Four district plan changes were made operative by the Queenstown Lakes District Council at its meeting in Queenstown last week. Reporter Joanne Carroll takes a look at the plan changes, and others under way in the district.
Plan Change 5B: Bible Terrace
Aimed at rectifying previous planning errors and protecting the face of Bible Tce from further development, the plan change sought to rezone it as rural general and add a building line restriction.
No appeals were received and councillors made it formally operative.
Plan Change 10: High Density Amenity
Also approved by the council, associated plan changes 6 and 8 had already been made operative.
They dealt with access widths, car parking, and residential amenity in the high density zone.
Plan Change 11B: Definition of Ground Level
This change aimed at implementing a clear and consistent definition of ground level and height standards in the rural general zone.
Two appeals were resolved and signed off by the Environment Court before the council made this plan change operational last week.
Plan Change 25: Kingston
Plan change 25 for the Kingston Village Special Zone was also approved by councillors.
The plan allows for the expansion of Kingston and creates the opportunity to provide water and waste water infrastructure to both new and existing parts of the township.
No appeals were received.
Cardrona Valley Structure Plan
Status: Adopted by the council last September.
Background work is being done on some of the actions identified in the plan, starting with the development of design guidelines for Cardrona village.
Plan Change 18: Mt Cardrona
Purpose: To move the existing rural visitor zone at Mt Cardrona to address the effects on landscape identified in the Cardrona 2020 Community Plan and to create a Mt Cardrona Station Special Zone.
Status: Under appeal by Brooklynne Holdings Ltd.
A hearing was held at the end of November and a decision is due from the Environment Court.
Plan Change 16: Three Parks
Purpose: To rezone the Three Parks Zone to allow development of a high-quality urban area with a range of land uses.
Status: Council approved the plan change. Still in appeal period.
Plan Change 19: Frankton Flats Special Zone (B)
Purpose: To rezone rural general land within the Frankton area to enable commercial, residential and industrial development.
Status: Under appeal in the Environment Court.
The council has entered into mediation talks with 10 appellants.
Plan Change 20: Wanaka Urban Boundary
Purpose: To incorporate the Wanaka Structure Plan's urban boundaries into the district plan and establish the guiding principles for growth within the boundary.
Status: A landscape assessment report had been received and draft changes prepared.
A working party has met to discuss the draft proposals.
Plan Change 21: Queenstown/Wakatipu Urban Boundary
Purpose: To define an Urban Boundary for Queenstown and the other settlements in the Wakatipu Basin to guide future growth.
Status: Analysis is continuing on methods to address the approach routes/entrances to Queenstown and the alignment of boundaries.
Plan Change 23: High Density Neighbourhood Plan Change
Purpose: To investigate the issue of locating visitor accommodation units and define the role of visitor accommodation in the residential areas.
Status: On hold pending review.
Plan Change 24: Affordable and Community Housing
Purpose: To introduce affordable housing into policies and where appropriate require the delivery of such.
Status: Under appeal by Remarkables Park Ltd, Willowridge Developments Ltd, Infinity Investments Ltd, Five Mile Holdings Ltd (in receivership).
Environment Court hearing has been scheduled for June.
Plan Change 26: Wanaka Airport
Purpose: To investigate options to protect the long-term operations of the Wanaka airport and provide certainty to the community regarding the areas potentially affected by airport-related activities.
Status: The Wanaka Airport Management Committee is proposing changes which will go out for public consultation.
Plan Change 27A: Updating Noise Measurement
Purpose: To update how noise is measured in the district.
Status: A hearing took place on February 17.
A recommendation from the hearings panel is due soon.
Plan Change 28: Trails
Purpose: To remove obstacles to the provision of trails, particularly in the rural area, due to trails previously being considered public places when assessing development or subdivision applications.
Status: Under appeal from Federated Farmers.
An Environment Court hearing was held on November 23 and 24.
A decision is pending.
Plan Changes 29 & 30: Arrowtown Boundary and Urban Boundaries Framework
Purpose: To introduce urban boundaries.
Status: Hearings are set for plan change 30 urban boundary framework on April 15, 16 and 19, and plan change 29 Arrowtown boundary on April 26-29 or 30.
Plan Change 34: Remarkables Park Private Plan Change
Purpose: To provide for large format retail within the structure plan for its special zone.
Status: On hold pending further information.
Remarkables Park Ltd does not intend to submit a quantum of affordable housing as requested because of the uncertainty regarding plan change 24 and the economic climate.
Plan Change 35: Queenstown Airport Corporation Private Plan Change
Purpose: To amend the existing air noise boundaries in order to allow for airport growth through to 2037.
Proposes to extend the air noise boundaries as well as the existing airport operating hours by two hours through to midnight.
Status: Majority of submissions in opposition.
A hearing date still to be set.
Plan Change 36: Wanaka Industrial Zone Extension
Purpose: To change the zoning of the industrial area on Frederick St from rural general to industrial, and to rezone land between Frederick St and Gordon Rd to enable industrial and business activities.
Status: Still being worked on.
A proposed plan change will be brought to the Strategy Committee for approval in the next three months.
Plan Change 37: Northern Frankton Flats (Quail Rise Estate Ltd) Private Plan Change
Purpose: To rezone about 19.9ha of land to low density residential to allow for about 117 more homes Status: The applicant asked the council to put the plan change on hold in January.
Plan Change 39: Arrowtown South Private Plan Change
Purpose: To rezone 30ha of rural general land to provide for a mix of residential, village and open space zoning.
Status: The Arrowtown South hearing is set to start on May 10.
Plan Change 40: Peninsula Bay Zoning Correction
Purpose: To remove the current disparities within the district plan and to align the boundaries of the current Peninsula Bay zone plan with the outline development master plan.
Status: Submissions closed February 10 (none received).
Parking in Town Centre Zones, Queenstown and Wanaka
Purpose: To address on-site parking requirement for visitor accommodation, provision for off-street parking for the future, inadequate provision of cycle parking in the Wanaka town centre.
Status: A working party has been appointed for the Wanaka Town Centre Parking Plan Change.
A working party still to be appointed for the Queenstown Town Centre Parking Plan Change.
Consultation on Business and Industrial ZonesPurpose: To review the business and industrial zones' effectiveness.
A student planner has collected survey information from businesses.
The information will be collated and presented to the Strategy Committee later this year to inform both monitoring of the existing zones and make recommendations for a future plan change if necessary.
