Whakateiteitanga ki te pito taone

Within the city centre is where we will maximise building heights and density to create as much opportunity for people to live in the heart of our city as possible.

While the plan change aims to provide more flexibility for developers in this area, it also sets rules to support good urban design outcomes and help create a great city centre for people to live in and visit.

These proposed changes will allow the implementation of the City Centre Action and Investment Plan (2022), which aims to bring more people to live in the city centre and will help provide direction on what type of residential development is encouraged, who we will work with to enable this and how we’ll support this with council investment.

Key proposed changes

Proposed building heights

Around the city centre: eight storeys (27m) within 1,500m (15 minutes’ walk) of the city centre

• Within the city centre: up to 48.7m above sea level (approx. 13 storeys) in most locations, with new rules on design to be applied. Any building above that will need to consider the Tauranga Airport flight path.

Resource consenting and urban design

At present all buildings in the City Centre Zone are a permitted activity. We’re proposing that new buildings and additions to existing buildings, require a resource consent. This change will allow the design to be assessed and Council’s urban design panel to provide input, as design becomes more important with increasing density. 

Reducing the number of standards

Through this plan change we’re proposing to reduce the overall number of standards for development, to remove barriers to higher density development in the city centre. However, the following standards are being retained:

• Limited height along The Strand and Dive Crescent
• Active frontages of buildings along key pedestrian streets
• A requirement for verandas along key pedestrian streets
• Sunlight admission to public spaces such as Masonic Park, Wharf Street and Spring Street
• A requirement for residential activity to be above the ground floor
• Retaining viewshafts on the harbour frontage of The Strand to ensure these are not blocked by buildings.

Increasing on-site amenity

We’re proposing to introduce minimum standards for residential activity to ensure a basic level of amenity. These include minimum floor sizes for units, outdoor living and outlook space.

Protecting significant areas

Culturally significant views from Monmouth Reserve and Cliff Road will be protected. Additionally more consideration is required where buildings are adjacent to historic heritage sites and features.