Policy planning and consents manager Nicholas Woodley outlined some of the reasons the area had been chosen. He said Awakeri had been identified as having a low natural-hazard profile.
It was far enough inland not to be threatened by coastal hazards, and although streams ran through the village, there was no large river that would require protection from flooding with large stopbanks.
Growth manager Dan Smith said flooding and slip events of the past few weeks showed the importance of where communities started growing.
“We have a really good opportunity to have that thinking done upfront, not later on when we’re faced with catastrophic events.”
Awakeri had excellent transport connectivity – being at the meeting place of two state highways – and was well located between areas of employment in Whakatāne, Kawerau, Edgecumbe and Ōpōtiki.
It also had large contiguous land blocks and there was a strong interest in development among some landowners.
Councillor Malcolm Whitaker raised the issue of some of the land in the area being grade 2 Highly Productive Land, protected in legislation from development.
A presentation slide shown to councillors on Wednesday shows 400m and 800m “pedestrian sheds” imposed over Awakeri, representative of five- and 10-minute walks and widely accepted as a template for a compact walkable urban catchment. Image / Supplied
Woodley said although the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land made it difficult to consent a development, there was a pathway to develop an urban centre identified in a strategic document such as a spatial plan.
“That doesn’t mean it is unfettered. We still have to demonstrate it is an effective use of land and not creating too much sprawl … so not creating a whole lot of 200sq m sections.”
Woodley also addressed the issue of the planning happening in the midst of Resource Management Act reforms in which councils have told by central government to stop any plan changes.
“There is an exemption pathway,” he said. “If we put a case up to the minister he would approve a plan change. We’ve had some initial discussions with the Ministry for the Environment. They were really optimistic … because essentially it is about providing for growth and there is a strong commitment from the current Government to enable that.”
Firstly, staff were aiming to get a structure plan in place by October.
Councillor Wilson James asked what timeframe they were looking at before some action was likely.
Woodly said the National Policy Statement for Urban Development obligated councils to proactively provide enough land for residential development.
The district had about three or four years of development capacity available.
“That gives an indication of the urgency we need to proceed with to unlock growth in these new areas.
“I don’t think spades in the ground are going to be the reality within the next three to five years. It’s more about making sure it’s well planned.”
Other growth areas for the next 30 years included Matatā, which was already enabled in the current plan for another 600-700 homes.
The council also plans to enable Māori land holders west of Coastlands to develop as many as 950 dwellings through structure planning and a District Plan change.
Murupara and Minginui have master plans in place for residential development in which limited plan changes were required.
Woodley said the cost of the project fell within the current planning budget.
“The big cost will be in the infrastructure and we look to the developer paying for that through development levies and contributions, as well as the central government component through NZTA and how they fund upgrades as well.”
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.