Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Report Prepared by: Abu Hoque Planning & Design Manager Kingstone Property Limited Report Reviewed by: Wayne Liu Project Director Kingstone Property Limited Report Approved by: Abu Hoque Planning & Design Manager Kingstone Property Limited Date of Issue: 30 June 2020 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summary ................................................................. 5 1.1 Proposal ............................................................................................. 5 1.2 Activity Status .................................................................................... 7 1.3 Technical Assessments ....................................................................... 7 2.0 The Applicant and Property Details ......................................... 9 3.0 Site Location ......................................................................... 11 4.0 Description of the Existing Environment ................................ 11 4.1 The Site ............................................................................................ 11 4.2 Surrounding Environment ................................................................ 13 5.0 Background of the Proposal .................................................. 15 5.1 Urban Village Concept ..................................................................... 15 5.2 Adopted Design Principles ............................................................... 17 5.3 The Design Development Process .................................................... 18 6.0 Description of the Proposal ................................................... 21 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Built Form and Urban Design ........................................................... Landscape Treatment ....................................................................... Rubbish and Waste .......................................................................... Infrastructure and Flooding ............................................................. Traffic, Access and Parking ............................................................... Earthworks ....................................................................................... Contamination ................................................................................. Subdivision ....................................................................................... 26 31 32 32 36 38 39 39 7.0 Plan Assessment / Compliance with the AUP Standards ........ 41 8.0 Resource Consents Required ................................................. 56 8.1 Status of the Planning Documents ................................................... 56 8.2 Auckland Unitary Plan (Operative in Part) ....................................... 56 8.3 Overall Activity Status of the Application ........................................ 58 2 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 9.0 Consultation .......................................................................... 58 10.0 Section 104 Assessment ...................................................... 60 11.0 Part 2 Matters ..................................................................... 77 12.0 RMA Section 106 ................................................................. 77 13.0 Notification Assessment ...................................................... 77 14.0 Conclusion .......................................................................... 80 15.0 Limitations .......................................................................... 81 3 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh List of Appendices Appendix A Certificate of Title Appendix B Design Statement Appendix C Architectural & Landscape Concept Drawings Appendix D Visual & Amenity Effects Assessment Appendix E Infrastructure Report Appendix F Stormwater Management Plan Appendix G Earthworks & Engineering Drawings Appendix H Integrated Traffic Assessment Appendix I Construction & Traffic Management Plan Appendix J Lighting Design Appendix K Waste Management Plan Appendix L Geotechnical Assessment Appendix M Acoustic Assessment Appendix N Ecological Assessment Appendix O Arboricultural Assessment Appendix P Cultural Value Assessment Appendix Q Heritage Assessment Appendix R Coastal Hazard Assessment Appendix S Council Pre-Application Meeting Minutes Appendix T Urban Design Panel Recommendations Appendix U Existing Site Topographical Plan Appendix V Assessment Against THAB Policies & Objectives & Relevant Assessment Criteria Assessment Against Earthworks (Regional & District) Assessment Criteria Assessment Against Transport Policies & Objectives, Development Controls & Assessment Criteria Appendix W Appendix X 4 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 1.0 Executive Summary 1.1 Proposal Kingstone Property Limited is committed to develop its flagship project at 48 Esmonde Road as a sustainable urban village of the 21st century. The village will be primarily a high-density residential development with a limited number of non-residential uses to achieve a ‘livework-play’ situation for its residents. The development vision of the project is guided by a compressive masterplan covering the whole site, and this masterplan will be implemented in stages. This land use resource consent application relates to Stages 1 and 2 of the overall development proposal. The site is surrounded on three sides by seawater and one