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Meadowbrook Dr resident John Anderson said the land was on a flood plain, and building houses there would make the flood risk greater, and the land would be prone to liquefaction. He had lived at his home for 46 years. It had been built to enjoy views of rural land, and was sited for the sun. He said allowing houses to be built next door would block his views and his sun. Another resident of 32 years, Ted Anderson (no relative) said his first concern was about the flood risks. Housing would also block his sun, his views of Mt Ruapehu, and outlook onto rural land where a variety of birds were frequent visitors.
The city would have to grow up, rather than out, and make the most of land within its existing boundaries, he said. Most potential residential areas on the city boundaries were more hilly and had gullies running through them. This brought complications such as stability, sensitive ecologies and water supply. While flatter terrain was often looked promising, it could bring a high liquefaction risk – the same phenomena which turned soil to quicksand during the Christchurch earthquakes. Duindam said the council aimed to fill the gap by supporting more infill housing, multi-storey housing complexes, and redevelopment of ex-commercial properties. One example of this was the tweaking of consent rules over the past five years to allow smaller gaps between buildings and boundaries.
Green said one of the biggest barriers to catching up to demand was how long it took to get areas zoned or rezoned for residential use. “I’ve got a [24 hectare] bit of land around Stoney Creek and Kelvin Grove I ve been trying to get sorted for years – that’s 220 sections that could get going right away, the second the city council rezoned it.” The Government recently announced it was scrapping the Resource Management Act, and will be making reforms over the next two years to speed up access to land for housing. “But we need new sections now, not in three or four years. If we don’t get them soon, then the city is going to stop growing”
WARWICK SMITH/Stuff
Hilton Pocock, 54, is largely paralysed on his left side and struggles to get his medicine from Unichem Terrace End after three car parks and a bench he rested on were removed.
The Palmerston North City Council’s partnership with private businesses to build semi-permanent “parklets” for seating and dining is intended to make the city s streets more pleasant. But Judy Olsen-Pocock, 74, said some were making life more difficult for people with limited mobility, and if it were clearer that the prominently branded parklets were public spaces it would have saved her and her son months of struggle.