Auckland councillors to decide who gets townhouses, who gets to keep lawns

Monday, 8 June 2026

A tense debate has emerged among Auckland’s councillors over whether to proactively zone for more housing or stick to legislated minimums, with both sides arguing the decision will have an impact on house values.

It comes as a much awaited zoning plan has been released by Auckland Council detailing where it will focus intensification following a watered-down mandate from RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop.

The Government had mandated for an additional 2 million homes in the supercity, but reduced that to 1.6m, and then 1.4m after it proved deeply controversial and saw criticism from Epsom MP and coalition partner David Seymour.

Council planners have settled on recommending what they’re calling “Scenario B” - a plan that would provide an increased capacity of between 1.5m and 1.7m.

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The plan would go beyond the legislated minimum, increasing height limits around most central suburban train stations, including Orakei, Meadowbank, Maungawhau and Mt Albert, to between 10 and 15 storeys.

Corridors around “frequent transit” bus routes, like those on Remuera Rd, Onewa Rd, Pakuranga Rd, Balmoral Rd and Dominion Rd, will also be “upzoned” for six-storey apartments.

However, for many, the revised scenario would be a return to the status quo, with PC120’s blanket upzoning of the central suburbs to townhouses being scrapped.

“The overwhelming majority of Aucklanders will have the same as what is under the Unitary Plan in their backyards,” said planning committee chair Richard Hills.

“[It’s] essentially a lot more focus around those walkable catchments where there is infrastructure, transport and water supply.”

However, as councillors prepare to vote on Tuesday over whether to put Scenario B out for consultation, a fierce debate has emerged.

Manurewa-Papakura councillor Daniel Newman said he intends to try to persuade the council to consult on a third “least intrusive” option - the legal minimum of between 1.4m and 1.6m new dwellings.

Newman said he “freely admitted to lobbying government ministers to drop their capacity target”, including the National Policy Statement on Urban Development.

“[It] cooks our region by turning lawns into cheek-by-jowl townhouses and roadside berms into car parks,” he said.

How will it affect your property?

Hills told media at a press conference on Monday that in his view, consulting on 1.4m would be too limiting.

“People have had it explained to them, that the move from 2 million to 1.4 [new homes] will mean higher house prices over time. People have this information,” said Hills.

“I think if we’re spending almost $20 million on this process, it’s right to have bit more scope for discussion, a bit more understanding around what bus routes could look like.”

However Newman said driving up the capacity target wouldn’t necessarily make for a better Auckland.

“Successive governments have seemed determined to drive down the value of our homes while putting pressure on ageing drains, wastewater pipes and crumbling roads by piling in more and more houses.

“[It’s] severely strained our infrastructure and the patience and confidence of residents and ratepayers alike.”

However, Hills challenged that.

“I think there’s an assumption from many councillors and some members of the community that most people don’t want density in their area.

“[But] actually there’ll be a lot of people who maybe thought they had three storey availability or could subdivide and increase the yield on their section, that will no longer have that ability apart from through a resource consent,” Hills said.

But Newman said the city was “not an online simulation city computer game for politicians to play around with”.

“We have the opportunity to end some of this fluctuating madness and try and hold the line as close as we can to the Auckland Unitary Plan while also allowing the least disruptive changes available to accommodate Minister Chris Bishop’s capacity demands,” he said.