side by Esmonde Road. The other side of Esmonde Road is occupied by a small reserve and vast area of mangrove. The site does not have any immediately adjacent private property owner. The nearest critical private property is about 140 meters away to the south-east. Therefore the site practically offers an island setting. The current stages of the development is a proposal to construct one building primarily for managed visitor accommodation purposes in Stage 1 and another building primarily for apartments with some minor non-residential uses in Stage 2. These two buildings and associated land uses are positioned and distributed within the site in a comprehensive way, and will complement each other to achieve the following design principles: • Ensuring quality intensification • Minimising environmental effects as much as possible • Ensuring manageable and staged implementation of an elaborate development proposal • Accommodating more urban dwellers close to Auckland’s coastal amenity • Maximising housing density close to public transport, employment bases and major urban centres • Ensuring the true nature of an urban village based on a robust urban design strategy • Providing the highest possible public accessibility to Auckland’s inner harbour • Reducing private vehicle dependency • Protecting and enhancing the coastal environment and associated cultural values • Maximising engagement with nature and surrounding context • Establishing a gateway to the Takapuna Metropolitan Centre • Utilising and supporting currently available and future planned public transit facilities and direct cycling and pedestrian accessibility The Stage 1 building is a north-south oriented built-structure and located beside the eastern edge of the site. It is kept entirely outside the twenty meters wide future esplanade reserve (not part of this application) area around the site. The Stage 2 building is an L-shaped building 5 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh with a direct frontage to site’s northern public road (Esmonde Road) boundary. The northeastern corner of this building offers a marker entry point with public accessibility to the site. The development will be accessed from Esmonde Road by an existing controlled intersection which will be further upgraded with an internal private accessway to ease access to the site. This proposed accessway will ultimately form a Jointly Owned Access Lot through the future subdivision proposal (not part of this application) and will be shared between various land use owners of the site. This private accessway runs straight from north to south and will create a loop circulation route through the future Stage 3 of the development. As the design of Stage 3 has not been finalised yet, the internal private accessway temporarily creates a three-point turning head for vehicles at the south-eastern end of the site. This accessway offers a shared environment accommodating vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. It also creates the primary public (pedestrian and cyclists both) thoroughfare in the form of a ‘public easement’ in favour to Council on top a private accessway. This circulation facility will connect the future Francis Street Cycle/Walkway (not part of this application) through the site to the site’s northern Esmonde Road entrance and then further to the cycle/pathway towards the Akoranga Bus Station and future Sea Path on the Harbour Bridge. The proposed development has been designed to high quality and generally complies with the development standards except for the height of the Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings (THAB) zone. It is considered that the proposed building aligns with anticipated development outcomes for this area. The proposal will facilitate increased intensification in a location that is well-served by public transport, educational institutions, employment, shops, recreational facilities and community services. The future residents will support local shops and businesses and provide higher patronage on the public transport modes that serve this area. The project will be able to generate about 200 to 300 construction jobs which can be highly beneficial for the local construction sector in North Shore. Eventually, the development will be able to offer a decent number of permanent employment opportunities for the day-to-day management of the village activities, for offering services through the project’s non-residential activities and for the maintenance of the site. The village will offer all the necessary technology, physical facilities and amenities to enable live-work situation for independent professionals and families with young children. The shared-car facility, shuttle bus service and a limited number of on-site car parking spaces will make it possible to achieve a less car-dependent lifestyle. The shared nature of the village will assist in establishing neighbourhood resilience and foster community feeling. Having assessed the actual and potential effects of the proposal, it is considered that the proposal will not generate any significant adverse effects that cannot be avoided or potentially mitigated through conditions of resource consent. 