THE AUCKLAND PLAN

[Shayno]

Originally Posted by Sister Ray

It would be easier not to take him seriously if I didn't have the strong suspicion that his anachronistic views were in fact the same views held by the majority of New Zealanders. Certainly they are the views held by the National Government - which enjoys the support of the majority of New Zealanders.

Without Mr. Smile and wave, would they really?

[buildemhigh]

Having read bits and pieces of the plan I must say (of what I have read) I am happier than im upset by it.. The real issue lies with taking an aspirational document and converting it into reality..

There is some really worrying things happening within the Council and not necessarily at a political (mayoral) level. There seems to be a growing level of discontent amongst most of whom I have dealt with in Council in the past 3-4 months at the direction things are taking and the processes that are being put into place.. Dysfunctional is how I would sum it up..

[Mr_kiwi_fruit]

Teething problems?

[Brojoro]

Originally Posted by buildemhigh

Having read bits and pieces of the plan I must say (of what I have read) I am happier than im upset by it.. The real issue lies with taking an aspirational document and converting it into reality..

There is some really worrying things happening within the Council and not necessarily at a political (mayoral) level. There seems to be a growing level of discontent amongst most of whom I have dealt with in Council in the past 3-4 months at the direction things are taking and the processes that are being put into place.. Dysfunctional is how I would sum it up..

No surprise at all with that idiot shit stiring Cameron Brewer and his sabtotaging antics causing no end of discontentment...already!

[Nicco]

Yeah I was hoping he would stand for National in the Tamaki electorate and get the fuck outta Auckland council.

Unfortunately it looks like we will get more of him and his whingeing old retiree 'constituents' for several more years.

[cambennett]

There is some really worrying things happening within the Council and not necessarily at a political (mayoral) level. There seems to be a growing level of discontent amongst most of whom I have dealt with in Council in the past 3-4 months at the direction things are taking and the processes that are being put into place.. Dysfunctional is how I would sum it up.

This sounds to me just like either of the companies i have worked for that went through large mergers. It's quite traumatic for people who have worked for organisations for a long time and all of a sudden there is massive change, layoffs and new people coming in and trying to change the way you have done things forever.

In both cases for a period of time the companies concerned were very negative and dysfunctional with many unhappy people. People hate change and I can only imagine it's worse with public servants.

In time though in both cases things got better as the dust settled and some people moved on and new people with open minds came in. I'm not close to it but based on my experience this sounds quite normal.

[Brojoro]

Originally Posted by Nicco

Yeah I was hoping he would stand for National in the Tamaki electorate and get the fuck outta Auckland council.

Unfortunately it looks like we will get more of him and his whingeing old retiree 'constituents' for several more years.

Yes that would have been great, let Tamaki have him, well rid! These C & R types seem to veto everything, seemingly only for the sake of their egos!

[buildemhigh]

Originally Posted by Brojoro

No surprise at all with that idiot shit stiring Cameron Brewer and his sabtotaging antics causing no end of discontentment...already!

what I am referring to has nothing to do with elected members of the council, rather the people employed by council.

Cam, this is about the new policies and the people that have been brought in.. I have dealings with council on a semi frequent basis, but others I know deal with them daily and are all saying the same things.. It isnt so much a teething problem as it is a directional problem. My take is that there are a few key players that are wielding all the power but taking things in opposite directions. this is to be expected given the size of the organisation now, however noone inside Council appears to know how (or is willing) to combat it..

Urban design has taken a front seat in the planning process, which in my opinion is long overdue... however I would be interested to hear of anyone elses dealings with this over the past 2-3 months..

[Neitzsche]

I can shed some light on the situation, I'm currently based in Council as a contracted management consultant. I can only speak from my experience, Council is very much a network of silo's.

My take on it is that the seven legacy authorities had their own unique cultures, systems and processes, but with the merger all the employees got thrown into the Auckland City Council way of doing business. This meant that many folk have had to adjust to a highly prescribed work environment that's soaked in guidance documents, templates and frameworks. Add to this the rigid heirachal work environment and you end up with quite a number of employees feeling a bit out of sorts. Many of the old TA's were flat organisations with rather convivial atmospheres.

While I haven't encountered it much, yet, there does seem to be a level of disfunction between departments. Again I'd say it's different/new cultures at play with the departments trying to suss each other out. Also communication across and between departments is average to poor. There has also been a significant loss of institutional knowledge which the Council is still trying to replace, which makes for fertile ground for my kind.

But with that said I don't think it's too dire at all, I've seen or heard of nothing that wouldn't be out of place in such a large new organisational structure. Remember the Council has only just turned one. Again, this is only from my, in the scheme of things, very limited experience of a very large organisation.

[buildemhigh]

Originally Posted by Neitzsche

I can shed some light on the situation, I'm currently based in Council as a contracted management consultant. I can only speak from my experience, Council is very much a network of silo's.

My take on it is that the seven legacy authorities had their own unique cultures, systems and processes, but with the merger all the employees got thrown into the Auckland City Council way of doing business. This meant that many folk have had to adjust to a highly prescribed work environment that's soaked in guidance documents, templates and frameworks. Add to this the rigid heirachal work environment and you end up with quite a number of employees feeling a bit out of sorts. Many of the old TA's were flat organisations with rather convivial atmospheres.

While I haven't encountered it much, yet, there does seem to be a level of disfunction between departments. Again I'd say it's different/new cultures at play with the departments trying to suss each other out. Also communication across and between departments is average to poor. There has also been a significant loss of institutional knowledge which the Council is still trying to replace, which makes for fertile ground for my kind.

