Gone Fishing

Originally published Architecture NZ, Issue # 5, September 2014.

State housing in a holding pen, Hobsonville Auckland

There is now only weeks to a national election and a fleeting  opportunity to reboot a discussion on what issues Architects and design professionals should be thrashing around meeting tables, wine bars and lunch rooms  other than what revit family they may have recently married into or what solution offers the least risk when detailing the next winning contribution to the WAN awards. What is an acceptable solution for architects in national politics? What party will contribute most through a proactive architecture agenda?

We are all part of the same big picture 21^st century NZ inc bubble competing for global dollars and talent within a profession struggling to maintain a relevance in a landscape peppered with socio economic disparity, cycles of boom and bust, inflated egos and margins, social media, global warming, primacy of image, reactionary regulation, geographic disparity, effectiveness and efficiency in governance, ecological decimation, capital gain and stasis. So whats the difference in the regions ?

Two terms into a Key government theoretically we are all in the same boat though the regions have been left without the prop of sky rocketing property values or subsidized rebuilds, left largely at the mercy of the weather, the value of the dollar, the price of milk and effectiveness of local government leads a widening gap in the architecture haves and have nots. Where could political will make a positive difference?

Nothing like a step program to better health, ten steps to regional architectural nirvana:

1. A national spatial Strategy that defines regional development in the context of a national vision and proactively promotes and incentives regional growth
2. A definition of quality in the resource management act that can be used to leverage something other than a beige urbanity. Design Quality needs to be mandated at a national level, Critical regionalism doesn’t mean different standards outside of the mets.
3. A government Architect with networked regional offices mandating quality across sectors, absorbing young talent from the metropolitan areas as catalysts for innovation and promotion of best practice design.
4. A national business case and mandate for the value of design as integral to economic, social and cultural development. Works for Denmark, Design lead NZ inc.
5. A National urban design review panel on call with objective critique for projects of significance able to rise above vested interests, potential conflicts of interest, fear of critical engagement and parochialism.
6. A national procurement policy that guarantees all public funds are leveraged to enable best outcomes in the built environment through rigorous design competition processes. Including schools and social housing.
7. A focused and integrated research agenda that realizes the potential of architecture too add value to primary exports like logs and tourism.
8. A devolving of power from local government to Communities who need to be given back a voice in place making through meaningful engagement processes.
9. The establishment of a National grants program available to architects and urbanists as creative practitioners and producers of culture of national importance.
10. A reassessment of built heritage in light of the EQ prone building issues with a funding strategy available for owners in order that a national resource is not decimated in the short term.

Of course sustainability, integration, diversity, resilience and all those other buzz words are built into the above. 

The public nature of their work embeds architects in political debate whether they like it or not. An election year then is an opportunity to  gain a footing in a national conversation about the environment and the opportunities design may leverage. It’s the difference between architecture as a luxury accessory or a route to social and economic development.

Meanwhile The Key Budget 2014 relative to Architecture and the built environment throws up some interesting numbers:

• $200 million for health sector projects. 
• $198 million for KiwiRail. 
• $172 million for school property expansion. 
• $40 million to invest in irrigation infrastructure.
• $30 million boost to the Social Housing Fund from 2015/16 to help the community housing sector provide homes for high-need families.
• $375 million loan to the New Zealand Transport Agency to kick-start $815 million of Auckland Transport projects, further reducing Auckland congestion.
• $1.1 billion to meet demographic growth and cost pressures.
• $111 million of operating funding to support school property development.
• $15.4 billion Government's contribution to the Christchurch rebuild.
• $53 million to establish three extra Centers of Research Excellence from 2016.

In 2013/14, the value of the Crown’s assets is expected to be $246 billion. By 2017/18, total assets will have grown to $282 billion.

Significant growth in financial assets is forecast. The social portfolio is the single biggest component of the Crown’s assets. Social assets are used to deliver public services, such as state highways, social housing, schools and hospitals.

There is no lack of central government funds being spent on projects with the ability to have a direct affect on outcomes in the built environment. With out the understanding that architects and urban designers add value to that spend directly and indirectly it will be more of the same ? Roads, intensive dairying and fracking, where is the architecture in that equation? 

Sounds good to me one bloke was heard to say as he hoisted his fishing tackle onto the back of his quad bike.