6 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna The following assessment concludes that subject to conditions of consent; the proposal will have several positive effects, and any actual and potential adverse effects on the environment will be less than minor. The proposal will be consistent with the relevant objectives and policies of the Auckland Unitary Plan - Operative in Part (‘AUP’) and the Auckland Plan. 1.2 Activity Status Overall, the application is a restricted discretionary activity, on the basis that it includes new buildings, visitor accommodation and some minor non-residential activities in the THAB zone, it gives rise to infringement to the height plane of the THAB zone, and as a concurrent earthworks consent is proposed. 1.3 Technical Assessments This application is accompanied by a number of plans, specialist reports, and assessments that are referred to throughout the following sections of this assessment of environmental effects report. As such, regard needs to be given to the supporting documentation when considering the content of this report. Table 1 below sets out the technical assessments and inputs provided as part of this application for resource consent, and the companies that undertook the investigations: Table 1: List of specialist inputs Report Title Author Date Design Statement Jasmax Date: June 25 2020, Rev: A Architectural Drawings Jasmax Ref: 219091 Resource Consent Issue Date: 24/06/2020 Rev: A Resource Consent Issue Date: 24/06/2020 Rev: A Date: June 2020 Landscape Concept Drawings Jasmax Visual & Landscape Assessment Infrastructure Report Stephen Brown Stormwater Management Plan Maven Associates Maven Associates Ref: 175001 Date: 15/05/2020 Rev: A Ref: 175001 Date: 15/05/2020 Rev: A 7 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Earthworks & Engineering Drawings Maven Associates Integrated Traffic Assessment Construction Management & Construction Traffic Management Plan Lighting Design Tonkin & Taylor Limited Maven Associates 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Ref: 175001 Date: 29/06/2020 Rev: B Ref:1010685.v1 Date: 29/06/2020 Date: June 2020 Waste Management Plan Mark Herring Lighting Limited Ref: 7395 Date: 11/06/2020 Rubbish Direct Date: 25 June 2020 Geotechnical Assessment Tonkin & Taylor Limited Acoustic Assessment WSP Limited Ecological Assessment Wildlands Limited Arboricultural Assessment Peers Brown Millet Limited Ref: 1008826.1000 Date: May 2020 Version : 1 Ref: 1-D0073.00 Date: 20 May 2020 Rev: 1 Ref: 5000b Date: April 2020 Date: 23 April 2019 Cultural Value Assessment Ngai Tai Ki Tamaki Date: 16 April 2020 Heritage Assessment CFG Heritage Limited Coastal Hazard Assessment Tonkin & Taylor Limited Ref: 19-0978 Date: 25 June 2020 Ref: 1008826.1000 Date: May 2020 Version: 2 8 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 2.0 The Applicant and Property Details Applicant: Kingstone Property Limited Address for Service: PO Box 127 Albany Village AUCKLAND 0755 Attention: Abu Hoque Email: abu.hoque@hobsongreen.co.nz (all written correspondence via email please) Location: 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Legal Description: Lot 32 DP 536045 Site Area: 21,566m2 (2.1566 hectares) Unitary Plan Zoning: Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone Unitary Plan Overlays, Controls and Designations: Significant Ecological Areas Overlay - SEA-M2-60a, Marine 2 Airspace Restriction Designations – ID 4311, Defence purposes – protection of approach and departure paths (Whenuapai Air Base), Ministry of Defence Vehicle Access Restriction Control – Motorway Interchange; Coastal Inundation 1 per cent AEP Plus 1m Control – 1m sea level rise; Macroinvertebrate Community Index Control – Native; Macroinvertebrate Community Index Control – Urban Appeals: No appeals to zoning of the site Road Classification: Regional Road 9 View of the existing site frontage 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 3.0 Site Location Figure 1: Aerial photo of site, 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 4.0 Description of the Existing Environment 4.1 The Site The site at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna, is located within the estuary of Shoal Bay adjacent to the Esmonde Rd - Shoal Bay overpass just east of the Northern Motorway. It is an irregularshaped site with a longer dimension (approximately 230m) along the front road, ie. Esmonde Road, a shorter dimension (approximately 133m) along the coastal boundary to the south and an overall depth of approximately 130m along the site’s north-south axis. It comprises an area of 21,566m2 (2.1566 hectares). The site is currently owned by the Harbourside Church Property Trust Board, but at the end of 2018 the applicant of this proposal, ie. Kingstone Property has entered into an unconditional agreement with the current owner to purchase the site, and the settlement of this sale and purchase agreement is now due in June 2021. The site is surrounded on three sides by seawater and one side by Esmonde Road. The other side of Esmonde Road is occupied by a small reserve and vast area of mangrove. The site does not have any immediately adjacent private property owner. The nearest critical private property is about 140 meters away to the south-east. Therefore the site practically offers an island setting. 