A major Auckland property developer says a Government proposal to remove building height restrictions in the CBD is just politics and he doesn't believe there will be a single new apartment built in the short term because of the change.
Under current rules, parts of the Auckland CBD have building height limits of 72.5m – in other areas, the limit is 35m.
The proposal would remove these caps for the majority of the central city and scrap other rules about how big and far apart buildings have to be.
RMA Minister Chris Bishop said that current CBD planning rules are holding back growth.
"The modelling suggests that these changes are potentially very significant. At full uptake, annual GDP is expected to increase by $1.87 billion.
"Tens of thousands of new homes in the city centre, tens of thousands of new jobs in the city centre."
Government and council reveal plans to remove building height limits in almost all parts of the CBD. (Source: 1News)
Bishop commissioned a report on the planning rules, which was released today.
Its recommendations include removing height and dimension limits on high-rise buildings, and removing the heritage status of what the report refers to as "non-contributing sites" within the historic Karangahape Rd precinct.
The report estimated the changes will provide about 17,000 more dwellings in the city, and 20.3 million square metres more floor space.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the changes will help to capitalise on the newly opened $5.5 billion City Rail Link.
"I think now is the opportunity to ensure that Auckland is shaped by that investment, prioritising more growth in our city where our new CRL stations are just a stone's throw away."
Developer Mark Todd, of Ockham Residential, said getting rid of height restrictions and pesky regulations downtown is all well and good, but it's not what's holding back vertical housing in the city.
"There is just this myth that if I just tweak the regulations, Auckland CBD will just suddenly start sprouting apartments," he said.
"It's not going to go vertical until there's some incentives. Enablement is good, but it's not enough. That's the key issue here.
"These are political announcements. Auckland's got enough vertically-zoned land for the rest of the century – easily."
The problem, Todd said, is the lack of people living there.
"Auckland has got less than half the residents than it should have in its CBD if you benchmark it with comparable international cities. This won't result in a single new apartment being built down there."
Todd said there won't be large-scale mixed-used developments around the CRL without local and national government support.
"You've just had 20 years proving the private sector isn't going to build you apartments in the CBD to leverage the billions of dollars we've invested.
"It's one of the most beautiful CBDs in the world – the Victoria St green belt has just been completed, amazing. CRL, amazing. Quay St, amazing, beautiful. Wynyard Quarter, Britomart, amazing.
"We've been waiting for 20 years for the people to come. It's not happening and why is that? Because policy settings are wrong."
Todd said he's never constructed a building in the CBD and is just speaking as an Aucklander.
The Government's proposal is being welcomed by others in the sector.
Property Council chief executive Leonie Freeman said it's a positive step for the city, and timely given the opening of the CRL.
"So this isn't something that's going to change the Auckland skyline in the next five years, but in the next 30 to 50 years we will see greater growth, and I think that's a positive thing."
Thom Gill, from Cohausing Projects Limited, doubts there will be anything like the building activity that the policy says will be enabled, but he welcomes the Government proposal.
"I think the ability to maximise the good opportunities of a particular site without having to worry about the building height [and] all the more subjective things, in principle I think that is a good idea in a modern city."
However, Gill opposed allowing high rises around Karangahape Rd, which he said is already a coherent urban environment.
Consultation on the proposal runs for 20 working days from 18 September.
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