Beware too many restrictions

First published in The Press, 17 August 2011

By Paul Calder, Partner

There is a lot to be excited about in the draft Christchurch City Plan but we must be careful to avoid new restrictions and controls which threaten to constrain the opportunity to build a better Christchurch. We must also ensure that the draft plan encourages the flair of individuals.

The Council risks limiting the development of our new city by imposing restrictions in the draft plan on the ability of land owners and developers to provide the type of buildings that will attract businesses back to the CBD.

For instance, rather than prescribing minimum carparking requirements, the draft plan caps the number of carparks which a developer may provide in any new building. Businesses which have had to relocate out of the CBD are currently likely to be enjoying more carparking for their clients and staff.

Our own business has gone from having no carparks for clients (but with a public carpark just next door) and very limited carparks for staff, to having several client carparks and carparks for all staff. It will take some convincing to return to a location with even less parking than previously.

This is Christchurch, not London, and we expect to be able to drive to our destination. If we can’t get a park, we tend to go elsewhere. The provision of parking by developers should continue to be market driven.

The draft plan also imposes much lower height restrictions across the city. Within the inner core, a maximum of six floors is permitted, with one bonus floor possible by achieving certain prescribed criteria. Such a limit seems completely arbitrary. Let the market dictate.

The green theme is dominant with all new office, retail, apartments and mixed use buildings in the CBD required to achieve a pass score under a new Build Green Christchurch rating tool, which aims to promote sustainability in building. This is to be developed by the New Zealand Green Building Council, which is not a Council in the local authority sense, or a government authority, but rather a private industry organisation which operates the Green Star building rating system in New Zealand.

However, sustainability is only one aspect of the design of a building, and it should not outweigh other factors such as functionality, comfort and affordability. Any new building should have some aesthetic value too. While none of these things is inherently incompatible with a green building, they could be compromised in the pursuit of a Green Star rating.

Developers have, until now, had the choice of whether or not to adopt the Green Star rating system. That decision previously came down to an analysis of the market, and the occupier’s and developer’s own objectives and values.

I do not consider it appropriate that a private organisation should have power over the type of development in our City, or the speed and cost of that development.

These are significant issues for land owners, developers, businesses and, perhaps ultimately Gerry Brownlee, to consider. Comments on the draft plan may be made to the Council up until 5pm on 16 September 2011.

The CBD was not perfect before the earthquakes. Inner city retailers were losing out to suburban malls, Cathedral Square had too much ratepayer money spent on it with too little thought (remember the paving fiasco), shops in the City Mall lay empty, and office buildings lacked sufficient parking for clients and staff.

The Council has taken the opportunity to address many of these issues in the draft plan. Discouraging suburban development, greening the Square, developing the Avon as a park, providing incentives to businesses and developers, and creating precincts while allowing mixed use development are all positive steps.

Paul Calder is a property law specialist at Duncan Cotterill’s Christchurch office. P.calder@DuncanCotterill.com
Tel. 03 379 2430, mobile 021 905 525

Location http://www.duncancotterill.com/index.cfm/1,159,700,0,html