11 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Existing developments on-site currently include a Church, childcare centre and park and ride facility. Approximately 260 car parks have also been provided on-site. The Church is the main establishment at the site and a childcare centre was subsequently established within the Church building. The childcare centre can accommodate 70 children and 15 staff members. The park and ride facility was established and designated 102 existing on-site car parking spaces with the intention of supporting the public transport system facility at the Akoranga Bus Station. A coffee retail shop received resource consent approval in May 2018 although it is not presently in operation, it has historically been operational and as such is still considered supplementary to, and to operate in conjunction with, the existing activities on site. The existing western vehicle crossing (near Barrys Point Rd) was conditioned to be signed as a left turn exit only, and signs have been erected to prevent vehicles from entering the site at this location. Figure 2: Aerial photo of site, 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna The front of the site along Esmonde Road is bounded by a retaining wall, and the base of the retaining is at a 5 metres contour. Then the site gradually goes up towards the centre and forms a plateau of 10 metres contour where currently the church building is located. The middle part of the site is about 5 metres above the Esmonde Road level. Otherwise, the majority of the site around the church building is relatively level (between the contours of 8 and 9 metres) and occupied by a large sealed car park. The land outside the existing car park area towards the coastal boundary steeply goes down to reach the water level and creates a cliff edge. This cliff 12 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna edge of the site is covered by dense bush and trees and creates natural protection for the site. From the edge of the cliff, there is a large drop of contours from 10/9 metres to 2/3 metres along the water edge boundary of the site. There are some small to medium-sized trees and shrubs scattered around the site, and some large trees are generally located along the coastal boundary. Figure 3: Aerial photo of site, 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna A copy of the Certificate of Title is attached at Appendix A. 4.2 Surrounding Environment The site is located in a Residential – Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings Zone. A Water Zone is located to the south of the site, and across Esmonde Road, there is a Coastal - Coastal Transition Zone and Water Zone. To the east is a mixture of Coastal – Coastal Transition Zone, Residential – Single House Zone, Residential – Mixed Housing Urban Zone, and Residential Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings Zone. To the west is Open Space – Conservation Zone, and a Business – Mixed Use Zone. Due to the site being entirely surrounded by roading or water, the nearest neighbours are a considerable distance away (140 to 150 metres). 13 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh The land around the site which is part of the Shoal Bay is a low-lying marshland primarily occupied by mangroves and a narrow waterway along the western edge of the site. Otherwise Shoal Bay is open to the Waitemata Harbour between Northcote Point and Stanley Point. During high tide, some parts of the adjacent mangrove area are covered by seawater, and the water channel becomes more distinct in the vicinity, but during low tide, the low-lying mud surface becomes more prominent. The centre of Takapuna is located to the north of the site and just 800m (direct line) away, State Highway 1 is located to the west and Auckland city centre is about 5km away and located across Shoal Bay to the south. The site provides good walking access to nearby facilities including open space and a supermarket at the northern end of Barry’s Point Road. Akoranga bus station, part of the highfrequency Northern Busway is just over 10 mins walk, although there is also an express bus stop immediately adjacent to the site which travels directly to Auckland city centre with no further stops in between. The proposed Northern Pathway, the NZTA led cycle path across the Waitemata Harbour terminates at the intersection with SH1 and Esmonde Road, which will provide excellent cycle access to the city. In addition to the city centre and central Takapuna, several areas of high employment lie within 4km of the site including Wairau Valley, Smales Farm, North Shore Hospital, Barry’s Point Road, AUT North Shore campus and the Warehouse Way business park giving the site very high accessibility to employment opportunities. A small reserve is located immediately opposite the site, while a much larger space at Barry’s Point Reserve is approximately 10 minutes’ walk to the west. A new walkway/cycleway to the rear of Barry’s Point Road along the coastal edge provides an alternative amenity space as well as a connection to the nearby supermarket and Takapuna centre. In summary, there are a number of amenities in the wider surrounding environment that enhance the appropriateness of the site as a suitable location for accommodating high-density residential development. The site is well located, being close to public transport, transport links, services, educational and recreational facilities. Refer to the Context Analysis diagram below. 