the earth. Not much has been left undeveloped in Auckland, and that is becoming increasingly evident in 2021 as city leaders, non-residential people and activists alike debate the best use of vacant space and limited buildings, amid housing and public health crises. .
Where should Auckland allow apartment buildings? How should the city use the land it owns? Where can people without permanent housing set up tents or RVs? These were some of the urgent questions at the heart of the housing conversation in Auckland this year, and the questions that ultimately drove policy decisions.
Read on to revisit some of the 2021 stories and discussions about land use in Auckland.
“We will resist”
At the end of 2020, the Auckland City Council passed a controversial “camp management policy”, which makes it illegal for people to sleep outside in most areas of the city. In 2021, some non-residential residents and activists responded, saying they should be able to live on parks, tennis courts or vacant properties, criticizing the limited or unattractive alternatives.
Finding ways to create more housing
The majority of residential neighborhoods in Auckland only allow single-family homes – no apartments. In March, the city council voted unanimously to consider “zoning” the city, citing the exclusionary history of single-family division and the insufficient supply of housing for Auckland’s growing population. Meanwhile, activists pushed the city to adopt unconventional forms of housing as well, such as RVs and tiny homes, and city leaders eventually passed a law allowing these homes on private property.
Find locations
When the transitional housing site “community cabin” in the parking lot of the Kaiser Convention Center closed in March, it was not because the city lacked the funds to support it. A construction project was due to begin in the parking lot, and the city could not delve into a new location for the cabins in time. When Oakland provided $4 million for homeless housing solutions two months later, the same question arose: Where might the new programs go?
public land
A plot of land owned by the city has long been the focus of debate on the use of public land. 2021 saw another extension of the developer’s much-anticipated construction project on E. 12th Street and 2nd Avenue – and the eventual opening of a temporary tiny cottage village on the site.
Vacant private property
A new Auckland vacant property tax aims to get landowners to use their undeveloped plots and empty homes for much-needed housing. But as the $6,000 tax comes into force this year, some property owners hit by the bill said there is a loophole in the language of the taxes, penalizing people who try to do so.