RMLA feedback on National Direction 2025 Package 4 “Going for Housing Growth”

This submission offers feedback on the June 2025 Discussion Paper Going for Housing Growth Providing for urban development in the new resource management system. It draws from feedback from RMLA members who offer a range of expertise and experience across all fields of resource management in New Zealand.

Several aspects of the proposals are supported. These are particularly the adoption of spatial planning principles (Para 32) to guide urban development and direction setting based on basic urban economics, improve co-ordination with infrastructure provision, and take account of hazard and other constraints. Similarly, the proposed shifts to better standardisation including standardised land use zones and overlays (Para 31) are supported. The proposed provisions would increase the extent of central Government’s direct involvement in regional and district planning, and in the analytical and assessment methodologies to be applied. It is important that such shifts are sufficiently nuanced to recognise the specific economic and demographic characteristics of regions, cities and districts. This applies especially to:

a. Requirements for Councils to enable sufficient development capacity in operative plans, not just identify it.

b. Mandatory 30-year housing growth targets for Tier 1 and 2 councils using high household growth projections with 20% contingency.

c. Central government setting the methodology and figures for housing targets.