Prefabuliciousness

April 14, 2014

published Architecture NZ http://architecturenow.co.nz/articles/prefabuliciousness/

Robots on the production line

Always one to enjoy the discoveries in meaning and cultural history found in words An interesting one ‘Pre fabrication’ the definition of ‘pre’ before and ‘fabrication’ the act or process of fabricating or manufacture. So then ‘pre fabrication’ the precursor to that which is built, which in my experience always equates, to the dream and a big idea. Think of Noah pre arc, he had a dream. At the recent Prefab NZ conference there were certainly plenty of dreams and big ideas.

Ideas about off site manufacture and industrial manufacture of buildings and elements there of and how they might add value to the NZ culture of building. Pamela Bell has with much aplomb, grace and tenacity, managed to mainstream the concept of offsite fabrication in NZ. She has managed to turn her masters degree thesis into a tool for focusing the industry, revitalizing a poorly packaged idea, creating sector collaboration and political buy in along the way. One could say she has nailed it, off site mostly. Ms Bell’s research driven entrepreneurial approach is in a way a new mode of practice where “building “ is not necessarily the only outcome of architectural investigation.

Pre fab NZ has arrived on the scene at a pivotal time in NZ construction. A perfect storm within the context of  a shifting landscape  of demand for housing in Auckland, the CHCH rebuild, a desperate need to up value primary resources, a demand for increased productivity and for more efficient and better ways of doing things alongside a lack of skills, changing demographics, sustainability agendas,  zero carbon initiatives, compact cities, leaky and EQ prone buildings, affordability, treaty settlements,  competitive markets and technological innovation its all on the table.

Tech innovators love to talk about disruption considered as an idea process or product that changes a market place to the extent all competitors need to pay attention and get with the program. Clay Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor, defined “disruption” as a product that addresses a market that previously couldn’t be served or offers a simpler, cheaper or more convenient alternative to an existing product. The iphone is the obvious example. I would contest prefab has the potential to be a well needed disruption in the building sector.

Another pop phrase from the tech sector, early adoption refers to the market leaders who have the foresight and bravery to embrace new ideas. Those who manage to integrate off site into their projects will be the winners. Its not a new idea just one that is given some traction based on the fulcrum the industry currently balances on. The work been done by Prefab NZ and its crew is a potential catalyst for an industry shift required to answer some of the challenges it currently faces. The innovators are already at the coal face.

Innovation and early adoption leads to mainstream adoption and on goes the cycle driven by research and development, experimentation, big ideas and competition . NZ inc. needs to do better in the R& D space especially regards the building industry.  It would be useful to tie the R&D innovation cycle to that of the Construction boom bust cycle which with the tide coming in, boom on the horizon Pre fab is one innovation with a the finger squarely on the go button. That button happens to be green also which is a great bonus.

There was some good ones at the event. 5468796 Architects illustrated how prefabrication has allowed them to carve a disruptive space in the mostly frozen Winnipeg landscape and that young people are at the pole position to lead.

“Architecture is not a luxury product” its agenda is enviro-social not bling.

Associate Primary Industries Minister Jo Goodhew showed off her own bling in the form of a personal secretary and an effectiveness in maintaining a cyclone of public appearances and words that were in the end only words with no actionable program or commitment from central government to use its buying power to disrupt the market the opportunity will be missed.

Conversely the following speaker Dr Hae Yeon Yoo’s presentation on modular social housing in Seoul South Korea made it explicitly apparent the government had put their money where their mouth was as the primary investor in the front end research and ultimate deployment of 80 000 units of prefabricated product to market.

God is in the data as the new detail and some of the data regards the construction sector to come out of David Chandlers presentation was certainly fuel to the already solid business case for the value of off site fabrication moving forward.

The Global construction sector is forecast to be worth  $15 trillion by 2025 13.2 % of Global GDP Meanwhile Australian Industry in 2012 $255 billion this year NZ should exceed $24 billion.

Mr Chandler presented the Australian construction industry similarly to NZ’s industry in need of a core shift and a need to adopt three core industry strategies that we could also perhaps learn from:

