News
PROPOSED VARIATION 1: RUAKURA
Will be notified on 11 November 2015:
The primary purpose of the variation is to rezone approximately 822ha of land within the area of land transferred to Hamilton City from Waikato District in 2011, to a variety of urban zones and including the Ruakura Inland Port approved by the BOI decision in 2014.
Three new zones, including the Knowledge Zone, Ruakura Logistics Zone and Ruakura Industrial Park Zone. The Knowledge Zone includes the University of Waikato, AgResearch and Waikato Innovation Park, all known education and research facilities. The provisions for the Logistics and Industrial Park Zones provide for a major new employment node at Ruakura based around an inland port (Logistics Zone) to capitalise on the area’s location adjacent to the Waikato Expressway, Eastern Arterial and the East Coast Main Trunk railway.
A specific Open Space Zone for the Ruakura area which reflects the intended unique multi-functional nature of the open space in this area. This extensive open space includes a greenway to run in a north-south direction alongside the variation area, with specific provisions to recognise the importance of issues such as native fish and lizard populations.
A Large Lot Residential area alongside the Logistics and Industrial Park Zones with specific provisions to take consideration of this.
Medium Density Residential and General Residential Zoned land at the northern end of the Variation area.
A planned 600ha commercial and residential development at Ruakura by Tainui Group Holdings (TGH) and Chedworth Properties, including the 80ha Ruakura Inland Port and logistics hub, will impact significantly on the city in terms of economic benefits and job opportunities. Designed to meet the increasing population and freight demands between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga, the so-called Golden Triangle, it has the potential to increase the gross regional product for the Waikato region by $4.4 billion and create 11,000 new jobs.
AUCKLAND UNITARY PLAN UPDATE
The process for the Unitary Plan aims to deliver better plans that lead to good planning outcomes, including more timely plans. It is based on the standard Resource Management Act process for reviewing and changing plans, but with a number of changes made by the Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Act 2010.
The main differences at the hearings stage are the introduction of an Independent Hearings Panel (rather than Council appointed commissioners) and the use of pre-hearing meetings, expert conferences and mediation to try and resolve issues before the hearing. The overall goals are to achieve better solutions and for less time to be required for formal hearings.
The Panel is a statutory body set up by the Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Act 2010. Its members have been appointed by the Minister for the Environment and the Minister of Conservation. It is independent of Auckland Council and any other arm of government. Auckland Council is however responsible for funding the Panel and providing staff to support the Panel.
READ MOREHamilton City New Rating System Approved
At its meeting on 27 Nov 2014 Hamilton City Council voted to change from the current land value (LV) rating system to a capital value (CV) rating system.
http://www.hamilton.govt.nz/our-council/news/Pages/default.aspx?newsItem=3861
READ MOREDuty to provide good Application
Duty to provide a “properly formulated” application to Council
Zwart v Gisborne District Council provides a concise and salutary reminder to consent authorities of the importance of adequately assessing and processing an application before reaching a decision and, if required, progressing to hearing. Thus a properly formulated application would have helped the Council in this case.
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