to the new Hamilton City District Plan coming into force, enabling consent applications to at least be lodged with Hamilton City.

Hamilton City Councillor’s refused to consider this plan change. As a result of the legal processes associated with a district plan review there is no definite time frame for achieving an operative status. It is noted that the current district plan took 13 years to be fully confirmed. In theory, a similar delay could apply over the development of the Ruakura lands.

As a response to the potentially significant delays to the project TGHL and CPL looked at what other options were available to enable the urbanisation of the land in a timely manner and provide certainty to all parties. Accordingly, a decision was made to pursue a more comprehensive plan change request, to be advanced through the Environmental Protection Authority. Details about the role and powers of the Environmental Protection Authority can be found at the following link http://www.epa.govt.nz/Resource- management/Pages/default.aspx.

The Private Plan Change request was lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority on 24 June 2013. The Plan Change: An Overview

Given the size and national importance of the proposed development, the implications for adjoining landowners and the level of investment required, pursuing the proposal through the Environmental Protection Authority process is seen as having significant benefits in terms of establishing a clear timeframe for decision making.

The Private Plan Change request seeks to enable development of up to 389 ha of land at Ruakura. This land is a subset of the wider 822 ha of development included within the Ruakura Structure Plan. It equates to approximately 30 years of development and broadly aligns with the industrial land release allocations contained within the Proposed Regional Policy Statement.

The proposal is effectively an interim Plan Change, requested to the Waikato provisions. The plan change will be fully superseded by Hamilton City Council’s Proposed District Plan once this is confirmed and the plan change will cease to have any relevance. It will however, provide a clear planning framework in the intervening period.

Accordingly, the intention of this Private Plan Change is not to substantially deviate from the type of development sought through the District Plan review and the Ruakura Structure Plan.

The Private Plan Change contains rules and provisions that generally align with the new zones in the Proposed District Plan. This includes;

• a Ruakura Logistics Area which will be established around an Inter-Modal Terminal. • a Ruakura Industrial Park Area which will contain light industrial uses • a Knowledge Area which will allow for the expansion of innovation type activities and is proposed to include a Suburban Centre • a Medium Density Residential Area • a General Residential Area; and • an Open Space network

Some elements of the current Hamilton City District Plan will also be brought over such as the General Recreation Zone, City Wide Standards and Subdivision Standards. The makeup of the plan change provisions is addressed in further detail in the table attached to this summary.

Because the Plan Change is only an interim solution to enable development, it does not seek to rezone any land (e.g. from Rural to Logistics). Such rezoning will be appropriately completed through the Proposed District Plan process. Instead, the Plan Change adopts the same mechanisms as already used to govern development at the Ag Research Campus, and Waikato Innovation Park where an overlying “schedule” provides for an alternate range of activities to be undertaken in identified areas, as well as those existing rural activities to continue in the interim. This is appropriate given that there are some properties situated to the south of the railway line that are included in the Plan Change, but which TGHL does not own. The schedule approach means that those properties are not actually rezoned from rural to logistics.

It should be noted that with the exception of the properties referred to above, the Plan Change area is otherwise owned by TGHL and CPL.

A set of activities and associated rules and standards are contained in the schedule to the underlying existing Rural Zone for the area. The location of such activities, as well as open space areas, indicative roads and reserve areas are provided for through a “Concept Plan”. The Concept Plan is consistent with the Ruakura Structure Plan contained within the Proposed Hamilton District Plan. Within the approximate 30 year development timeframe, it denotes the same areas to be used for Open Space, the same areas for all the various landuse activities, and the same indicative roading network. The level of land released will be consistent with that already provided for in strategic planning documents i.e. 80 ha prior to 2021 and 115 ha prior to 2041. The construction of the Waikato Expressway also has a direct relationship to land release as the industrial land allocation is limited to 80 ha prior to the Expressway being opened. Plan Change vs. Proposed District Plan

The table below demonstrates how the Plan Change relates to the development included in the Proposed District Plan.

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS PLAN CHANGE SIZE PROPOSED DISTRICT PLAN SIZE COMMENT Ruakura Logistics Area 89.02ha Ruakura Logistics Zone 149.38ha The Ruakura Logistics Area and the Ruakura Logistic Zone are generally consistent, subject to the changes sought through TGHL’s submissions on the District Plan. These changes include; • Changes to staging • Logistics and freight handling activities are permitted activities rather than restricted discretionary activities. • Buildings not generally visible from the public realm are permitted activities rather than restricted discretionary activities. • New buildings that are visible from the public realm (within an Interface Design Control Area) are controlled rather than restricted discretionary activities. • Other minor changes to activity status. • Changes to the rules relating to container stacking. Limiting high container stacking to parts of the Inland Port located more than 100m from the northern boundary or the spine road and increasing the level of container stacking for the logistics area to 12m. • Limiting high equipment and cranes to the inland port area 3

only. • The removal of a proposed 40m setback and associated interface standards from Ryburn Road. • Removing restrictions on Ancillary Offices. • New matters of control for controlled activities Ruakura Industrial Park 106.64ha Ruakura Industrial Park 205.92ha The Ruakura Industrial Park Area and the Area Zone Ruakura Industrial Park Zone are generally consistent, subject to the changes sought trough TGHL’s submissions on the District Plan. These changes include; • Changes to staging • Buildings not generally visible from the public realm are permitted activities rather than restricted discretionary. • New buildings that are visible from the public realm (within an Interface Design Control Area) are controlled rather than restricted discretionary activities. • Minor changes to activity status • Removing restrictions on Ancillary Offices. • New matters of control for controlled activities • New assessment criteria for restricted discretionary activities.