I. Reduce on-site workforce inputs by 30% by 2023

II. Reduce on-site construction durations by 50% by 2023, and

III. Turn around net construction imports of goods and services by 50% by 2023

In 2013 Australia’s Chief Scientist reported The construction industry  “” was challenged by the fact that 94% of Australia’s construction industry is comprised of businesses with 5 or fewer people, and that less than 1% of construction businesses in Australia conduct their own R&D”. He also said, “That by neglecting to conduct our own R&D, we not only reduce the chances we will discover new ideas and develop new innovations before our competitors, we also limit our abilities to accept and use those innovations that are developed elsewhere.” Sounds somewhat familiar .Meanwhile the comparison of the NZ boatbuilding industry and its reliance on factory built product formed a good backdrop for the innovation required in the construction sector generally. Tim Smyth from core builder composites presented a preview of the future in which the same digital fabrication and machines producing Americas Cup Yachts produce Composite building elements from bridges to entire houses  a sentiment reinforced by visiting MIt professor Mark Goulthorpe a longtime advocate of the digital revolution for whom the opportunity rests in the technological edge of polypropylene thermoplastic panels as a  recyclable unitary and monocoque building material, engineered and explicitly factory produced allowing the architect to move from their current  role of “selector and coordinator of ready mades” to idea and form generator via digital means.

Let the ideas people do what there best at the technical people get on with there work and together weave an elaborate story of factory produced awesomeness.

Check out the prefabNZ value case on line http://www.prefabnz.com/News/ValueCase/

Going Coastal

Originally published Bay Buzz Jan 2014

http://www.baybuzz.co.nz/archives/7144/

Cape Coast Te Awanga Hawkes Bay

So what is it with the coast? Why is it some people just end up ‘going coastal’? Some primeval urge to be near the sea? The sound of waves bouncing around in our unconscious, echoes of primeval origins.

The line between land and sea remains tenuous at best. At times welcoming, at others plain frightening … think Anzac Cove or media footage of the Japanese tsunami .

The foreshore is the place where life emerged from a fermenting stew of primordial soup, where cultures collided, where the Queen’s chain rattles. The horizon an omnipresent temptation to travel further, to reach beyond, but also a reminder that the big one may be not be so far away. It’s part of the Kiwi psyche. Aaah! Life at the coast … salty, noisy, prehistoric.

When moving to Hawke’s Bay three years ago it seemed so obvious. Post-global financial crisis urbanity didn’t hold too much appeal measured against an option at the seaside. Why didn’t everyone else do it? They do on the gold coast. Was there some hidden catch?

The specific sound of the Te Awanga surf amplified by the rolling shingle stuck on rinse cycle tapping out an endless rhythm, white noise of the most natural kind. It creates an amplified sense of place.

Research shows that the sound of waves alters wave patterns in the brain, lulling you into a deeply relaxed state. Relaxing in this way can help rejuvenate the mind and body.

Additionally the sea air is also full of negative hydrogen ions, charged particles that improve our ability to absorb oxygen by neutralizing damaging free radicals (positive ions). These negative ions can also balance levels of serotonin, the feel good hormone, making us less prone to anxiety … hence the popularity of seaside holidays and coastal occupation.

A feeling perhaps shared by the venerable James Cook, who visiting what he came to name as Cape Kidnappers on 15^th October 1769 was moved to write in his diary the following account:

“…the Indian Boy Tiata, Tupia’s servant, being over the side, they seized hold of him, pulld him into the boat and endeavourd to carry him off, this obliged us to fire upon them which gave the Boy an opportunity to jump over board and we brought the Ship too, lower'd a boat into the Water and took him up unhurt. Two or Three paid for this daring attempt with the loss of their lives and many more would have suffered had it been for fear of killing the boy—. This affair occation'd my giveing this point of Land the name of Cape Kidnappers: it is remarkable on account of two white rocks in form of Hay Stacks Standing very near it: on each side of the Cape are tollerable high white steep clifts.

The southern most curve of Te Matau O Maui – The hook of Maui – named Cape Kidnappers; but equally could have been named ‘Cape Rescue’ depending on which side of the story you sit. Some how the pawl of that story remains over the landscape. Was it a kidnap or rescue attempt ? Confusion and misunderstanding, has come to be part of the cape coast story inherent in the very naming of the place.Today, the Cape Coast refers to the stretch of coastline extending from Haumoana to Clifton. A unique place, resplendent with natural beauty, cemented in the history of Aotearoa not only by the first European explorers, but by Maui himself, his hook now a permanent feature defining the geography of the bay. The Cape Coast rich in heritage of national significance no doubt.

Those first to occupy the land, the fauna of prehistory, came from the sky, the birds that feature strongly in the iconography of the place and the coast story. The infamous gannets continue to journey here for a yearly stopover, attracting tourist dollars along with them.

The second wave of occupants human, settling in Te Awanga overlooking the sea and Maraetotara river,  their safety also in elevation. Occupation at Tiromoana pa has been carbon dated as far back as the 11th century, one of the earliest identified settlements in the country.

