Summary of key issues with the current District Plan

As a result of the review of current policies and rules specific to housing development in the residential zones, we’ve identified the following issues with the current District Plan:

• Rules and polices for residential zones are considered to be unwieldy to interpret and administer due to the large number of Living Zones and generic policy framework.
• The district doesn’t have a diverse range of housing choices.
• The current District Plan doesn’t accommodate the district’s projected growth in population and expected change in demographics (ageing population and predominately one- and two-person households).
• There are no specific provisions that address alternative housing, in particular how and where alternative housing can and should be provided for within the district.
• Permitted standards for traditional housing developments don’t work for alternative types of housing, for example different requirements regarding outdoor spaces, car parking, density-related standards and traffic generation.
• Lack of certainty for developers due to current non-complying activity status of an alternative housing development.