'Momentous': Canterbury council unlocks land for up to 17,000 homes
Waimakariri District Council adopted its revised District Plan on Tuesday, opening up land for housing in Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Woodend and Oxford.
Mayor Dan Gordon said the new plan will provide land for between 14,000 and 17,000 new houses over the next 30 years, allowing the population to grow from 74,000 to around 100,000.
"This is a momentous day and probably one of the biggest decisions this council will make."
Councillor Tim Fulton hailed it as a "once-in-a-generation" decision.
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New housing developments in Rangiora include a new west Rangiora sub-division, development around Rangiora Airfield, and the expanding Bellgrove sub-division to the east.
In Kaiapoi, land has been opened up to the south near Hellers and the Beach Grove sub-division is expanding.
At Woodend, there will be a new development at Gressons Rd, while Oxford has a new residential development in the town and a new large lot residential development on Ashley Gorge Rd.
But the commissioners recommended a proposed development by Carter Group at Ohoka be declined.
It is the second time independent commissioners have rejected the development, after a private plan change was declined in November 2023.
The Waimakariri District Plan allows for more housing growth. (Source: David Hill / North Canterbury News)
The proposed Ohoka housing development is still subject to an Environment Court appeal and was included for consideration in the Government's Fast-track Approvals Act.
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The west Rangiora and Gressons Rd, Woodend developments were also included in the Fast-track Approvals Act for consideration.
Work on the new District Plan began in 2016 and it was first notified in September 2021.
But it has not been helped by changing Government legislation.
The new medium density residential housing standards (MDRS), announced in November 2021, forced the council to do a separate consultation process to consider a variation to the District Plan.
It allows for three units and up to three storeys, subject to conditions, and has been applied to Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Woodend, Pegasus and Ravenswood, meaning there is potential for up to 80,000 new houses.
"We could have stopped this process because change was coming, but we needed to create a plan for our district now, regardless of what might change in the future," Gordon said.
"This plan brings us as up to date as we can be."
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The council's development planning manager Matt Bacon said how many new houses are built will depend on housing density.
"We need to make some assumptions around housing density. Technically it would give us capacity for 80,000 properties.
"But practically we know that is not going to happen."
There are new categories to comply with national planning standards, with rural residential being replaced by large lot residential (4 hectares) and rural lifestyle (1 hectares).
New business zones include town centres, neighbourhood centres, local centres and industrial zones.
The council plans to notify the new District Plan on July 14 and there will be a 30-day appeal period for submitters.
The District Plan received strong support from councillors, with just councillor Paul Williams abstaining.
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He was one of several councillors to raise concerns about the inclusion of the MDRS rules.
Drop-in sessions are planned to update residents on the new plan.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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