The Cape Coast is now home to a vibrant, diverse, creative community who for whatever reasons have chosen to domicile on this thin strip of dirt. A strip of dirt much maligned and misunderstood by bureaucrats, battered by the elements, loved by locals, tourists, explorers and day-trippers alike.

In a certain sense there is a great freedom in being a coast dweller … Black Bridge demarking the point of no return. Freedom to unwind on a daily basis, to wander the shoreline, to collect treasures, encouraging a child-like freedom to dream.

So what is the collective dream for the coast? Is there one? Does it need one? Is the place fine just how it is, or could there be improvements? If so, what needs to happen and who is steering the waka?

The coast in a word: dynamic

In reality the Cape Coast is a genuinely unique piece of NZ landscape and culture that deserves a genuine commitment from those in positions of public trust bestowed with the responsibility of kaitiakitanga. Commitment to creating solutions to some endemic problems in order that confidence  and investment in the area can be reignited.

The coast in one word is dynamic. Not just the physical nature of the landscape and ecology, but the people who have been attracted to life on the edge, sea level rise be damned, a glass of blush in hand, a crayfish passed over a fence, just don’t drop in on my wave and we’ll all get along.

The floating trailer is a unique invention; its cultural value needs to be celebrated. It is representative of the type of character who lives on the coast and the type of solutions that can be found for unique problems. The old school Burt Munroe approach to getting things done. Just do it, make it work and get on with it.

I don’t know how many reports have been commissioned over the years to address coastal issues. The coast is a dynamic living ecology. It is a natural system that is in perpetual state of flux forever looking to achieve balance. As such, it is as much a part of the rivers that feed the Bay as it is a part of the ocean ecology and its cycles of tides and weather. It bridges the worlds of land and sea and as such supports life in a thin precarious strip.  

A report recently commissioned by the regional council, addressing heightened expectations of sea level rise, has highlighted the risks involved in not proactively managing the costal environment in a holistic fashion.

One elephant in the room when it comes to coastal erosion is the quarrying of shingle being done at Awatoto. The report highlights the significant impact this activity has on the southern coast. Winstone Aggregates has secured resource consents for gravel extraction till 2017. This will help satisfy the annual demand of every New Zealander for eight tonnes of aggregates. The issue of gravel extraction has been skirted around in other reports over the years, but it seems only natural that if you remove 30,000 cubic meters of shingle from Awatoto, maybe another 30,000 cubic meters might want to fill that hole!

Perhaps what is needed for the coast is a regional paradigm shift. Professor Paul Komar, professor emeritus from the ocean sciences college of Oregon State University, who as a HBRC consultant has studied our coast more than most, offers one:

“Putting a stop to extraction would mean the coast would stabilise the gravel beaches south of Napier as far as Haumoana … The beach is the buffer. You want as strong a buffer as possible between you and the rising sea levels. It just makes sense not to extract gravel from the sand and beaches."

If the aggressive mining of the coastal shingle is partly responsible for coastal erosion on the Cape Coast, then what of the plans for the Ruataniwha dam? The rivers cannot be separated from the ecology of the coast. They are one and the same.

The sooner the paradigm shifts to embrace a whole system approach to environmental management, the sooner we can start emptying those tourists’ pockets of their cash. It has to be an easier way of milking foreign currency than connecting Betsy to the milking machine every morning and evening.  

Top down or bottom up ?

New Zealand has 14,000 kilometres of coastline, the tenth-longest in the world. Hawke’s Bay has 353 kilometres. There is no doubt that with sea level rise imminent, coastal management is not only a regional issue, but a national imperative. With one metre of sea level rise now forecast by 2100, we will need some significant Burt Munroe-style innovation. There is no time like the present.

The New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS) sits at the head of the table as directive for district and regional councils on how to manage the coast in their jurisdiction. That policy, as excerpted below, sets the stage for how local and regional government has historically missed the mark when it comes to delivery of what these bodies are charged with … guardianship.

NZCPS Policy 15: Natural features and natural landscapes

To protect the natural features and natural landscapes (including seascapes) of the coastal environment from inappropriate subdivision, use, and development:

Recognise that tangata whenua have traditional and continuing cultural relationships with areas of the coastal environment, including places where they have lived and fished for generations.