But with that said I don't think it's too dire at all, I've seen or heard of nothing that wouldn't be out of place in such a large new organisational structure. Remember the Council has only just turned one. Again, this is only from my, in the scheme of things, very limited experience of a very large organisation.

That is certainly a part of what I have noticed.. I had a beer with a guy from Council (worked prior to SuperCity at Akl Council) and was told his services wouldnt be required post the merger so he was given a redundancy payout. He was contacted after about 1 month by the new council as they had a shortage of people and he now works back in the same department but as a consultant earning an extra $40k.. In isolation youd think this was ok, but in his team there are 2 others in a similar scenario and he knows of atleast another 5 on top of that in other departments..

I deal with Councils up and down the country and I must say the level of dysfunction is alarming by contrast. As you say you would expect this given the merger, however I am hoping someone has the ability to start to tie it all together and quickly..

[cambennett]

Residential turnaround hailed by Auckland developers

The controversial plan of containing three-quarters of new housing development within Auckland's existing city boundaries is being revised.

Auckland Council has eased up on its vision of squeezing residents up closer by keeping 75 per cent of new housing on existing land and just 25 per cent outside the limits within the next three decades.

Instead, it is now discussing a 60/40 split, which the development sector is hailing as a victory after intense opposition and lobbying and independent reports which criticised the original scheme as unworkable.

The image of high-rise hell in heritage waterfront suburbs such as Birkenhead and Northcote caused an outcry and Property Council chief executive Connal Townsend said yesterday he was pleased about the apparent relaxation in the council's policy.

"The really interesting thing is that the 75/25 split was due to kick in at the start of the plan. I understand the new arrangement places high emphasis on greenfields development in the first 10 years, with a requirement for high quality dense development to get the market used to it as an approach."

Dr Roger Blakeley, the council's planning chief, used the new figures in his presentation on the Auckland Plan 2012-2042. "We will provide for 60 per cent to 70 per cent of total new dwellings inside the 2010 metropolitan urban limit and therefore 30 per cent to 40 per cent of total new dwellings outside in new greenfields and satellite towns," he said.

Instead of having 280,000 new houses within the town limits, there will be only 240,000, allowing for 160,000 new places outside the boundaries, he indicated.

Senior communications adviser John Evans said the idea of a 60/40 split was a reflection of some of the views of submitters who felt 75/25 was unachievable.

Councillor Dick Quax said the change to discussing a 60/40 split had caused some angst and not all councillors backed the new numbers.

[drosophila]

That a vast amount of new sprawl, if wonder if said developers and the people buying these properties are willing to cover the majority of the extra costs associated with providing extra roading and utilities, somehow I doubt it. I think they expect everyone else to pick up the tab.

[AK-Sam]

Development contributions are one area that needs a major overhaul if we're to double in size. For some reason, development levys are higher if you develop in the CBD.... and higher still if you develop in the Wynyard Quarter. How is that encouraging a compact city?

This new 60/40 split just means that the first 160,000 houses will be outside MULs instead of the first 100,000. Ultimately it's just a number anyway.

The targets should have been set after the new City Plan was drafted, because the zoning & development controls are what will determine the potential for growth in various areas.
Right now, the vast majority of our residential land is effectively locked up by existing planning regulations. Even greenfields developments must comply with controls that make it infeasible to develop anything but a bog standard suburban lot & street pattern. We need guidance on this ASAP so we can start developing new, more efficient neighbourhood models.

[SYDNEY]

VISIT THE NEW WEBSITE OF THE AUCKLAND PLAN

[mathlete]

Zero waste? Really? How is that even possible?

[drosophila]

Originally Posted by mathlete

Zero waste? Really? How is that even possible?

I think the aim is getting close to zero waste going to landfill through better recycling, composting etc.

[SYDNEY]

Now we are going to see things gather pace

3 big council plans adopted – now it’s time for unitary plan

The Auckland Council yesterday adopted its long-term plan, city centre masterplan & waterfront plan and formally set the rates for the year starting 1 July. The next stage of its phenomenal plan production line is the unitary plan, which will set the rules & regulations to implement the other over-arching plans, including the Auckland Plan, which is the master spatial plan intended to guide development of the city. The councillor who’s been driving the unitary plan exercise, Des Morrison from the Franklin ward, said after yesterday’s council meeting release of the unitary plan had been deferred from December to February and it would be notified in September 2013 – only weeks before the next local body elections.

A discussion document should come out in March, similar to the Auckland unleashed document which began discussion on the Auckland Plan. Cllr Morrison also said he wouldn’t be standing in those elections – he’s 65 and announced his intention to retire in Pukekohe on Wednesday night. Under the unitary plan, zoning around the whole region will be aligned and it will include allowance for intensification and for protection of heritage areas. Cllr Morrison said the 3 important elements of the unitary plan would be capacity, infrastructure & principles. On that basis, it would then be up to communities to get involved in creating the plan they want: “I expect the local board to go out into the community and lead that charge.”

[SYDNEY]

EDIT

[IThomas]

I'd like to see CBD, full of fantastic trees (something special) and many other green spaces dedicated to make it even nicer, and street art, with special lamps, modern sculpure and much more.
It would also be nice, move the port in the Manakau Harbour at the south of Auckland CBD (build it from scratch, according to new technologies). In the area of existing port, build a new part of the heart of Auckland. A bit like Wynyard Quarter ... only it's bigger, and for this need a lot more money. Maybe who knows, if in the future once accelerated and completed the current projects, is also designed what I said.

And as for me, it would be nice to join the team!

[SYDNEY]

EDIT