Passions ran high at the Queenstown Lakes District Council meeting yesterday (Thursday August 10) over whether or not Lake Hāwea’s newly extended urban zone (Lake Hāwea South) should be included in the Urban Intensification Variation notification.

The variation, which councillors approved for notification in June, marks a substantial change in urban zoning, allowing Lower Density Suburban Residential (LDSR) zones to increase building heights up to 8m; and Medium Density Residential (MDR) zones to increase to heights of 11m.

A fortnight later, the Hāwea Community Association (HCA) agreed the Lake Hāwea urban boundary be extended to Domain Road - more than doubling the size of the existing urban area after a court battle between QLDC, Universal Developments, Streat Developments, and Otago Regional Council. 

Read more: Council proposes major changes to urban density rules

Yesterday councillors were split over whether Lake Hāwea South should be included in the new variation, with opposition expressed by deputy mayor Quentin Smith, Hāwea-based councillor Cody Tucker, and councillors Esther Whitehead, Nikki Gladding, and Matt Wong - all of whom voted against the proposal.

Quentin said the change would lead to “an incredibly substantive addition to housing in Hāwea”, and that council should “let the dust settle” after the recent urban boundary change which meant the “largest amount [of new housing] in the history of Hāwea.” 

Cody said the change would undermine the recent mediation process the community had gone through with developer Lane Hocking of Universal Developments.

“I don’t think we’re in a strong enough position to make this decision at this time and it doesn’t speak kindly to the work done by the [Hāwea] community to get to this point.”

Looking at the big picture

However, Wānaka councillor Lyal Cocks spoke strongly in favour of including Lake Hāwea South in the variation.

“This only enables things to happen,” he said. “It doesn’t bypass the consent process. And the consent won’t get signed off unless we have the capacity to service it.”

Councillors had just signed off a Joint Housing Action Plan which aims to improve housing supply and affordability and Lyal said not following that decision with approving Hāwea South’s inclusion in the urban density variation would be “inconsistent and hypocritical”.

He urged councillors to “look at the big picture”.

“... this is going to happen over 30-40 years. I can assure you relying on infill development to sort out housing is not going to work. It is accessible and it will be even more accessible in the future. Nothing will be approved for building until the services are provided.”

Mayor Glyn Lewers backed Lyal up, saying: “We have a housing issue in this district and … we must start planning for different typologies of houses. We currently build the wrong types of houses. This enables a swing to correct that balance. This won’t happen overnight - it will happen over 10, 20, 30 years.”

Context for the Urban Growth Variation

The Urban Growth Variation is an outcome of central government’s national policy statement on urban development (NPS-UD), which directs councils to remove some planning rules and plan for growth ‘both up and out’.

It aims to respond to overly restrictive planning rules around the country that have driven up prices and denied people housing.

The Urban Intensification Variation, as a result, aims to enable a “diverse range of housing typologies” in suitable locations to provide for greater housing choices, QLDC senior planner Elias Mathee said.

QLDC chief executive Mike Theelen reminded councillors during the lengthy debate that the NPS-UD was intended “to stop local communities and local councils forever finding reasons not to intensify”.

HCA reaction

HCA chair Cherilyn Walthew told the Wānaka App yesterday’s decision was disappointing.

HCA acting chair Cherilyn Walthew said the decision was “disrespectful”. PHOTO: Supplied

“The HCA supported the zoning of land for development in exchange for safeguarding a town centre area and ensuring that we have provided space for enough housing to support the growing population over the next 50 years. This is without intensification. One of the core reasons people move out to Hāwea is to gain some ‘space’.

“After these hard-won wins, it feels completely disrespectful to the Hāwea community to even consider adding the Hāwea South land to the intensification plan change variation without full and robust public consultation first.” 

Cherilyn said councillors had voted for something when “they don’t fully understand how this will impact or integrate into the community aspirations and plans”.

Public consultation on the decision will follow.