A long conversation with Darkie (Mick) Huahie, 83 year-old kamatua from Matahiwi marae, and Jacob Scott, both long-term residents of Haumoana with whanau connections back generations brings alive the richness and complexity of the history of the Haumoana/Te Awanga area. The lack of sympathy for local knowledge regarding management of the environment over the years is astounding. Who better to contribute to the understanding of the ecology than those who have witnessed it over a lifetime, in conjunction with inherited stories stretching generations.

“The river was our supermarket. We didn’t need to go into the shops. The fish we caught fed pakeha families as well as Maori”  Says Darkie Huahi

NZCPS Policy 27: Strategies for protecting significant existing development from coastal hazard risk

…recognizing that hard protection structures may be the only practical means to protect existing infrastructure of national or regional importance, to sustain the potential of built physical resources to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations…

The Regional Council and the Hastings District Council also have their own coastal policies – the Hawke’s Bay Regional Coastal Environment Plan and the Coastal Environment Strategy, respectively.

“Hastings District has an extensive coastline covering some 78 kilometres. The Coastal Environment contains a complex mix of natural and built features, as well as significant cultural, heritage and recreational values, which the Hastings community needs to manage in a comprehensive and sustainable manner.”

We are lucky to have in Hawke’s Bay a beautiful, enchanting landscape. The definition of landscape has come to include also culture. The sustainability of the culture of the coast is as vital as the landscape itself; the two cannot be separated. We are also lucky to have a district policy regarding “landscapes of significance;” the Cape Coast is highlighted as one such landscape. Significant not just because of the natural beauty, but for cultural reasons as well.

The imperative of any coastal protection policy is then one of cultural protection as well as land. Land is more tangible and easier to put a number on; culture is more difficult yet the culture that the coast supports is readily evident on any day of the week when the weather and the tides are cooperating. Surfing, fishing, kai gathering, beach fires, motorcycle riding or just going for a walk

Sadly, the Haumoana to Clifton coast is used in a university-level geography class as an illustration of how things can go horribly wrong with process. If progress is to be made, there needs to be a breakthrough in what seems to have become a stalemate. Meetings being undertaken for the community planning process have not been well attended; perhaps something tantamount to coast issue and consultation burnout is occurring. Just as the sea cannot breach a well-engineered wall, the local community has not over the years surmounted the formidablecouncil decision-making processes.

The question is now how to reinvent the process as an example of best practice. The value of intergenerational local knowledge about a place cannot be underestimated. Stories, common sense and tested solutions are where discussions need to start. A top heavy process has the potential to morph into a shinning example of bottom up, community lead and solution focused action. Just like the gravel moving northward its a matter of finding the line of least resistance.

Perfect opportunity

The coastal management, planning and policy space is very busy on the Cape Coast at the minute.

Community plans are being authored, subdivision and development plans refined. There seems to be a perfect storm of opportunity brewing that may provide the catalyst to put aside any bad blood that has been generated over the years and deal once and for all proactively and collaboratively with the key issues that need to be resolved on the Cape Coast. Now is an opportunity for an integrated, inclusive push with a ‘Yes, we can!’ approach to getting things done. 

Much planning is in process, with many inter-related issues and activities on the table:

·      The ongoing debate over the groynes their design and cost.

·      Gravel extraction from rivers and the foreshore and their affect on coastal erosion.

·      The Ruataniwha Dam and potential effect on the bay of Tukituki River flows and health.

·      The Hastings District Plan review proposing rubber-stamping areas for development both in Te Awanga and Haumoana.

·      Master plans and design controls required for proposed development areas.

·      The HDC community plan currently being authored as a non-statutory guide to frame community lead actions and projects. 

·      Work to preserve road access to Clifton Motor camp and the boat ramp.

·      The possibility of a managed retreat or relocation of the Clifton camp to a nearby location.

·      Ongoing resilience of septic tank systems as waste management for the area.

·      Continued work on the National Cycleway running through the area.

·      Consistent spectacular output from local vineyards and associated restaurants.

·      Ongoing coastal access to Cape Kidnappers itself and the gannet colony.

·      The fabulous species restoration work at the Cape Sanctuary project.

·      The Clifton County Cricket Club planting of natives at their home turf in the hills behind Te Awanga.

Coastal dreaming

What is the collective dream for the coast? Walk on Water (WOW) and the Cape Coast Community Group (CCCG), with wide community support, in 2010 created a strategic vision for the coast. The document was used as a submission to the Hastings Council’s Long Term Plan. It included a rebranding of Haumoana, Te Awanga, Clifton and Cape Kidnappers under the descriptive term ‘The Cape Coast – Giving Hawke’s Bay an Edge’.

