Central New Brighton height change
2 June 2009
A City Plan Change that aims to encourage redevelopment in central New Brighton has been adopted by the Christchurch City Council following an independent commissioner’s report and recommendations.
Plan Change 27, which allows increased building height restrictions in central New Brighton, received the support of Commissioner David McMahon. His recommendations, which included some amendments, were adopted by the Council following the receipt of his report at yesterday's Council meeting.
The Plan Change alters the zoning within parts of central New Brighton to allow for an increase in residential density through increased permitted building heights, while minimising the potential for adverse environmental effects. New rules on the design and appearance of buildings and wind effects are also part of the Plan change.
The change raises the current permitted building height limit from 11 metres to 15 or 20 metres for residential buildings in Marine Parade between Rawhiti Domain and Shackleton Street. The 20 metre height limit for commercial buildings will be raised to 30 metre for a small area opposite the library.
The Plan Change has the two-fold purpose of encouraging redevelopment in the suburb centre while improving the design and appearance standard in the New Brighton area.
Mr McMahon’s recommended amendments were also adopted. They were: Limiting administrative and retail activities in an area along the foreshore rezoned by the plan change as Open Space 2 to those that are accessory to recreation and community activities; increasing the permitted height limit in the Living 3 zone at New Brighton from 14m to 15m with a proviso that there are no more than five storeys above ground; including an exemption to the residential site density rule for the Living 3 zone at New Brighton that allows balconies and decks up to 20m2 in area to be excluded from the calculation of the residential floor area ratio.
Following a series of initiatives including the New Brighton Master Plan in 2002 and the New Brighton Residential Density Study in 2005, the Council in 2006 began a review of the City Plan provisions for central New Brighton investigating the potential for, and possible impacts of, an increase in building height and residential density.
Technical reports were commissioned to look at a range of potential environmental effects that might result from an increase in building scale and residential density in the study area, and community consultation was undertaken.
Based on the findings of the various reports and feedback from the community a package of recommended changes to existing provisions was considered at Council seminars and by the Community Board in late 2006-early 2007.
The Council initiated a plan change to the City Plan which was publicly notified in July 2007. The Council received 206 submissions and 132 further submissions, and these were heard by Mr McMahon last year.
The Council’s decision is now open for appeal to the Environment Court.
The Commissioner’s full report is available on the Council website at
www.ccc.govt.nz/CityPlan/ProposedPlanChange27/ or from the Council’s Tuam Street Civic Office from Tuesday 2 June