Media release

24 February 2014

Council to finalise submission on Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan

Auckland Council’s submission on the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan will be finalised in open council meetings this week.

A draft of the submission will be discussed at the Unitary Plan Committee tomorrow. Committee chair Alf Filipaina says the scale and size of the proposed plan, and the new legislation that guides the submission and hearings process, meant a council submission was appropriate.

“Following notification, the next step was to go back and review everything in the proposed plan. Our submission covers the corrections and refinements found in this review, but not policy changes, as it is up to Aucklanders to have their say on the proposed plan and make their own suggestions for changes.”

All submissions on the plan need to be in by 5pm on Friday 28 February. These will then be coded and published online by the end of May, along with summary reports of the decisions requested in them.

There will then be a round of further submissions in mid-2014, where people will have an opportunity to address any of the points raised – including those raised in the council submission – to say whether or not they agree.

Councillor Filipaina says, “The further submissions phase is all about people having a chance to look at what others have said and respond. It’s especially useful if someone has said something that affects your property – it’s then your opportunity to get what you think across to the hearings panel.”

The Auckland Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel, led by Judge David Kirkpatrick, will set out the process for the hearings once it has assessed the volume and extent of submissions, as well as the topics they cover.

Issues covered in the council submission include:
-       More accurately defining Public Open Space zones
-       Addressing inconsistencies in the zoning of some parcels of land based on flood risk data
-       Clarification of how provisions that protect sites of value to mana whenua should be interpreted
-       Amending some of the extent of Significant Ecological Areas, where these are found to no longer be appropriate
-       Including new precincts and/or rules  as a result of recent Environment Court decisions
-       Correcting areas of inconsistent numbering
-       Corrections to some heritage overlays
-       Correcting zoning errors for some individual sites

Ends

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