WOW has worked tirelessly to develop the profile for the community, as well as solutions to the biggest elephant in the room – coastal erosion and hard engineering as an effective and economic solution. The basic premise of the WOW group needs to be the basis of further action:

The Cape Coast is a regional recreational asset, used by people from all across Hawke’s Bay and is a prime visitor location. It has a rich and colourful past steeped in Maori and European history and an amazing future as a centre for tourism, hospitality and the creative arts if it is given the chance to show its true potential.

The key words are ‘regional’ and ‘potential’. The WOW document maintains its legitimacy and thankfully now can be incorporated into the community planning process. For WOW spokesman Keith Newman, the biggest issue still facing the coast is coastal protection via a groyne field. The key to achieving this is recognition of the regional value and importance of the coast.

Meanwhile, there has been no real major storm event since Easter 2010 and thus no real media coverage of life out here on the edge. Summer is upon us with long enjoyable days by, in or on the sea. The boat ramp is open again and kai stocks have been replenished. Increasing numbers of bikers roll past on a weekly basis. Properties continue to come on the market and sell. Insurance companies are still dubious about some high-risk properties on the wrong side of the invisible lines demarking the coastal hazard zones.

 “One of the factors that can influence price is a perception that a property is affected by a stigma, in the case of Hawke’s Bay coastal property the influence of Coastal Hazard Zones potential effects on property rights.” HBRC coastal value report

The tide comes in and goes out. The gentle waves lull us into a sense of security. The inevitable consequences of sea level rise and changing weather patterns parked out of mind for now. Let’s hope that between now and the next ‘event’ a positive pathway for the coastal community and the authorities to work through their differences is charted.

BOX

How do the politicians see it?

Regional Councillor Peter Beaven:

The coastline needs to be preserved; bottom line, it is too important to take a ‘do nothing’ or ‘wait and see’ approach. We can’t get fixated on the preservation of  a few houses only, but need to be looking at the big picture even beyond Haumoana, Te Awanga, Clifton to include the whole Coastline of the Bay.

There is immediacy to this with new information coming in through revision to the Komar report. Most importantly, we need to preserve the road access that is the lifeline for the coastal community as well as the tourism opportunities that the road opens up. There is an opportunity by being proactive that we don’t want too miss.

We need to be taking a ‘whole of coast’ view and that means understanding the effect of gravel extraction at Awatoto and other locations as well as understanding the effect of the Dam proposal on gravel dispersal via the Tukituki. It may mean quarrying of river stone is halted in order to stop down stream affects.

The Regional Council and HDC need to be working together  with the community to create that strategic plan for the area. 

Hastings Councillor Rod Heaps

The issue most in need of resolution is coastal erosion. We are investing in things like the place-based plan, but without nailing the coastal erosion issue it might be for nought.

It really is a time to put a positive spin on this. Processes have been caught in a negativity … I’m not sure from where.

With new blood in the regional council and new eyes hopefully we can achieve positive outcomes.

The engineering of groynes has been shown to work; the science says if we don’t do anything the risks associated with global warming will be amplified. If the science says stop the gravel extraction that’s what we need to do.

There has been a recent change of tide at the Hastings District Council regards dealing with the coast in a more positive manner and I am happy about that.

I stand behind the Te Awanga Community when it comes to development. There was an overwhelming outcry against it and that needs to be listened to.

District Plan Review … A Balancing Act

District Plan Review … A Balancing Act

Published Bay Buzz Nov 10th 2013 http://www.baybuzz.co.nz/archives/7075/

The election noise is thankfully over. Time to settle back into three more years of ‘head down, bum up’ ongoing work. One of the projects keeping our public servants busy is the review of the Hastings District Plan.

Development rulebook

The District Plan (DP) is a document legally required by the Local Government Act to define the nature of development for a district or city council. In essence, it is a set of rules dictating what we can and cannot do as of right in our backyard. It sets trigger points for council involvement via resource consent processes, as well as defining good practice and criteria for assessment.

“The Hastings District Plan provides the means for the people of the Hastings District to manage the effects of the use, development and protection of the natural and physical resources within the Hastings District. It guides and controls how land is used, developed or protected in order to avoid or lessen the impact of any adverse effects.”

By law every statutory authority must have a DP and must review it every ten years to make sure development rules remain current, are reflective of community aspirations, as well as allowing for a sufficient land supply for both residential and commercial/ industrial activity, economic development and employment growth.

