Gaining resource consent on Waiheke Island: A starting point

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Now that the Auckland Unitary Plan is all but completely implemented, the urban planning consistency across Auckland is 10/10. We have gone from a range of rules across each ward to an overarching system governing what can and cannot be done with our precious land. From checking multiple plans for a singular site to only one. And it’s a great plan at that! However, there are still some anomalies. Waiheke Island, the jewel in the crown that is the Hauraki Gulf, is one of them.

The beautiful Waiheke Island looking back towards the city.

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Have you noticed the housing downturn?

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For any one following the news, trying to sell a property or even looking at buying a property you may have noticed that things are beginning to sloooow down. The New Zealand Herald enjoys using headlines including the word ‘dramatically’, but we’re not so sure about that. We obviously know that New Zealand has recently gone through a major housing peak. With the average home in Auckland and Queenstown hitting the one million dollar mark, our national housing peak is no secret. When things start coming down from the million dollar mark the lack of buyers is always going to be noticeable. But is it the most predictable housing downturn in the last 40 years?

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Lets get more efficient at building homes!

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We are just three months away from electing a new government. That’s right; the New Zealand political mudslinging season is truly underway. Housing, whether it be homeless people sleeping in cars, the local marae or the general affordability issue, it’s fair to say that the big kahuna of the election will be housing (as the rest of the economy is ticking along). While policy announcements and tax cuts make for column inches in newspaper, it doesn’t get us any closer to a more balanced housing market.  I am talking about a housing market that allows first home buyers to afford a nice place of their own and to go out for the occasional “avo on toast”, as well as all the mum and dad investors not having to worry about the value of their multiple dwellings bottoming out. An unrealistic utopia? Perhaps. I believe that if our industry was more efficient, the production of homes could increase significantly.

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Progress Update: The Civic Administration Building

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Image: courtesy Buildmedia and Jasmax

Image: courtesy Buildmedia and Jasmax

Since Love and Co won the tender for the iconic former Greys Avenue, Auckland Council Civic Administration Building in September last year we have been working hard to secure the necessary resource consent approvals.  As of last week we are very pleased to say that we have now gotten stage one approved! Read more

Auckland Traffic: Time to just suck it up?

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The annual Auckland March Madness on our roads has come and gone. Did you notice it or has Auckland traffic been insane since the New Year? Well regardless of the time of year things are looking set to be a lot worse traffic wise. Sure we have more residential capacity (or are at least trying to have more capacity), but that means more people on our already chocka roads. Read more

Cross-lease

There is no ‘town planning’ anymore

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For some unknown reason I have been hosting and presenting to monthly delegations of Chinese “officials” who manage and run cities of between 2-6 million people from all over China.  I get the sense we were found by a google search.  Anyway we now have a snappy presentation and everyone seems happy.

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Knowing where your private infrastructure ends and the public’s begin

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A Wellington resident has recently had to foot a $9476 bill for repairs to a lateral private sewer pipe near his property boundary. That’s right, near his property. Wellington City Council policy is that if your lateral sewer pipe is damaged, no matter how far out of your property; no matter which road it is under and who’s trees are growing down into it, you have to pay for the repairs. Warwick Eves, the resident forking out for what would seem to be Council managed infrastructure, is in shock.

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There will be no housing crisis in five years

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There has been a fresh round of media housing crisis scaremongering in last few weeks. It would appear that Radio New Zealand, Stuff, News Hub, the Green and Labour Party are all under the impression that because first home buyers in Auckland are currently borrowing record amounts that the housing crisis in unsolvable. The reserve bank has released data that shows the average first-home buyer is borrowing a record $390,000 to help move them into their first house. This is a 43% increase from two years ago.

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Welcome to the energy revolution – the new normal

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The world is currently on the cusp of a major technology shake up. Advances in technologies like solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles and driver-less cars are already changing the world as we know it. Read more

That sinking feeling

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Ground water investigations and ground water diversion reports have become the new normal for our clients when building basements which are deep enough to be in this sphere.  The level of detail and cost has left us wondering if it was a big scam.   And then we read about a 7 year old residential tower in San Francisco that is sinking and we realise it’s a big issue.

For the residents of Millennium Tower in San Francisco there is a real sinking feeling. Since the completion of construction in 2009 the luxury real estate tower has sunk into the ground 40-cms, and begun tilting to the Northwest by 20-cms. And that isn’t even the main problem. The real kicker is that Millennium Tower is also in the middle of an earthquake zone. Read more