Chris Bishop and Wayne Brown clash over Auckland’s latest housing density plans
Auckland’s latest housing density plans are straining relations between Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Mayor Wayne Brown, with Act leader David Seymour also weighing in.
Brown has responded to Bishop’s call for the council to spell out how it plans to cut Auckland’s housing capacity before a law change by saying there will be no new maps drawn up by council planners.
This morning, Bishop said the Government’s position is not to ask for maps.
“I haven’t asked for maps,” he said.
Meanwhile, Seymour has called on the council to release the maps, claiming they can be produced at the press of a button.
The political wrangling comes nearly two weeks after Bishop backed down on Auckland’s housing density plans, cutting the city’s theoretical housing capacity from two million homes to 1.6 million.
At a speech in Auckland, Bishop called for “a summary of the provisional zoning changes the council would make once we legislate” to lower the housing capacity to 1.6 million homes.
Five days later, he wrote to Brown, “to respectfully request Auckland Council provide me with information on how it intends to exercise the flexibility provided by this change in capacity requirement” to help inform Cabinet decisions for legislation to pass later this month or in early April.
Bishop said it would be helpful for the information to include the planned approach to reviewing densities and an outline of areas or suburbs that might be affected.
The minister’s approach has angered Brown, who in an email to councillors, local board members and Māori Statutory Board members last Thursday, said there is no point in staff spending weeks preparing maps if the legislation ends up requiring something different.
“I want to be clear that there will be no maps,” said Brown before upcoming council meetings on the issue.
“I do not wish to invest millions of dollars in preparing maps based on a letter, without clarity on what legislation requires of us.”
What’s more, Brown said he did not accept that “flexibility” on Plan Change 120 (PC120) – the council’s planning document for the two million and 1.6 million housing figures – required the council to hand final decisions over to ministers who do not live in Auckland or MPs who represent a particular suburb.
“That’s not what I was elected to do, and I look forward to working constructively with the Government on finally solving this. I have no intention of trying to influence my own street, and neither should you,” Brown said in the email.
Bishop told the Herald he hadrequested the council explain how it plans to review housing densities across the city and what principles it intends to use when making these decisions.
“Additionally, an outline has been sought regarding the areas or suburbs that may be affected, as well as whether the council intends to change or remove any areas from the PC120 rules, with a brief explanation of any likely changes,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a weekend column for The Post, Seymour criticised the council for releasing the zoning maps late when the two million homes figure was under consideration.
“This is despite reports from within the council that their software can produce maps for a given number, almost at the press of a button.
“I am calling on council to release the details of what 1.6 million means in your street before we vote for that number,” he said.
When Seymour made a similar comment previously about issuing maps, Brown said: “I’m not sitting up here to have David Seymour tell me what to do.”
Auckland Council’s director of policy, planning and governance Megan Tyler said the council’s planning “involves robust modelling and testing of locations against factors like accessibility, infrastructure availability, population growth and demand”.
“This is not, and has never been, created at the push of a button,” she told the Herald.
“Additionally, the law still reflects the old figure. The Government must amend the law before Auckland Council can move forward with the updated figure.
“Auckland Council remains committed to doing this work properly to get the best outcomes for Aucklanders. New maps have not yet been developed, but the council will ensure any changes to the maps are ready to be available to Aucklanders once the council has provided direction and in line with the new legislation.”
In a social media post, councillor Julie Fairey said she had no idea yet how the council was supposed to do the work of new maps based on a law that hasn’t been passed and could change, in less than a month.
The capacity modelling alone, she said, would take several weeks.
Intensification plans for Auckland date to 2021 when the Labour Government, with National’s support, introduced the medium density residential standards (MDRS). These rules allowed up to three dwellings, three storeys high, on most residential sections in Auckland, a policy widely known as the “3 x 3″ rule.
The council introduced Plan Change 78 in 2022 to implement the MDRS, but scrapped it last year after agreeing to Bishop’s alternative approach, which focuses on intensification along transport corridors while still providing capacity for the same number of homes estimated at two million.
That decision paved the way for PC120, introduced last year, which also restricts development on about 12,000 properties identified as being at risk from flooding or landslides.
So far, the long-running planning iterations have cost ratepayers about $13m.
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