Govt dials back Auckland upzoning, keeps density near trains

The Government has revealed it'll lower Auckland's housing capacity requirements — allowing councillors to pull back suburban upzoning but keeping some density locked in around major town centres and train lines.

Cabinet has agreed to reduce the minimum housing capacity the supercity must zone for from approximately two million dwellings to 1.6 million, Housing Minister Chris Bishop said in a speech at Auckland's International Convention Centre today.

The change has widely been perceived as a "backdown" from the Government in response to local concerns and agitation by coalition partner ACT.

But how the reduction plays out, suburb by suburb, remains to be seen. Bishop has left it to Auckland Council decide which areas to downzone, while keeping some upzoning locked in around metropolitan centres, and City Rail Link, train, and busway stations.

"It's clear a lot of Aucklanders are concerned about what growth means for them. That's completely understandable," Bishop said.

"We hear you and we are ready to act."

The two million figure had become what Bishop himself described as "a red herring that transformed into a lightning rod" — seized on by opponents as proof the plan went too far, despite being a measure of theoretical zoned capacity rather than a building target.

Bishop said the number had never been a central government target.

It was derived from Auckland Council's own modelling, which concluded the previous Plan Change 78 (PC78) would have zoned capacity of around two million dwellings.

That requirement has now been softened.

The new floor of 1.6 million represents the midpoint between the 1.2 million homes enabled under the already-existing Auckland Unitary Plan and the two million that the controversial Plan Change 120 (PC120) would have provided for, Bishop said.

But the Housing Minister was steadfast that his U-turn over the move with overall zoning figures would not necessarily mean fewer homes being built.

He cited early analysis suggesting PC120 could see up to 20% more of its zoned capacity converted into actual houses compared to PC78, because it concentrated development in commercially viable, well-serviced locations near transport hubs and town centres.

"Going from at least two million to at least 1.6 million does reduce minimum housing capacity by around 20%, but this is in the context of a stronger plan change that could see a 20% increase in planned housing turning into real housing," he said.

He pointed to the gap between theoretical capacity and reality under the existing unitary plan: it zones for 1.2 million additional homes, but only around 100,000 had been built in the decade since the plan went live.

Bishop also announced Cabinet had agreed he would begin an investigation into planning provisions constraining development in Auckland's city centre — including setback requirements, tower dimension controls, and height limit.

The city centre zone is not included in PC120, and the council does not have a simple mechanism to unlock its potential, Bishop said. Any additional housing capacity enabled in the CBD would count toward the new 1.6 million requirement.

Bishop made it clear in his speech that his Government's mandate to upzone around five key train stations, set to benefit from the opening of the City Rail Link this year, would continue to be "bottom lines" as part of the changes announced today.

This would mean allowing for at least 15-storey apartment buildings around Maungawhau, Kingsland, and Morningside train stations and at least 10 storeys for Baldwin Ave and Mt Albert train stations.

In addition, there would continue to be requirements for apartment zoning around rapid transit lines and major town centres — as had been introduced in PC78 and the national policy statement for urban development.

Building heights of at least six storeys would be allowed for 800 metres around train and busway stations and metropolitan centres — such as Takapuna, Westgate, or Botany, among others.

The process from here would see the Government legislate the lower capacity number, after which the council would determine which parts of Auckland to downzone.

That distinction matters for inner-city suburbs like Mt Eden, home to a new City Rail Link station, where residents have been among the fiercest opponents of the plan but may find significant parts of intensification from PC120 unchanged.

A further round of public submissions would follow, including for those who had already submitted on PC120 and others who wished to join.

"We have devised a way through that will allow Aucklanders to see the areas that will be removed from PC120 and provide another opportunity for Aucklanders to have their say – including those who have already submitted on PC120 and others who would like to join," he told attendees at his speech.

Bishop said the changes would mean "more growth around the areas that make the most economic sense and where there is the most support — City Rail Link stations, rapid transit stations, metropolitan centres.

"And it means more flexibility for Auckland around suburban Auckland."

He framed the decision as an attempt to settle a debate that had consumed Auckland planning since 2021. "Auckland has been struggling with an update to the AUP since 2021. I accept Parliament hasn't helped, but it's now 2026," he said.

"I think we've now got the balance right."

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon signalled changes to the Government's housing approach in Auckland earlier this year, when he announced this year's election date.

PC120, or Plan Change 120, previously zoned the Auckland region for a maximum of two million homes. It replaced the controversial PC78 (Plan Change 78), known as the townhouse bill, which was abandoned by the current coalition government.

Labour's PC78 also zoned for around two million homes, but densified most suburban areas in Auckland under so-called 3x3 provisions - meaning property owners were entitled in most instances to build up to three properties, three storeys tall on one site.

Released late last year, PC120, as previously notified, provided for the same theoretical maximum, but concentrated dense zoning around town centres, train and busway stations, and high-capacity bus routes.

In practice, this means significantly more density in central isthmus suburbs, around town centres, and higher-capacity public transport routes.

It also introduced stronger rules limiting development in high-risk flood and coastal hazard areas — something the previous legislation did not allow the council to do.

Auckland Council and the Government confirmed in December the appointment of a nine-member independent hearings panel that will consider submissions on the plan and make modifications if they see necessary.

The much-bandied-about "two million homes" figure has become a lightning rod of political opposition in recent months, though it's been around since 2021.

Plan Change 120 creates zoning capacity for approximately two million homes across Auckland. That doesn't mean that many dwellings will be built — not every homeowner will choose to redevelop, and not every site will be built to its maximum permitted levels.

But the figure represents the theoretical ceiling of what could be constructed if every eligible site were developed to its full potential.

The reason the figure needs to be so high, advocates say, is that zoning capacity must significantly exceed actual demand for the housing market to function effectively.

Planning experts and housing advocates argue that a wide margin of theoretical capacity is what allows prices to respond to demand — and what gives developers enough choice of sites to make projects viable.

Advocates argue that without generous zoning, Auckland will repeat the housing supply shortfalls that drove prices to what were widely seen as "crisis" levels in the 2010s.

But critics have ridiculed the two million figure as proof that the proposal goes too far.

Opponents — including the Character Coalition and various residents' groups — have seized on the figure as shorthand for unchecked densification, arguing it would signal the wholesale transformation of established neighbourhoods.

The most prominent partisan opponents to the new plan have been ACT leader David Seymour and ACT MP Brooke van Velden in their Epsom and Tāmaki electorates.

Those concerns are acute in inner-city suburbs like Mt Eden and Parnell, which currently hold significant "character" area protections on aesthetic and architectural grounds.