Summary
Waikato District Council is proposing to review and update the Tamahere Country Living Zone Structure Plan, which will identify future land use patterns and key infrastructure needed to support development in the Tamahere Country Living Zone. To begin the review process the Council drafted an Issues and Options paper for community comment.
Background
In 2000, the council prepared and notified Plan Change 19 or the “Tamahere Policy Area” in two separate areas centred on Newell Road and Woodcock/Windmill Roads. The purpose of the Tamahere Policy Area was to provide for rural residential land use while establishing and protecting roading corridors to allow future urban development to occur. The majority of Plan Change 19 was made operative in late 2001. After the resolution of appeals, Plan Change 19 became fully operative in April 2005.
By 2005, Tamahere was at a transition point, where the council and the community recognised the catchment as essentially residential in nature, albeit that it comprised ‘large lot’ residential allotments. The council promulgated and notified Variation 1 to the Proposed Waikato District Plan in August 2005. Variation 1 was intended to facilitate and manage the transition of the Tamahere catchment to low density residential use. Variation 1 also enabled Waikato District Council to take a more proactive role in setting aside and developing road access corridors and implementing stormwater controls.
In the interim since 2005, the Hamilton sub-region has continued to experience unprecedented growth, with development pressures spilling from city boundaries to adjoining catchments. Developments such as the Future Proof partnership and the implementation of the proposed Waikato Expressway will have long-term implications for infrastructure provision. Recognizing this, in 2009 / 2010, the Tamahere community strongly signalled the need for a review of their existing Structure Plan.
In July 2010 the council released a draft Issues and Options paper and held an Open Day to check with the community whether it was on the right track in its work on the review. A few of the issues the council asked the community to consider included:
▪ What are the traffic management options for Newell Road?
▪ Is park and ride a viable option for Tamahere commuters?
▪ Where or should pedestrian areas be created?
▪ How can the rural residential focus be maintained while still allowing for a degree of local services i e a local country store?
▪ What are the potential options for the use of council-owned land in the area?
▪ What are the potential options for the current Icepak site?
More than 60 feedback forms were returned and more than 150 Tamahere residents came to the open day to discuss these issues with councillors and planning staff.
The next step...
The draft Issues and Options paper has now been reviewed and community feedback has been taken into account. The council has approved the issues and options paper detailed below, which allows work to begin on preparing a Plan Change to the District Plan.
Tamahere Open Day 27 October 2011....