New Housing Development Laws - and Professional Standards

[Brent George]

We - the professions; the developers; the investors; the local body Councils; the media; and the public - have had some time to absorb the edict that central government has declared with regard to adopting medium density residential standards to boost housing supply and enable more types of housing.
See:  Ministry of Housing and Urban Development - Enabling Housing Density

The forced changes are proposed to resolve the "housing problem".

They are not insignificant.

They will affect the lives and lifestyles of many "ordinary New Zealander's":-
    - they will potentially provide affordable housing opportunities for urban dwellers not only in the central city, but is outer suburbs as well;
    - they will require an adjustment to the "kiwi" lifestyle of home ownership - transitioning from typically owning a section with single dwelling, garage, back and front and side yards, vege garden, and outdoor living space for the BBQ - to living in a multi-level dwelling with restricted or shared common outdoor spaces and limited parking and storage options;
    - but think of one, two or three 3-storey apartments being erected 1m from your boundary outside your living room view (not to mention the period of construction disruption); 
    - and consider the congestion on the street with parking and access/egress as new homeowners join your neighbourhood;
    - also imagine the likely disruption to infrastructure and services when the systems are overloaded (lack of water supply; blocked wastewater drainage; power outages)

So a philosophical question for survey professional involved in urban development - when they are invited to participate in a project that intensifies housing as outlined by government - could be:
"Would you say "No - our company is not interested in being involved in this development that will negatively impact on the adjoining landowners""?
Or would you go with the flow and do the task, because it is a job, and/or because you know your Client (the developer) will just go somewhere else to get the survey parts done?

[Brent George]

Villa makes way for town houses
ODT: - 13-June-2022

The modernisation of Dunedin’s city suburbs continues at pace as another "very run down" villa is demolished to make way for a new townhouse development.

New Zealand Property Solutions Real Estate Ltd director Denise Casey said the latest project in Musselburgh Rise was part of a suite of projects under way by Dunedin developer Blue Sky, which was building townhouses across eight sites in Musselburgh, St Kilda and Caversham.

This type of story is/will become common-place across the country as housing intensification rules and needs kick in.
Our built environment will look quite different within 2-3 generations....

[Brent George]

There goes the sun – welcome to shady city
Stuff - Opinion: 23-June-2022

We’ve had our first look at the city’s new proposed District Plan (Wellington), in the agenda papers for a council committee meeting on June 23, and it makes for grim reading.

Now, the entire city is either medium density or high density. We have no suburbs any more – and except for where the topography favours them, there is now nowhere where people can be sure their backyard, front porch or sunroom won’t be blocked by their neighbour building a three-storey building as of right.

The inner-city areas formerly known as suburbs – Mt Victoria, Mt Cook, Thorndon, Aro Valley, Newtown, Berhampore and even parts of Kelburn – are now high-density zones with six-storey development enabled.