Howick Local Board feedback on draft intensification

Government (aka Parliament) has instructed Auckland Council that we must provide for more housing intensification - by law we have no choice but to allocate capacity for 2 million new dwellings (read more about this here).

And they've set incredibly tight timeframes to make the decision on which plan to use. Auckland must choose either:

1. Plan Change 78 which couldn't downzone high risk locations, had to allow 3 houses up to 3 storeys on almost every property (MDRS), and was notified in 2022.
   OR

2. replacement plan change that has intensification more focused, reducing intensification in the highest risk areas, but draft maps have only just be released.

   Last week the Howick Local Board held an additional meeting to formalise our feedback into the process. We did our best in the short timeframe to make our community aware and 75 people turned up to our meeting (setting new record). We’re doing everything we can to ensure that our community’s voice is heard so we held a public forum with 13 people/groups speaking to us (another new record). Plus countless emails, phone calls, social media replies and more.
   
   We took nearly four hours to listen, consider, and formulate our feedback. Given the tight timeframes and complex issues, it wasn't easy and we're grateful to the public and staff for their input and support. In the end we:
   ❎ opposed both plan changes and requested more realistic timeframes to do this properly
   ✅ supported improvements to focus intensification, return single house zones, and better controls to avoid natural hazards.
   ❎ opposed Howick Village upzoning and asked for stronger protections for Stockade Hill
   ❎ opposed upzoning through Cockle Bay transport corridor on basis of poor infrastructure, huge impact, and marginal evidence
   ℹ️ provided alternatives for upzoning, closer to existing infrastructure and other intensification
   
   Next step is for the Governing Body (Mayor and Councillors) to consider the feedback of all 21 local boards, mana whenua, nearby councils, and government ministries. They will then make their decision in late September.
   
   You can find our full feedback in our minutes available here: https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2025/08/20250828_HW_MIN_13699_WEB.htm
   
   And a recording of our meeting here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNiuqKCzobSzQ05kCv2JI2iefmDp2_tEh

Draft intensification plans released

The Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP) is our city's zoning planning rule book. It's governed by the Resource Management Act (RMA) and allowed for approximately 900k new homes.

Under the previous government, the council was required to make widespread changes to the AUP to enable even greater levels of intensification. The resulting changes to the AUP were included in Proposed Plan Change 78: Intensification (PC78) notified in August 2022.

The very recently enacted Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Act enables the council, if it chooses, to withdraw in part, PC78, provided the council notifies a replacement plan change that satisfies new requirements. The council had previously been unable to withdraw PC78 (in whole or in part).

On 21 August 2025 the Policy and Planning Committee endorsed a draft replacement plan change to enable staff to consult on it with iwi authorities, government ministries and adjoining councils, and to request local board views on the draft replacement plan change and a corresponding withdrawal in part of PC78.

Due to the timeframes set by central government in the Act, the council will need to decide in September 2025 whether or not to withdraw from PC78 and, if so, to proceed with a replacement plan change.

What does this mean for East Auckland? Because of the short time frames, we have limited information available to us. Staff have prepared maps that show the new zoning that is proposed and I've taken the current AUP zones, PC78, and the replacement maps to compare them. These are subject to change, but hopefully this helps show the differences between the three plans. In PC78 intensification is spread across the area, while in the replacement plan, intensification is being focused around town centres and transit routes.

The choice before council is PC78 or the replacement. Local Boards are not the decision-makers but we do have an opportunity to provide input.

The Howick Local Board is meeting on Thursday 28 August 2025 at 1pm to consider our feedback. While there is no formal public consultation prior to notification, we've agreed to accept public input at this meeting so we can better convey what the community thinks. People or groups wanting to speak are encouraged to register via howicklocalboard@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

You can find more in our agenda published here:
https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2025/08/20250828_HW_AGN_13699_WEB.htm

Opportunity to take back (some) control of intensification

Parliament has just passed legislation that gives Auckland an opportunity to take back some control of housing intensification. But there are still challenges ahead and there are limitations on what can be done next.

In 2021, the National and Labour parties joined forces to increase housing intensification. This included requiring large cities across NZ to upzone for 30 years of growth. Included in these changes was the Medium Density Residential Standard (MDRS) which allows three homes of up to three storeys high to be built on most residential sites in urban Auckland without a resource consent. While councils may not have agreed with this change, Parliament makes the law - there were special requirements in the legislation that required councils to comply. It also denied councils the ability to downzone anything until the changes were made. In response, Auckland created Plan Change 78 (PC78) which was notified in 2022 with feedback and hearings.

When the storms hit on Auckland Anniversary 2023, Auckland Council asked the Government of the day for permission to halt intensification. The Minister agreed to an extension until March 2024 to allow council to investigate natural hazards and flooding. In October 2023 another Government was sworn in and the same conversations were had, and another extension was granted (until March 2025). Replacement legislation was introduced in December 2024, with another extension while it went through parliament. However the city centre was excluded from the extension and as a result, the city centre parts of PC78 were made operative in June 2025.

The legislation passed allows Auckland to withdraw PC78, subject to conditions. One of these is that withdrawal requires council to replace it with another plan change that provides the same or more housing capacity. In essence, Auckland will be able to determine where, but not if, we intensify. There is also a requirement to notify the new plan before 10 October (literally the day before election). And it's a one-time opportunity - withdraw PC78 now or continue and it becomes operative.

The decision to withdraw isn't automatic and will be made by the Governing Body (Mayor and Councillors), probably at the Policy and Planning Committee on Thursday 21 August. Given the extraordinary tight timeframes, we understand that there won't be public consultation before this decision.

While we've been waiting for Parliament, Auckland Council has been preparing. Workshops have been held with the Governing Body (Mayor and Councillors) to create a draft proposal that meets the Government's requirements (as best we could understand them before the bill passed). While Local Boards have been provided some updates, we're not responsible for the decisions or the direction of the plan and we've had no input (zoning sits with the Governing Body). The Howick Local Board is expecting to have an opportunity to provide feedback and we’ll be arranging an additional meeting on Thursday 28 August to fit into the timelines.

While I'm pleased that Auckland is getting some control back, it comes with significant conditions and an extraordinarily tight timeframe. I strongly support quality intensification in the right places (over unsustainable urban sprawl), but this rushed process is unlikely to lead to the best outcomes.

As more information become available, I’ll make sure we share what we can.