14 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Figure 4: Context Analysis Further commentary on the surrounding environment and neighbourhood can be found in the design statement attached at Appendix B. 5.0 Background of the Proposal The current resource consent proposal includes a sustainable 21st -century urban village on the site. The village will be primarily a high-density residential development with a limited number of non-residential uses to achieve a ‘live-work-play’ situation for its residents. However, before describing the proposal, it is essential to understand what urban village means in the context of Auckland; which design principles are adopted to achieve an urban village on the site; and how the proposal is developed to propose an urban village at the property of 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna. 5.1 Urban Village Concept In the modern city planning, the concept of the urban village has become a popular option to provide a solution to the degradation of urban neighbourhood that is often associated with sprawl. The concept uses the social and physical morphology of the traditional rural village as 15 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh an inspiration for creating better functioning urban places and associated communities. According to a ‘sociology discussion paper’, one of the critical characteristics of a village is ‘Community Consciousness or Feeling’, which means – The village is a community whose members have a sense of “we feeling”. Their relation is intimate. Their customs, conventions and culture are common. They are having a strong community feeling. Historically the above concept of the village has been derived from the medieval agriculturebased rural society. Over the gradual transformation of the social structure from medieval to an industrial society, the traditional village form started to disappear even in the rural setting. Industrial revolution fundamentally changed the human livelihood and made urban areas more attractive not only for better employment purposes but also for fulfilling some peoples’ lust for consumerism. At the same time, urban areas started to offer a more organised form of health, education, retail and amenity/recreation facilities. In the early days of urban development, the quality of housing, especially for the industrial workers, including the majority of the low to mid-level office workers and other support services’ employees were inferior. However, the urban market players quickly understood the importance of the quality of urban housing. Otherwise, they would not be able to retain their workforces. At that stage, housing received more considerable attention from the city politicians, and the urban planners started to introduce policies, rules and regulations to improve urban housing conditions. In this respect, planners first introduced the idea of ‘singleuse zoning’ in urban areas, where residential uses are entirely separate from non-residential uses and sometimes encircled by green-belts to protect the most valuable assets of urban dwellers. Due to this zoning policy, the immediate effect was the introduction of exclusive residential neighbourhoods. In this process, the limited inner-city areas disappeared quickly, and ultimately residential neighbourhoods started to grow in the city’s peripheral areas far away from employment and other urban facilities. It was the age of dormitory suburban lifestyle dominated by private car culture, and urban sprawl became an integral part of any city development process. However, interestingly some of the inner city neighbourhoods in big cities were able to maintain their original un-planned nature of spatial arrangement which were derived by their communities desire to live into a village atmosphere where community members have a sense of communal feeling. In the post-WWII scenario in the 1950s and 60s when many western cities were going through the whole scale urban transformation, some big cities like New York was able to preserve its inner-city neighbourhoods. Famous urbanist Jane Jacobs experienced such a neighbourhood in Greenwich Village in New York. She described her observation of that neighbourhood and the associated community in her most famous book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1966) in this way poetically, 16 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Under the seeming disorder of the old city, wherever the old city is working successfully, is a marvelous order for maintaining the safety of the streets and the freedom of the city. It is a complex order. Its essence is intricacy of sidewalk use, bringing with it a constant succession of eyes. This order is all composed of movement and change, and although it is life, not art, we may fancifully call it the art form of the city and liken it to the dance — not to a simple-minded precision dance with everyone kicking up at the same time, twirling in unison and bowing off en masse, but to an intricate ballet in which the individual dancers and ensembles all have distinctive parts which miraculously reinforce each other and compose an orderly whole. The ballet of the good city sidewalk never repeats itself from place to place, and in any once place is always replete with new improvisations. Unfortunately due to many reasons ultimately Greenwich Village and many other innercity neighbourhoods of many cities were not able to keep their original character intact. Nevertheless, the good thing is that nowadays not only urbanists, urban designers and city planners but also local body politicians are promoting to bring back that village atmosphere in our city life. As a result, currently, Urban Village in the form of a mixed-use zone/precinct is an undeniable urban re-generation option for any brownfield development. When the urban planning of Auckland is aiming for a compact city model then the traditional concept of a village is highly essential to achieve community feeling among Aucklanders otherwise a ‘bubble household’ structure will not be beneficial. 