part two MAUNGATAPU - WELCOME BAY : photography View from Rotary Park, looking southward across Welcome Bay Estuary View from Hairini Bridge, Turret Road, looking toward Maungatapu peninsula 90 tauranga city : : landscape study part two landscape character units part two 13. OROPI - OHAUITI - KAITEMAKO Oropi - Ohauiti - Kaitemako : Landscape Character Description This unit is delineated to the north by State Highway 29 and the city boundary to the south. The unit encompasses the rural landscape of upper Welcome Bay and the urban residential subdivision along Ohauiti Road. The landform comprises a series of ridgelines that are incised by narrow and broader valleys that extend across the landscape toward the Tauranga Harbour. Land use is a mixture of pastoral farming, horticultural cropping and residential development. Substantial vegetation, apart from occasional remnant mature trees is mainly confined to the steeper valley and gully slopes. Built development is located throughout this area, primarily associated with farms and lifestyle lots. Recent development along Ohauiti Road has seen an extension of residential and rural residential subdivision along its ridgeline. Some quarrying of the sandstone has occurred in the past and the remaining exposed rock faces can be visually intrusive and are prone to erosion. A large Transpower substation is located off Wade Place and comprises a significant area of open pastoral land along its ridgeline. The integration of the overhead powerlines should be considered in any future development, to integrate the structure into the residential character of the surrounding area. The gully systems assist in the separation of built form and residential neighbourhoods, whilst also separating physical connection between these areas. The retention of the gully systems and the ridgelines is important to the maintenance of the landscape character. Landscape Character Values Defining Elements: Opportunities to Enhance Landscape Character: • Suburban residential development, detached housing. • Protect and enhance vegetation corridors through gully systems. • Rural residential housing. • Promote retention of existing tree cover for new subdivision development. • Vegetated gully networks. • Protect remaining ridgelines from residential development. • Single - Two storey housing. • Promote large scale tree cover to integrate built form into the landscape. • Open pastoral landscape. • Large rural trees. Threats to Degrade Landscape Character: • Loss of natural landforms and habitats through large scaled earthworks. Views to Outstanding Natural Features and Landscapes: • Redevelopment of sites on ridgelines creating dominant built form. • Mauao. • Loss of vegetation cover through private view shaft protection. • Rural residential sprawl within the rural landscape. Amenity Values: • Large scale exotic trees. Management Guidelines • Native vegetation along the harbour edge. • Provide building controls for housing along the ridgelines and rural zoned • Wide streets with connection between gully systems. interface. • Recreational walkway connections between open space and gully networks. • Enhance the gully systems and stream connections. • Small scale pastoral landscape along ridgelines. • Manage built development within the rural landscape to avoid fragmentation of the land. • Protect open space within the Greenbelt. • Manage built form, scale and character considering the rural / residential interface. part two landscape character units tauranga city : : landscape study 91 part two OROPI - OHAUITI - KAITEMAKO : landform & hydrology Landform: The unit is typified by steeply incised and often broad valley features eroded into the sandstone/siltstone plateau. Some quarrying of the sandstone has HAIRINI STREET occurred in the past and the remaining exposed rock faces can be visually intrusive and prone to erosion. The landform in the area demonstrates the low erosive resistance of this rock type and in a number of locations on the steeper slopes there is evidence of erosion. WELCOME BAY ROAD The original landform in this unit is largely left intact with small areas of FRASER STREET earthworks for ribbon residential development. Elevated well above the residential area of Welcome Bay, the rural and rural residential developments enjoy extensive views across the City. KAITEMAKO ROAD ROAD WAITAHA Hydrology: Steeply incised gully systems provide for a series of streams and further downstream, as the gradient lessens, a number of wetlands. WAIKITE ROAD STATE HIGHWAY 29 POIKE ROAD OROPI ROAD OHAUITI ROAD HOLLISTER LANE ROWESDALE DRIVE HOLLISTER LANE HOLLISTER Rail Road Flood Hazard Elevation 0 - 10m 10 - 20m 20 - 30m 30 - 40m 40 - 50m 50 - 60m 60 - 70m 70 - 80m >80 m m 0 600 1,200 1,800 2,400 92 tauranga city : : landscape study part two landscape character units part two OROPI - OHAUITI - KAITEMAKO : ecology Open Space: The zoned greenbelt areas will, in time provide critical connections and open space between future residential and rural residential development. In some areas the gully networks not zoned for Greenbelt should be considered as reserve linkages to provide further separation between residential development, with the inclusion of ridgelines for these reserve linkages at the time of subdivision and development. Trees: Large rural trees are scattered amongst the pastoral and horticultural landscape. They provide a sense of scale and referencing within the undulating landscape. The integration and retention of these trees is encouraged, particularly where they can be protected from encroachment of built development. Native Vegetation Cover: Native vegetation cover is found in varying states within the gully systems. However, there is dominant exotic cover within these areas, including the wetland areas where willow trees provide the canopy cover. Further enhancement of these gully systems should be considered for properties both in public and private ownership. part two landscape character units tauranga city : : landscape study 93 e[ e[ e[ e[ e[ part two OROPI - OHAUITI - KAITEMAKO : people H Zoning: T U O Zoned suburban in the lower slopes the interface between the rural zone in T S U 2 the elevated areas of the unit is managed by the rural residential zone. R Y Hairini R A E W T H RO IG e[Hairini AD H The zone edges do not appear to respond to the underlying landform and ATE H ST A this may result in poor responses to the underlying landscape. The greenbelt IR ROA IN Y D zoning and rural zoning adajcent to the City boundary provides for an I BA S E T M R CO improved integration with rural landscape within Western Bay of Plenty E EL E W T District. However in some areas the interface between rural and residential FRASER STREET development is primarily managed through the location of a road and is WELC OME BAY RO AD unresponsive to the landscape. Archaeological / Heritage Values: 29 Numerous archaelogical sites are located within this unit and must be taken AY HW into consideration to ensure the recognition of their location and value to IG H ROAD WAITAHA E Tangata Whenua. T A T S Viewshafts from Marae to Mauao: (Refer to Part 4 - Significant Viewshafts) No marae are located within this unit. D A WAIKITE ROAD RO KE POI Viewshafts to Outstanding Natural Features and Landscapes: (Refer to Part 4 - Significant Viewshafts) Mauao OHAUITI ROAD • Viewshaft 010 - Poike Road/Hollister Lane e[Waimapu O R HOLLISTER LANE O P I RO A D P U K E M A PU R O MAK AD KAITE O ROAD e[ Marae Marae Sightline Visible and Important Compromised and Important # Heritage Sites ! Archaeological Site Archaeological Extent Rail m Landscape Unit 0 710 1,420 2,130 2,840 94 tauranga city : : landscape study part two landscape character units part two OROPI - OHAUITI - KAITEMAKO : photography View eastward from Cheyne Road East looking across Oropi Road toward Ohauiti part two landscape character units tauranga city : : landscape study 95 part two 14. WAIMAPU LOWLANDS Waimapu Lowlands: Landscape Character Description This character area is delineated by State Highway 29 and the higher elevated plateau of Cheyne Road East to the south and east and by Greerton to the west. In the north the boundary is formed by the Waimapu Estuary, a relatively inaccessible part of the harbour. The unit is divided into two key areas: 1. Maleme Street Industrial Area; and 2. Windermere. Generally low lying, the unit also includes the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic grounds. The harbour edge along the Windermere edge is generally in a degraded state with erosion and exotic weed cover. Built form is generally close to the edge of the escarpment and whilst small scale in built form, the edge remains visually sensitive and requires careful management. The Waimapu Stream meanders through this character area which is predominantly low lying with wetlands, saltmarsh and swampy pasture. Some wetland areas have been recently drained and developed into light commercial activities resulting in a loss of the lowland’s natural character values. In the southwestern corner there is a small pocket of industrial activities accessed off Maleme Street, many of which back onto the State Highway. The native screen planting along this road frontage does little to screen the industrial area from neighbouring residential or the State Highway. The open space corridor formed by the low lying stream valley provides a distinct area of separation between the elevated landforms of Greerton and Hairini/Waimapu. The Waimapu Stream is also of significance to Tangata Whenua as it is said to