Auckland's Draft Intensification Plan Change Released
By Iain McManus
The Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Act 2025 was given Royal Assent on 20 August 2025.
Amongst other things, the Act enables Auckland Council to withdraw Plan Change 78 and replace it with a new plan change providing for intensification in accordance with the NPS-UD and the requirements of the Amendment Act, without the mandatory provisions of the MDRS.
Almost simultaneously, Auckland Council has published a draft version of a plan change to give effect to this opportunity, for review at a special meeting of the Policy and Planning Committee scheduled for 21 August. This blog provides a summary of that draft plan change.
I note that the draft plan change runs for hundreds of pages so this summary does not capture every change proposed. Rather, it is a summary of the changes that I think are the most significant.
If you have an interest in a particular location or topic, it would be worth undertaking a more focused review. Feel free to get in touch if you would like to engage me to do that.
Summary of Key Changes
Stronger controls relating to managing risks from flooding, coastal hazards, landslides and wildfires.
Down-zoning of approx. 12,000 properties that are at the highest risk from flooding and coastal hazards.
Replacement of the MDRS with different (allegedly improved) standards for residential development.
Increase in the amount of land zoned for two-storey medium density housing (Mixed Housing Suburban Zone).
Reduction in the amount of land zoned for three-storey medium density housing (Mixed Housing Urban Zone).
Increase in the amount of land zoned for intensive housing (Terrace Housing and Apartment Building Zone).
Intensification requirements to be applied to the previously excluded Auckland Light Rail Corridor, except where qualifying matters apply.
Building heights of up to 10 storeys are generally enabled in 23 walkable catchments around Rapid Transit Stops, except where qualifying matters apply.
Building heights of up to 15 storeys are generally enabled in 21 walkable catchments around Rapid Transit Stops, except where qualifying matters apply.
Outside of walkable catchments, building height controls for most of the Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone are increased to enable buildings of six storeys (up from five storeys), with a more permissive height in relation to boundary control.
Removal of special character area overlay in some locations and reductions in the extent of these overlays in others.
Zoning
In addition to the points noted above, the plan change:
Extends the THAB zone around 25 town and local centres (to generally include sites within 200-400m of the edge of the centre).
Applies the THAB zone to sites within approximately 200m either side of 24 corridors on Auckland Transport’s Frequent Transport Network.
Residential Zone Provisions
Lists more “standards to be complied with” in the activity tables for activities in the residential zones.
Deletes the HIRB standard in the Mixed Housing Urban zone so that the Alternative HIRB standard becomes the standard.
Provides for more height in the THAB zone, aided by a more lenient HIRB standard, but with expectation of perimeter block design where buildings are 6 storeys or less and tower/podium design where buildings are more than 6 storeys.
Requires a communal outdoor living space for residential developments of 20 or more dwellings (carried over from PC78).
Requires a minimum level of glazing in residential facades facing a street, public open space or accessway (carried over from PC78 with some modifications).
Requires developments in residential zones to provide a “deep soil area” and canopy tree (carried over from PC78 with some modifications).
Requires a “safety and privacy buffer” between dwellings and accessways in residential zones (carried over from PC78 with some modifications).
Requires a rubbish storage and collection space in residential zones (carried over from PC78 with some modifications).
Introduces a “combined wastewater network control” to enable resource consents to be declined where the combined network does not have capacity.
Business Zone Provisions
Provides for more height, aided by a more lenient HIRB standard, where a business zone is within a walkable catchment of the City Centre zone, certain Metropolitan Centre zones and certain rapid transit stops.
Volcanic Viewshafts Overlay
Adds maximum building coverage and minimum landscape area standards within the height sensitive areas part of the overlay, along with associated matters of discretion and assessment criteria.
Special Character Overlays
Deletes the Ellerslie Business special character area overlay.
Amends the Business special character area overlay in the following locations:
- Devonport
- Eden Valley
- Grey Lynn
- Helensville
- Kingsland
- Lower Hinemoa Street
- Mt Eden Village
- Newmarket
- Onehunga
- Otahuhu
- Parnell
- Ponsonby Road
- Sandringham
- Upper Symonds Street
- West Lynn
Deletes the Residential special character area overlay in the following locations:
- Avondale
- Ellerslie
- Mt Roskill (Foch and Haig Avenues)
- Papatoetoe (Station Road)
- Puhoi
- St Heliers
Reduces the extent of the Residential special character area overlay in the following locations:
- Birkenhead Point
- Helensville
- Herne Bay (minor)
- Kingsland
- Mt Eden
- Northcote
- St Heliers
- St Mary’s Bay
Uses Geomaps (instead of physical maps in schedule 15) to identify sites subject to demolition restriction and subdivision control in the Residential special character area overlays that are retained.
Adds “standards to be complied with” to the activity table and to the list of standards for activities in the Residential special character overlays along with corresponding changes to matters of discretion and assessment criteria.
Adds purpose statements to the standards for activities in the Residential special character overlays and some modifications to the standards.
Natural Hazards Generally
Adds regional policy provisions re avoiding natural hazard risk where there is significant risk and reducing natural hazard risk where there is potentially tolerable or acceptable risk. The additional provisions re avoiding risk are likely to make it harder to secure consent to develop or redevelop sites that are subject to significant flood risk.
Adds new objectives, policies and rules (including wholesale replacement of the existing activity table) in Chapter E36 relating to development in areas subject to natural hazards. The new provisions are likely to make it harder to secure consent to develop or redevelop sites that are subject to significant natural hazard risk, especially flood risk.
Flood Hazards
Adds “flood prone” areas to the types of areas recognised in the plan.
Creates 4 x flood hazard areas (very high, high, medium and low).
Adds definition of “flood hazard area” – encompasses floodplains, flood prone areas and overland flowpaths.
Adds definitions of “safe egress” and “safe refuge” to be used when assessing applications in flood plains.
Deletes definitions of “flood tolerant activity”, “less vulnerable activities” and “more vulnerable activities” – these terms will not be used in the plan anymore.
Amends definition of overland flowpaths to remove limitation to overland flowpaths with catchments greater than 4000m2 and to note that maps only show the lowest part of the OLFP in section.
Other Hazards
Creates:
- 3 x coastal inundation areas
- 3 x coastal erosion hazard areas
- 3 x landslide hazard risk areas
- 3 x landslide susceptibility areas
Replaces definition of “coastal inundation area”.
Replaces definition of “coastal erosion hazard area” – AUP will now use maps to identify rather than a descriptive definition.
Deletes definition of “land which may be subject to land instability” – appears to be replaced by the landslide hazard areas.
Adds definition of “landslide hazard area” – encompasses landslide hazard risk areas and landslide susceptibility areas.
Process from Here
The Policy and Planning Committee will decide today whether to consult on the plan change with government ministries, adjoining local authorities, local boards and tangata whenua.
If, as expected, the committee endorses consultation, an updated version of the change will be reported back to the committee along with the results of the consultation in late September.
If the committee then endorses the plan change, it will be notified for public submissions on or before 10 October 2025. At that point, Plan Change 78 will be withdrawn.
Feel free to get in touch if you need a more focused review of the plan change or a location of interest.
Post-Blog Note
The committee endorsed consultation.
