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EDS Submission On The Urban Development Bill Calls For Stronger Environmental Safeguards
EDS
has filed its submission on the Urban Development Bill. The
Bill is a companion piece to last year’s Kāinga Ora –
Homes and Communities Act, which established Kāinga Ora as
a government developer and landlord. What the Urban
Development Bill now seeks to do is to position this entity
as an urban development authority and endow it with a suite
of powers to enable it to undertake urban development at
pace and scale. These powers are
significant and wide ranging, with the most notable of them
including the ability to compulsorily acquire land and to
override or alter the operation of the RMA in “specified
development projects”. While the desire to supply more
housing is a driving force behind the Bill, it has much
wider application – to urban renewal projects
generally. “Previous proposals for an
urban development authority have been very concerning from
an environmental perspective,” said senior researcher, Dr
Greg Severinsen. “While it is
heartening to see some of the more egregious aspects that we
have identified in the past partly addressed in the current
Bill there are still significant
concerns. “In particular, the Bill
includes powers for ‘development plans’ to override
provisions in regional plans and regional policy statements,
which contain key protections for the natural environment
– many of which are equally relevant in urban areas.
Kāinga Ora would also be empowered, prior to a development
plan being made operative, to intervene to alter consent
conditions decided by a regional council. This is despite
the agency not having environmental functions, mandate, or
expertise. At the same time, regional councils would be
largely sidelined from the planning
process. “Furthermore, while the purpose
and principles of the RMA certainly look like they are
safeguarded in the high level principles of the Bill, that
goes out the window when it comes to consenting. When making
decisions, a consent authority is specifically instructed to
give more weight to a project’s objectives, which could
include a wide range of development-focused matters that are
left open ended by the Bill. “The
approach to national direction under the RMA is also
confusing. Decision-makers would have to ensure a
development plan is “not inconsistent” with national
policy statements, whereas under the RMA plan-makers have a
stronger and more active obligation to “give effect” to
them. The reason for this difference is unclear, and its
potential impact is uncertain, but it leads us to wonder
whether hard fought progress on issues like freshwater and
biodiversity are now being seen as less important in and
around cities. “While we make a number of
other points in our submission, overall we note a real risk
that the legitimate quest for urban expansion, housing
supply and the cutting of red tape is seeing us throw the
baby out with the bathwater. Environmental protections
should not be treated as planning constraints or obstacles
to be overcome. “This legislation,
while it has some merit, really needs to be more tightly
focused on the real issues. Dealing with nimbyism, amenity
concerns and the coordination of land supply with
infrastructure funding should be the focus. We need faster
development of housing, but at the same time we need to
create urban environments that work in harmony with, not
override, the natural environment. Communities need to be
liveable. “We also have to keep in mind
the need for deeper reform of the resource management
system. The Urban Development Bill is nearly 200 pages long,
is riddled with a maze of cross-references to other
legislation, poses many questions that no doubt will require
extensive litigation to resolve, and would introduce another
layer of complexity to a system already crying out for
simplicity and accessibility. The lawyers will have a field
day. While the Bill can certainly be
improved in a number of ways, in the medium-term we have got
to be looking for a more fundamental fix to our resource
management challenges,” concluded Dr
Severinsen.
Environmental Defence Society
EDS speaks for the environment. It has influence.
Since 1971, EDS has been driving environmental protection in Aotearoa New Zealand
through law and policy change. That's why it's one of this country's most influential non-
profit organisations when it comes to achieving better environmental outcomes.
EDS has expertise in key disciplines including law, planning, landscape and science. It
operates as a policy think-tank, a litigation advocate, and a collaborator – bringing together
the private and public sectors for constructive engagement.
EDS runs conferences and seminars on topical issues, including an annual Environmental
Summit and the Climate Change and Business Conference.
EDS is a registered charity and donations to it are tax-deductible.
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