Knowledge Area 13.06ha Knowledge Zone 82.61ha The Knowledge Area is smaller than the Knowledge Zone as it does not include AgResearch and the existing Waikato Innovation Park. Generally the provisions are consistent with The Proposed District Plan, subject to changes sought as part of TGHL submissions. These changes include: • The addition of a Suburban Centre rather than a Neighbourhood Centre. • The removal of staging conditions which sought to restrict the development in this area to post 2041. • New buildings are permitted activities • Operative Suburban Centre Zone rules would apply to the proposed Suburban Centre. • Removal of a restriction on Ancillary Offices • New matters of control for controlled activities • New assessment criteria for restricted discretionary activities. General Residential 6.29ha General Residential Zone 36.07ha The existing operative planning provisions Area - Current Hamilton have been utilised rather than the City provisions would proposed provisions as these are subject apply to various submissions and the final form of these provisions is not settled. Given the city wide implications of these rules these matters are best addressed through the District Plan review process and once settled would supersede all the current general provisions including those for the Plan Change. Medium Density 43.42 ha Medium Density 43.77ha The Medium Density Residential Area and Residential Area Residential Zone Medium Density Residential Zone are generally consistent, subject to the changes sought as part of TGHL’s and CPL’s submissions on the District Plan. These changes include: 4

• A change in the status of a Comprehensive Development Plan from discretionary to a restricted discretionary activity. • New buildings being restricted discretionary rather the discretionary activities • Other changes to activity status. • Removal of required development yields • Removal of controls over show homes • An increase in the size of the integrated Neighbourhood retail centre from 1500m2 to 3500m2. • New matters of control for controlled activities • New assessment criteria for restricted discretionary activities.

These changes generally relate to ensuring a more efficient regulatory process. While there are other Medium Density Residential Zones within other growth cells included within the Proposed District Plan they are of a much smaller scale than Ruakura. Open Space - Current 50.61 ha Open Space Zone 62.50ha The current planning provisions have been Hamilton City utilised rather than the proposed provisions Recreation General as these are subject to various submissions provisions would apply and the final form of these provisions is not settled. These matters are best addressed through the District Plan process and once settled would supersede all the current general provisions including those for the Plan Change area. Noise and Vibration n/a Noise Standards n/a The Proposed District Plan Noise Provisions (25H.9) are utilised with a 5dBA increase on noise levels across the board as the current noise controls are considered to be too low and are in many cases already exceeded by the existing environment. A noise management plan will also be required. Staging (25H.10) n/a Staging n/a A new staging condition reflecting the additional traffic assessment that has been undertaken as part of the preparation of the Plan Change. Key elements that need to be reflected in the condition is consistency with the Proposed Regional Policy Statement which sets out an industrial land allocation for Ruakura, the timing of Expressway construction and the need to ensure that any impacts on the existing road network are reasonable.

GENERAL PROVISIONS PLAN CHANGE PROPOSED DISTRICT PLAN COMMENT Signage – Current Hamilton City New provisions proposed The existing settled operative planning provisions would apply(Rule 3.1) provisions have been utilised rather than Hazardous Facilities – Current New provisions proposed the proposed provisions as these are Hamilton City provisions would apply subject to various submissions and the final (Rule 3.2) form of these provisions is not settled. Given the city wide implications of these Roads and Network Utilities– Current New provisions proposed provisions these matters are best Hamilton City provisions would apply addressed through the District Plan review (Rule 3.3) process and once settled would supersede all the current general Parking Loading and Access – New provisions proposed provisions including those for the plan Current Hamilton City provisions change area. would apply (Rule 5.2) any infringement of controls would be a non-notified restricted discretionary activity consent. Planting and Screening - Current New provisions proposed Hamilton City provisions would apply (For the Ruakura Industrial Park Area only) Glare and Lighting – Current New provisions proposed Hamilton City provisions would apply (Rule 5.4) Smoke Fumes Dust and Odour – New provisions proposed Current Hamilton City Provisions would apply (Rule 5.5) General Provisions for Subdivisions New provisions proposed and Development of Land and Subdivision Standards for Individual Zones – Current Hamilton City provisions would apply (Rule 6.1 and Rule 6.3) Provisions for Infrastructure and New provisions proposed Financial Contributions – Current Hamilton City provisions would apply (Rule 6.4) Earthworks and Site Development – New provisions proposed Current Hamilton City Provisions would apply (Rule 6.7) Construction Provisions – Current New provisions proposed Hamilton City Provisions would apply (Rule 6.8) Definitions – New definitions have New provisions proposed been added where required. CHANGES TO OPERATIVE HAMILTON DISTRICT PLAN : WAIKATO SECTION PLAN CHANGE PROPOSED DISTRICT PLAN COMMENT Changes to Objective and Policies in No Waikato District Plan will be Changes are required to the current plan Chapter 6 Built Environment retained to specifically address development at Ruakura Removal of the Prohibited Activity No part of the Waikato District Section The Prohibited Activity Rule is removed Rule where it applies to of the plan will be retained in the new from the Plan Change Area and for the development within the plan District Plan entire Ruakura area where the rule relates change area and for new roads to new roads. within the Ruakura area Changes to the Operative Planning No Waikato District Plan will be Changes are required to the planning Map retained Maps to show the land to which the new schedule would apply.