5.2 Adopted Design Principles The development vision of the proposal is guided by a compressive masterplan covering the whole site, and this masterplan will be implemented in stages. This land use resource consent application relates to Stages 1 and 2 of the overall development proposal. The current stages of the development is a proposal to construct one building primarily for managed visitor accommodation purposes in Stage 1 and another building primarily for apartments with some minor non-residential uses in Stage 2. These two buildings and associated land uses are positioned and comprehensively distributed within site, and will complement each other to achieve the following design principles: • Ensuring quality intensification • Minimising environmental effects as much as possible • Ensuring manageable and staged implementation of an elaborate development proposal • Accommodating more urban dwellers close to Auckland’s coastal amenity • Maximising housing density close to public transport, employment bases and major urban centres • Ensuring the true nature of an urban village based on a robust urban design strategy 17 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna • • • • • • 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Providing the highest possible public accessibility to Auckland’s inner harbour Reducing private vehicle dependency Protecting and enhancing the coastal environment and associated cultural values Maximising engagement with nature and surrounding context Establishing a gateway to the Takapuna Metropolitan Centre Utilising and supporting currently available and future planned public transit facilities and direct cycling and pedestrian accessibility The above design principles have been adopted to form the backbone of the proposed development and will be in the line to achieve the vision of the Auckland Plan which states that, How might we be living? We’ve decided not to fight the sea and to live with nature. We’ve become experts in redesigning infrastructure, bringing our rivers out from underground pipes and rejigging systems into smaller units so that disruption is more contained, and it is faster and less expensive to fix damage. Some areas have become highly desirable island communities. Ferry and other visitor services are the norm across the Waitematā and the new islands of the Gulf, especially Devonport. More water space has reinvigorated tourism in the City of Sails. People have adopted solar energy, others have made roof gardens so they are self-sufficient when the power goes down, and to capture rainwater – much as we did in the 1950s. More regular power and waste outages have made us rethink self-reliance, household by household. We’re gardening more than we used to. There has been a big shift in the way we look at home ownership. Long-term leases for homes have become the norm as security of tenure for land vulnerable to flooding and climate impacts has disrupted home insurance and mortgage practices. 5.3 The Design Development Process Kingstone Property Limited is committed to develop its flagship project at 48 Esmonde Road as a sustainable urban village of the 21st century. To achieve this particular project, the company has followed a robust process in developing a development vision, selecting an appropriate site, and a group of talented and visionary specialists and consultants. It was always a prime requirement from the developer’s side to develop an innovative master plan for the whole site, which would be able to accommodate the project development principles in an efficient and manageable way. In this respect, Kingstone went through a sixmonth process for selecting an experienced master planner and urban designer. Firstly, a list of six consultants from New Zealand (four) and overseas (two) was created and initial contacts and discussions were undertaken with them. Secondly, two reputed local companies have been short-listed and invited to participate in a paid mini-design competition. Thirdly, a group of reputed design reviewers comprising urban designer, planner, landscape architect and visual 18 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna impact specialist has been created as a jury board to review two submitted master planning proposals. Finally, the Design Team of Jasmax has been selected based on the Jury Board’s recommendations through the design review process. The similar type of competitive process has been followed to select all other consultants including civil engineer, transport engineer, geotech engineer, ecologist, arborist, heritage specialist, visual impact specialist, acoustic engineer, service engineer and structural engineer. All these consultants have been selected based on their experience, successful track record and ability to offer innovative solutions to form the best possible specialist team for the project. In developing the urban design proposal, the expert opinion and assessment of the country’s renowned visual impact assessment specialist Stephen Brown were taken into the design decision process. In this respect, Stephen Brown has provided an extensive ‘visual and amenity effects assessment’ report. Ngai Tai ki Tamaki has worked with the Jasmax design team and their cultural engagement specialist to develop a cultural design narrative for the proposed development, which will be primarily