It is an opportunity to integrate strategic vision and community aspiration in a statutory document.

The review process

A draft version of the revised DP was presented in meetings around the district in April into June. 312 submissions were received and public presentations to a hearing committee were encouraged. Comments were taken on board where council officers saw merit and each submitter was entitled to a written response.

“As a draft, the Plan has no legal status under the Resource Management Act. The reason for releasing a draft, is to give the community a feel for the direction that the Council is proposing to take in its review, and provide an opportunity to comment on an informal basis.”

A daunting piece of work on all accounts, but a box has been ticked and the process has moved a step closer to becoming law.

The ‘official’ draft DP will soon be notified with all revisions based on informal comments in place. The public will then have the chance to make formal comments on the document and go through a formal hearings process.

The timeframe for comments is 9 November through 14 February, just in time for some holiday reading. Any aspects of the plan that are not submitted on become operative by default. A process follows where submissions are reviewed, a few more boxes are ticked, and – presto – the District development direction is cemented for the next ten years.

Development is the word

The draft DP is no lightweight bedside reading! It’s a copious volume of policy and rules focused on what is and isn’t allowed in our built environment, compressed into a whopping 1,088 pages.

That’s too much to examine in any detail in this article. Instead, I will try to highlight from my point of view – as a Hawke’s Bay-based, internationally trained, urban designer – some of the key areas of change worthy of consideration, scrutiny and applause, as appropriate.

To get a taste of the draft DP, I conducted a word search to identify some of the key focus areas in the document.

The prize for most used word goes to  ‘development’ – 2,372 instances, which rightly confirms that the theme of the plan is district development! No rocket science there.

The word ‘amenity’ is counted 1,071 times – the counter to development and a key concern of the plan and those authoring it.

The balance between development and amenity is what the document, in the end, is charged with brokering. This in itself highlights a fundamental conundrum. Development and amenity have a strained relationship at the best of times – control versus the free market, rules versus freedom, the opinion of technocrats versus individual taste, and of course, the right of the individual versus the greater good.

Other notable words include: manage (1,039), design (873), parking (722), quality (252), mitigate (229), control (233), density (212), sustainable (210), urban design (128), and fences (135).

Some interesting ‘laggards’ include: balance (62), versatile soils (49), architecture (6), and productive soils (5).

New directions

For the last thirty years, the district has had a ‘one size fits all’ system for controlling residential development in urban areas – an ‘any development is good development’ approach that is past its use-by date. The same rules have been applied to a residential property whether in Central Hastings, Havelock North or Flaxmere. That is about to change significantly.

A new regime of residential zoning rules is been launched, the objective of which is:

“To enable residential growth in Hastings by providing for suitable intensification of housing in appropriate locations.”

However, the horse has already bolted on unsuitable infill, which has conspired to destroy the garden city aspect of the district over the last thirty years. It is difficult to find a street in Hastings that hasn’t been peppered with infill to the benefit of a baby boomer’s retirement fund. Low minimum site requirements of 350 m2 have allowed for some fairly high density, low amenity areas to develop.

Density of housing development is measured in Dwellings per Hectare (DPH). Traditional Pavlova paradise has been around 12-14 DPH, but infill development under current rules has allowed up to 28 DPH.

Infill development is an issue much bigger than the Hastings district; it is at the core of a national debate around housing affordability and Kiwis’ cultural attitudes to property and housing. ‘Urban intensification’ is also an issue of national scale. A term that has caused much nimbyism, political wrangling, closed door dealings and PR billings.

Aiming to solve issues of national significance is optimistic at best for a district the size of Hastings. Shouldn’t issues of national scale be left to central government to solve, leaving local government to get on with what they are best at? We have national standards for all kinds of things, why not design?

So now, perhaps thirty years too late for Hastings, rules are about to be put in place redefining what ‘character’ is and what you can or can’t build where. The District Plan review has thankfully highlighted the need to maintain ‘character’ in certain areas of Havelock north and Hastings and has established specific zones of residential character.

Hastings has 13 proposed Character areas to which varying degrees of protection apply. They have been identified based on technical reports and consultant feedback and are generally interested in maintaining pre-1950s character.

Alongside and overlapping with areas of character are two other new zones affecting residential development – the City Living zone and Comprehensive Residential zone. A general residential zone remains in place, but minimum lot sizes increase from 350m2 to 400m2.

