Where will we live tomorrow?

At 264 RintoulStreet,Berhampore,Wellington. Two house sites within the WCC Inner Residential zone were combined in 1982. An existing double garage remained at the top of the site with zigzag walking access down from Rintoul St to the 2 existing three bed villas constructed in the pre-1930’s era.

Our client the DeJardineFamilyTrust removed boundary fences and rationalized services infrastructure to utilise all the 814m2 area focused around the extensive vegetable garden that had served the family for over 40 years.The Trust’s mandate was to provide denser sustainable housing for their current and future generations to return to the land they grew up on.

AW gained land use consent in 2019 and 2021 for 2 new houses - the initial stages of a 5 dwelling masterplan for builder Ra and family. The future multigeneration layout introduced a new central laneway to the collective garden heart, with its pergola sheltered bbq and outdoor table.

The first addition of a new 2 storied 3bedroom121m2 courtyard house on a compact footprint increased the total site coverage to 38%. The second two storey dwelling on the street provided 3 bed upstair dwelling with separately accessed studio bed workspace under -the 90m 2footprint still within the 50% site coverage rule. This saved the constructionof an interior stair. We made a case that further onsite carparking was not needed as this allows for a diverse range of transport modes to be utilised as future occupants will not be car dependent.

This step by step intensification the owner is steadily undertaking is supported under the existing District Plan. The approval process is costly and onerous and in our view should be available as of right (without the possibility of neighbor/ affected person veto and an expensive hearing) if the technical metrics are met and signed off by a registered profession. The planning authority could contribute in review, if the development exceeded the technical metrics.

The key district plan metrics at the time of consent were both objective and subjective.

Technical urban design standards cover front side back yards, site coverage, bin storage access, building height, building recession planes, sunlight access, shared open space and private open space.

Subjective standards concerned the compatibility of the form, scale and character of the new building with immediate neighborhood.

The subjective ‘suburban character‘ assessment part should be dropped (as is proposed in Victoria Aust) and if necessaryreplaced only with metrics that are measurable eg. Formational planning history, street width, footpath amenity street planting, front yardetc.

Many of our planning rules are overly complex and overtime have become pedantic, emphasizing gatekeeping and compliance rather than the overall and more strategic objectives and benefits of living closer together.

As architect Anupama Kundoo reminds us ‘gravity is a rule the rest is constructed”

2019 “The amenity values of the surrounding residential area will be maintained by this proposal to a level that is deemed acceptable by the objectives, policies and rules of the District Plan. The development encourages the efficient use of inner residential land though appropriate intensification. The development makes use of existing infrastructure. Therefore WCC consider that the proposal accords with the District Plan objectives and policies.”

2021 ‘These changes will lead to improved amenity values for the wider residential community and future generations. To this extent the NPS-UD confirms that such a detraction in localised amenity values is not an adverse effect.

Policies 6(c) and 6(d) also require planning decisions to have particular regard to the benefits of urban developments that would create well-functioning urban environments and that providedevelopment capacity as envisaged by the NPS-UD. The subject proposal will increase the number of units on this site. The quality of the proposed new dwelling is above average. Therefore, the proposal will provide benefits for the social, economic and cultural wellbeing of the city by providing additional housing stock for the local market’.