I had the opportunity to share my thoughts on the impact of further housing restrictions implemented in Hamilton City.
The restrictions on building in red zone areas will make it more difficult for developers to build affordable housing in inner city areas, places that are close to amenities and employment opportunities.
The restrictions will limit the available land for development, making it more expensive to build affordable housing. This can lead to a shortage of affordable housing options in Hamilton which already has affordable housing shortages, both for sale and for rent.
Check out my comments in the article below, and feel free to share your views.
By John Kenel
Assured Property
FULL ARTICLE FROM STUFF BELOW:
Hamilton housing restrictions ‘red zoning’, claims developer
By Stephen Ward
New rules curbing housing growth in south-west Hamilton are being described by one developer as “the red zoning of some of the city”.
Another feels the new measures – due to wastewater infrastructure constraints – will have a “massive” impact on development in relevant suburbs and potentially elsewhere.
Crown agency Kāinga Ora – provider of more than 450 Hamilton homes over the last five years – says it’s still assessing the rules. But Waikato regional director Mark Rawson confirms “we will try to identify potential replacement projects for our pipeline in areas that are not affected by the capacity constraints”.
The new measures are designed to protect the environment by reducing current sewage spills from ageing pipes and other infrastructure during wet weather.
Last year, the council received 41 residential development subdivision consent applications in the south-west, 26 of which have been granted and 15 are being processed. Only two subdivision consent applications for that broad area have been made in 2023 – both are still being processed.
But now Bader, Deanwell, Fitzroy, Glenview and Melville are defined as high-risk areas with “limited or no capacity” for development.
Parts of Claudelands, Fairfield, Hamilton East, Hillcrest and near the university are also being looked at “closely”, as well as small areas of St Andrews, Rototuna and Nawton.
For projects in high-risk areas, where no consent application has been made, the city council will consider infrastructure needs “and likely advise that service connections will not proceed until our investments can ease any capacity issues”.
The “red zoning” comment – a reference to areas deemed undevelopable, usually due to natural disaster risk – came from Assured Property chief executive John Kenel.
He was concerned at new rules on top of earlier restrictions in heritage and significant natural areas. Those had already affected development on five of his properties.
“It’s getting really, really high risk to land bank property and get a pipeline of work [in place].”
Kenel understood council infrastructure funding problems but said: “It’s really tough. When are we going to sort this out?”
A better funding model for infrastructure was needed.
His firm had done a lot of work around Glenview and Melville and the new restrictions could affect business significantly.
Hamilton developer McQuarrie Group’s owner Steve Chatwin only heard about the changes after buying two properties in Glenview and Hillcrest recently.
“It would have been nice to have had more warning.”
He worried new restrictions could mean he’d have to sell them at a loss or “hang on and hope”.
Chatwin knew of developers recently buying a lot more in affected areas than he had.
Jason Cargo, Waikato managing director of BTW which assists developers, expected the new rules to have a significant impact in relevant areas. “That’s exactly what they’re trying to do.”
Council economic development committee chairperson Ewan Wilson said it wasn’t helpful for growth if parts of the city were off limits for new housing for as long as two to four years.
He was also worried the rules could reduce revenue from developer contributions, hurting growth generally.
Councillor Geoff Taylor, a housing intensification critic, said “this type of thing was always going to happen – which makes one wonder why our council is so in love with infill housing and this left-wing nirvana of ‘the compact city’.”
Taylor said Hamilton couldn’t afford the level of infill planned because it can’t pay for the necessary infrastructure. He wants more purpose-built greenfield suburbs.
Infrastructure and transport committee chairperson Angela O’Leary was concerned Three Waters and other local government reform had distracted from fixing wastewater problems.
She said a better infrastructure funding model, rather than one mostly reliant on rates and borrowing, was needed.
Strategic growth and district plan committee chairperson Ryan Hamilton wanted more state help for infrastructure – not necessarily extra Government cash but new mechanisms to access funding that allowed the council to manage the likes of debt caps.
However, Hamilton hoped problems under the new rules could be avoided by steering developers to existing areas where growth could be accommodated.
Meanwhile, Waikato Regional Council, which monitors city council compliance with wastewater consent conditions, didn’t respond directly to a question about its level of concern over the south-west’s situation leading to more waterways contamination.
But resource use director Brent Sinclair said: ”We are aware of the challenges the city council is facing and acknowledge the focus they are putting into addressing this issue.”
Source: STUFF
