Councils Holding the Country to Ransom

[Wayne]

more like the fall-back plan

if they're called on their bullsjit

It was a group of carvers who were looking at crowd sourced funding.

[eri]

PC nanny goff

about to burn through another $50,000?

the combined average rates of 20? households

Defending HIS right to curb speech HE doesn't agree with

hint goff - you have no such right

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12091186

why is it so hard

for council to stick to their CORE responsibilities?

council should be spending rates on infrastructure

not vanity projects + legal bills

[Perry]

As he doesn't have to pay the costs, he's just laughing like a drain, all the while thumbing his nose at long-suffering Auckland Ratepayers.

At the next council elections, I do fervently hope that Ratepayers remember how poorly Herr Goffler has served both the city and the country.

[Bob Kane]

You won't believe this.......

Upper Hutt City Council drops consent fees to stimulate higher density housing

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/h...ensity-housing

A city council is removing consent fees to encourage higher density housing - saving developers upwards of $40,000.
Upper Hutt City Council's residential stimulus policy aims to attract and encourage the development of higher density housing areas - or "comprehensive residential development", in the city to provide a wider range of housing options for current and future residents.
The council has committed $1.5 million to implementing the policy in its Long-Term Plan over the next three years.
Steve Taylor, council director of business transformation and insight, said while low density housing had always been in high demand in the city, it did not suit everyone.
There was increasing demand for higher density housing in the Wellington region, he said.
Although cases would vary, developments that met the minimum criteria - three dwellings on a site of 400sqm - could save around $40,000 through the waved fees. Larger developments stood to save more.

Did anyone think this was possible?
Total u-turn on the treatment of developers.
Will other councils follow this lead?

[Davo36]

Wow.

Perhaps developers aren't the root of all evil? Perhaps allowing them to build houses is not beyond the pale?

I hope Auckland Council does this, but I doubt it. They are so far in debt they are grabbing money left right and center.

[Bob Kane]

I hope Auckland Council does this, but I doubt it. They are so far in debt they are grabbing money left right and center.

I suspect the Labour govt is quietly leaning on all councils to do this.

[Don't believe the Hype]

What Upper Hutt council is doing is very clever - they've developed a LTP and set an incentive for commercial operators to deliver on the vision set out in the plan. They're not cutting DC's to all developers, only those that are prepared to increased the density of their developments.

It's interesting because I would have thought this sort of thing didn't need incentives like this. I would have thought that if a developer was told your piece of land can now accommodate 3x the no. of dwellings as it used to the developer would be keen as to intensify.

However a few weeks ago I was in a forum with a large number of medium to large developers who were not as keen on medium density housing as I would have expected. I guess they see their current business model as build one house on 400m2 which has known costs, know practices and known demand.

Building 2 or 3 level row houses in the suburbs has many unknowns

[eri]

"It's a real shame. The rules were stacked against what we were doing. It's just taken too long. The Unitary Plan should have been done ages ago. I'm not trying to blame anyone for anything. It's just these things should have been quicker," Murrie said.
He also cited a lack of Housing NZ Corp orders and said although there were protracted discussions about buying stock, no orders materialised and that had not helped: "They kept delaying and delaying and delaying and never bought one.
"The Government has got to play its part if they're going to get serious about getting housing built," Murrie said.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12094277

[Wayne]

They were just a bit too far ahead of the curve.

[Perry]

They were just a bit too far ahead of the curve.

Or - on the basis that a coin has two sides - the numpties harping on about affordable housing in liberal quantities were too far behind the curve.

Or - even more likely - the numpties harping on about affordable housing in liberal quantities were all hot air talk and no do.

That'd be about right where a gummint's involved.

[Don't believe the Hype]

I've looked at Matrix homes in the past (about 18 months ago). We talked to them about getting a pricing discount for 20 houses. They came back with a $5k discount off.

The price ex factory for 86m2 was $150k inc GST for the basic model. Add a min $20k to deliver to site onto standard piles - more if longer piles etc - in reality $30k, add transport insurance $2k min we're at $182k or $2100/m2. The rest of the costs of the development would be required if we built prefab or conventionally i.e. retaining/services/driveways/fences etc so I've left them out of the equation.

This isn't a low cost option

[Perry]

More 'fake' news?
Or is the Council really that inane?
One comment goes:

TheBays:
Are NZ city councils intent on becoming the most despised entities in NZ?

[flyernzl]

Technically the Council is correct about the removal.
However, its really bad PR.

[Wayne]

Technically the Council is correct about the removal.
However, its really bad PR.

Of course bad PR is what news papers are all about when it comes to their pet subjects.
We don't believe what we read when we read about landlords so why would we believe this is the whole truth set out in an unbiased manner?

[Perry]

Peter Principle

Technically the Council is correct about the removal.
However, its really bad PR.

"Technically?"

The council couldn't 'technically' install insulation?

But the occupier proved the council wrong.

Sending out a council PC policeman is atypical.

It is indeed bad PR.

The moreso because the council has been shown up for what it is.