Planned intensification

Driven by the regional policy statement (RPS 4) and the Heretaunga Plains Urban Development Strategy (HPUDS), the DP review has come to the party to lay the groundwork for a housing intensification program.

‘Planned intensification’, to assist with meeting future demand for housing in Hastings is to be provided for.”

In the name of protecting the precious soils, a regional push to counter sprawl has predicated areas where higher density suburbs could be developed. This current District Plan review has taken the opportunity put some detail into HPUDS to allow for ‘strategic’ implementation of policy and roll out in those HPUDS-specified areas. Some have been deferred, such as Haumoana/Te Awanga; some have been largely ignored, such as Hastings CBD; and others have been given a clear green light, like Mahora.

The choice of areas for intensification has been based on proximity to commercial zones, proximity to parks, as well as capacity of existing infrastructure to cope with increased loads.

Predictions on future demand are based on Statistics NZ data and a range of growth scenarios. Figures just released indicate Hastings District has grown only 5,820 residents since 2001 (from 67,425 to 73,245), or only 0.7% per year (485 people). The HPUDS assumption is a growth of 6.3 % or 8,255 new Hawkes Bay arrivals in the period 2015 of to 2045. 

Creating density

A Comprehensive Residential Zone has been created to enable what it suggests:

‘Comprehensive Residential Development’, where multiple residential units are planned in an integrated way and enable better amenity.”

Minimum lot sizes (250m² per residential dwelling, or 40 DPH) are prescribed for comprehensive development to occur. The premise is that multiple sites could be purchased to create a super site (minimum 1400 m²) of enough scale to predicate an integrated development approach much like townhouses of yesteryear.

Assessment criteria have been proposed for projects in this zone including “Whether the development is an appropriate architectural quality, is aesthetically pleasing and contributes positively to the surrounding area.” Site orientation and project utilization of passive solar capacity is one forward-thinking criteria introduced in this zone.

Methods for evaluation are not outlined, but there are many models to draw on. Urban designers and urban design panels are a valuable resource to other councils in this respect. It will be interesting to see how the Council’s own development on Fitzroy Avenue will stand up to the new assessment criteria of “appropriate” quality, without being vetted for design quality.

“Comprehensive Residential Development can occur subject to meeting assessment criteria and evaluation to ensure it is designed to carefully fit in and respect the particular characteristics of that area.”

The City Living Zones are based on the idea of sites closer to the inner city being more suitable to higher density living. The zoned areas are located in close proximity to Mahora shops & Cornwall Park, and around local shops on Heretaunga Street East and the open space of Queen’s Square and are tagged to provide more choice than what the current market provides. Proposed site areas are 250m² average minimum with a maximum site size of 350 m².

“The City Living Zone is essential to the successful implementation of HPUDS in achieving a more compact urban area.”

These new residential zones sit in uneasy alliance. The premise of intensification around parks, especially Cornwall Park and Queens Park, is somewhat at odds with the retention of character.

Minimum site sizes are required for the comprehensive model, which will mean developers need multiple sites cleared to create a higher density product. This seems to pose a threat to the character of the area being developed. Will the assessment criteria and method of assessment be robust enough to prevent this from happening?

There is a risk the amenity of some character zones around parks will be compromised.  The plan is trying to protect with one hand, while allowing an untested model with the other. That is the planner’s conundrum. Developers’ yields would potentially double, with no clear process for targeting development contributions back into the affected community. Meanwhile, existing public amenity can be seen as adding value to the developer’s project. Not a bad deal.

Higher density living definitely requires greater access to parks and public space than the ‘garden city’ model. However, this does not mean higher density housing should be located near existing parks and high public amenity areas. There is potentially a recipe for compromise.

Generally, intensification is targeted in areas with transport and commercial nodes or along arterials, with large brownfield sites prioritized. Developers should be compelled to provide quality public space as part of their planning, placing the responsibility for amenity on developers rather than the community.

Compact cities with a high regard for design and public space are by necessity the way of the future and the council should be applauded for taking this approach. The difficulty arises in ensuring quality. A medium density design guide is in the works; it will be interesting to see how it adds detail to the DP once published.

We need not approach urban intensification naively; rather we should take aboard the options, research and best practice examples and mistakes of the last thirty years. Ultimately the DP provides a great opportunity for the region to lead.

We need to be sure there is robust discussion and understanding of the issues the DP sets out to address in its proposed re-jigging of residential development rules, and that the idealism inherent in the  planning profession comes to the fore providing the means for the people of the Hastings District to manage the effects of land use, and development.