To support good urban design outcomes, we’re proposing to introduce objectives, policies and urban design assessment criteria into the Tauranga City Plan.
Assessment criteria are the elements to be assessed as part of a resource consent application for a restricted discretionary activity.
A proposed urban design guide called the ‘Residential Outcomes Framework’ will provide detail on how the objectives, policies and assessment criteria can be met. The criteria and design guide would apply in residential areas to any development of four or more dwellings on a site, and within commercial areas..
Council will assess higher density developments against both the relevant City Plan rules and the assessment criteria – through the resource consent process. If rules cannot be met, the applicant will need to undertake a more complex consenting process.
Tauranga Urban Design Panel
Quality design outcomes in our city will also be supported by the establishment of a new urban design panel. The panel, which will be operative in early 2023, will review significant, large-scale private and public sector development proposals in Tauranga, to help create high quality, context-appropriate development that contributes to functional, safe, inclusive, and attractive places and spaces.
Find out more about the urban design panel
Change will happen over time
Remember, visible change in the city through Plan Change 33 would not happen all at once. It would happen over time as development occurs across the city, and as people decide to redevelop their sections in existing residential areas.