Housing concerns were raised by candidates and voters alike in Waitaki district October elections, and community feedback on the Waitaki District Council’s district plan review, released to the Otago Daily Times late last year, shows concerns are foremost for many of those who took part in a preliminary round of public consultation on the plan in August.
Several submitters referred to an ODT report last year, which noted the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand had measured a 25.4% annual price growth in the district.
A joint initiative housing task force established eight months ago was attempting to quantify the seriousness of the district’s housing issue, which was known anecdotally, Mr Kircher said.
The district was short of rental housing, but that was at least in part due to pressure on landlords through Government regulations, and an emerging holiday accommodation market.
A key to addressing the issue in the forthcoming district plan was to enable building new houses in the district to add rungs to the property ladder.
There could be room for added density in some areas and some rural residential properties could be allowed smaller section sizes than the current 1ha minimum.
‘‘From a council point of view, it’s how do we make it easier for people to build ... it’s about making sure the availability of land is there; it’s making sure that the right rules are in place, and looking at things like development contributions to make sure that they’re not getting out of kilter, that they’re what the market can afford.
"There are quite a lot of different parts of the puzzle to come together to make sure we’ve got the housing picture we want for the Waitaki district.
‘‘When you talk about affordable housing, it’s not about building the houses that new homeowners are necessarily going to buy, it’s about making sure that it’s easy enough for other people to move up the property ladder and free up the houses at ... the lower end.’’
One submitter called for zones that would allow an ‘‘ecovillage’’ to turn traditional farming land into an area of ‘‘sustainable community living, horticulture and native regeneration’’.
Another submitter suggested allowing derelict, abandoned buildings, where services were already in place, to be torn down so apartment blocks could replace them.
Another wanted consideration of ‘‘diverse needs for housing’’ such as cultures with large families needing multigenerational homes, or properties with several buildings.
The estimated $3.63 million Waitaki district plan review will set rules for subdivisions, the protection of the environment and heritage, and urban development, as well as rules for land use in rural areas until 2030.
A draft version of the plan is due out by the middle of this year.
