Plan Change 16 - Technical improvements

Water supply for firefighting purposes

The District plan contains provisions relating to water supply in rural areas for firefighting purposes, facades and glazing, and outdoor living areas in the Residential Zone. Since the District Plan was made operative in 2017 it has become evident that some of those provisions are not working in the most effective way.

What are the Issues and Options?

A number of issues have been identified with some provisions in the District Plan. Each of these is discussed briefly below with some options that staff are considering as potential solutions.

The Waipa District Plan contains a rule in Section 15 – Infrastructure, Hazards, Development and Subdivision that states:

15.4.2.22 Where water is not supplied by Council each lot shall provide:

Advice Note: SNZ PAS 4509:2008 New Zealand Fire Service Firefighting Water Supplies Code of Practice sets out a number of options to provide water for the New Zealand Fire Service’s operational requirements, and shall be used as a guide when designing fire fighting water protection.

Activities that fail to comply with [this rule] will require a resource consent for a non-complying activity.

The Code of Practice referenced in the rule is not mandatory for rural areas, and only includes guidance or recommendations. There are several issues with the rule as it is now:

There are five options being considered:

1. Do nothing
2. Delete the rule and use advice notes
3. Amend the rule and include new provisions
4. Wait for a new Code of Practice
5. Include reference to the Code of Practice as a matter of control or discretion

Facades and glazing

The Waipa District Plan contains provisions relating to facades, neighbourhood amenity and safety, and glazing. They are part of a suite of rules to encourage higher amenity streetscape and CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design).

Concern has been raised by planning staff that new stand-alone garages cannot meet the current glazing requirements, nor, when located in front of the house, the requirement for the garage to be less than 50% of the facade. This is because such garages are generally built on sites where there is already an existing house. It is easier for new houses with attached garages to comply because the rule requirements are addressed at the design stage.

What are the Issues and Options?

Facades

Rule 2.4.2.3 – Design of building façade states:

• Not more than 50% of the front façade of a building can consist of garaging, as measured from inside internal walls of the garage.
• Where the garage is accessory to a dwelling but detached from the dwelling, not more than 50% of the combined front façade (of the dwelling and detached garage) can consist of garaging.
• Any activity that does not comply with this rule will require a resource consent for a restricted discretionary activity.

There are several issues with the rule and its practical application:

• It applies to all buildings, and therefore all stand-alone garages will not be able to comply because over 50% of their front facade will be garage (in fact 100%of their facade will be garage).
• The rule applies even when the garage will be located at the rear of the property where the effect is probably minor in most cases.
• Council planning staff have indicated the rule can be interpreted and implemented inconsistently.

Glazing

Rule 2.4.2.19 relating to glazing states:

The minimum area of glazing on the front facade(s) of a building that adjoins a public place shall be 15%.

The purpose of the rule is to require a certain amount of glazing on the front facade of a building that adjoins a public place, in order to allow passive surveillance of those public places. The principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design are evident in this rule. The rule is problematic for several reasons, including:

• It is almost impossible for stand-alone garages being built on sites with an existing house to comply, because the front facade of a garage will have no glazing due to the wide door/s required to allow vehicle entry to the building.
• It is unlikely that people will be observing passers-by or undertaking passive surveillance of the street from their garage.
• The rule applies to all buildings, therefore capturing stand-alone garages

Outdoor Living Area

The District Plan requires that an outdoor living area be provided for every new dwelling in the Residential Zone, subject to several performance standards.

What are the Issues and Options?

Council staff have identified that the current rule sometimes results in unusual outcomes for the site on which it is located. The main concern is that the minimum dimension standard i.e. “have a minimum area of 60m2 at ground level with a minimum dimension of 5m over the entire area” is confusing. It can also result in an odd shaped outdoor living area, that is, one that wraps around the corner of the building and is split by being located on a side boundary. This can render the outdoor living area an unusable shape. The space required by an outdoor living area is not just to accommodate a patio or courtyard. It may be used for passive backyard recreation, or more active activities such as children’s play. For this reason it needs to be adequate in both size and shape.