An Auckland councillor fears fast-tracking of a major housing development on a floodplain could put future residents in harm's way. Photo: Winton / supplied
An Auckland councillor fears fast-tracking of a major housing development on a floodplain could put future residents in harm's way.
Richard Hills told Nine to Noon on Thursday the 5000-home Sunfield development, at Ardmore in South Auckland, was one of more than 140 projects on the government's list for fast-tracked consenting.
Three of the housing projects on that list in Auckland and Canterbury were in areas with at least some flood risk.
While Hills said more housing was "really important" for Auckland, it was frustrating the council had no say on projects that went through the fast-track process.
Part of the Sunfield site was slated for future urban development with flood mitigation plans already in place, but part of it was zoned rural on a flood plain with no infrastructure solution.
"Some of that land has a lot of flood risk and we have no way to have a say through the fast-track," Hills told host Kathryn Ryan.
"We do have real concerns that if we can't comment, or can't use environment or risk or flooding to help mitigate that development, then it means the government - or whoever finally approves this - is putting those people at risk long-term."
The potential results of building in flood-risk areas had become clear during 2023's extreme weather events.
Hills said the council was currently buying out 900 homes damaged in the storms and deemed to pose an "intolerable risk" to human life.
He said Auckland Council made a submission on the fast-track bill when it went to select committee, but at that time the list of projects had not been made public.
Richard Hills. Photo: Alexia Russell
When previous fast-track bills were debated, such as during the Covid-19 recovery, the government came to the council beforehand to discuss environmental factors and mitigations.
"With this fast-track bill the focus is very much on just development, so the environment can't be considered at all - though that might change by the time it becomes law," Hills said.
He hoped the expert consenting panel would come to the council at some point to ask what infrastructure was needed for the Sunfield development and how it would be paid for, but that was not yet clear.
Council concerns were not limited to hazards such as flooding, but also included traffic and wastewater.
"We don't want more developments where Watercare is having to ship out the wastewater every week. There's a broad range of issues that now cannot be considered as part of those applications."
A spokesperson for Winton, the property developer, told RNZ it was confident it could mitigate flood risks through stormwater works.
Auckland Council had already spent millions building a stormwater channel in the area, and the company's stormwater plans had been peer-reviewed and approved by highly respected engineering firms.
Also speaking on Nine to Noon, professor Bruce Glavovic of Massey University's School of People, Environment and Planning said councils needed better mechanisms for refusing developments on unsuitable land.
Bruce Glavovic. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
The natural hazards planning expert described as a "recipe for disaster" the combination of exposing people to climate change-compounded extreme weather, failing to protect people who were poor or marginalised, and delaying effective action on climate mitigation and adaptation.
"The first no-brainer that is identified across the world is you need a regulatory framework and the tools that local government not only can, but must say no to what I would describe as dumb greenfield development. In other words, do not put people in harm's way."
Glavovic said decision-makers - including ministers and expert panel members - that chose to fast-track developments in "dumb places", such as flood-prone areas, needed to be legally accountable for those decisions. That included consequences such as loss of life and major disruption to livelihoods, he said.
"We need to ask the question, does this bill help to advance Te Tiriti-led local democracy and help build flood-proof, future-proof communities, or is it a catastrophe in the making?"
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