utilised at the detailed building consent design and detailed planting plan preparation stage. The design narrative has been prepared by Reuben Kirkwood, and currently, it is a part of the Cultural Value Assessment (CVA) which has been undertaken by the iwi. The design for the future esplanade reserve area (not part of this application) will require close collaboration with the iwi to reflect their cultural features in the design. The proposed earthworks design and associated construction management plan have taken into account the recommendations of the CVA, especially in relation to cultural value issues. At the current resource consent stage, the CVA provides a general framework for the proposal from a cultural perspective. The initial master plan proposed by the Jasmax team has been further developed and went through a series of alternative options to explore various different possibilities. Finally, the current master plan with detailed architectural and landscape design for Stages 1 and 2 have formed the current resource consent proposal. 19 Proposed entry view from North-East 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 6.0 Description of the Proposal It is proposed to develop the site in three construction stages, and the current proposal includes a resource consent application for first two stages of the development, i.e. a land use consent for constructing two new buildings and earthworks consent for making the building platforms. The existing church building and associated structures will be demolished first to make a clear space for the proposed earthworks. The current stages of the development include one building primarily for managed visitor accommodation purposes in Stage 1 and another building primarily for apartments with some minor non-residential uses in Stage 2. The land outside these two stages will involve earthworks as part of this application, but no building construction is proposed for the remaining part of the site at this stage. The site planning for both stages of the development has taken a comprehensive approach in deciding and locating various buildings in the site, activities within different floors of various buildings and establishing an integrated village character with communal space in the middle surrounded by various activities. The bottom two levels of various buildings include different publicly accessible activities to strengthen the village atmosphere where residents, visitors and the general public have the freedom of accessing various parts of the site in a sensible way without any physical barrier (i.e. gate or fence). In this respect, the overlapping of various activities among different buildings and cross-connections between these building are deliberate design attempts. The distribution of the buildings into various bulk, height, form and architectural appearance was an attempt to offer a group of buildings in a village form instead of two large buildings. The finer grain of built form was considered as an essential aspect for establishing an urban village in an island setting of the site. In site planning, another two design aspects have been given high importance, which are the solar orientation, outlook of various residential units and private outdoor space requirements. Total 270 units are proposed combinedly in Stages 1 and 2, and within these units, only 18 units (6.7%) are south facing in Stage 2. All units in Stage 1 are east-west facing. All these units in both Stages 1 and 2 are either front street (Esmonde Road), or a coastal area, or internal communal space facing with ample outlook opportunities. All apartments in Stage 2 will have above ground private outdoor spaces in the form of balconies or winter gardens. All penthouse apartments in Stage 1 will have private roof-top spaces as their private outdoor spaces. These outdoor spaces will have a direct physical and visual connection with units’ internal living spaces. 21 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh In summary, the proposal includes the following: • The development will be accessed from Esmonde Road by an existing controlled intersection which will be further upgraded with an internal private accessway to ease access to the site. This proposed accessway will ultimately form a Jointly Owned Access Lot through the future subdivision proposal (not part of this application) and will be shared between various land use owners of the site. This private accessway runs straight from north to south and will create a loop circulation route through the future Stage 3 of the development. As the design of Stage 3 has not been finalised yet, the internal private accessway temporarily creates a three-point turning head for vehicles at the south-eastern end of the site. This accessway offers a shared environment accommodating vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. It also creates the primary public (pedestrian and cyclists both) thoroughfare in the form of a ‘public easement’ in favour of Council on top of a private accessway. This circulation facility will connect the future Francis Street Cycle/Walkway (not part of this application) through the site to the site’s northern Esmonde Road entrance and then further to the cycle/pathway towards the Akoranga Bus Station and future Sea Path on the Harbour Bridge. • The Stage 1 building is a north-south oriented built-structure and located beside the eastern edge of the site. It is kept entirely outside the twenty meters wide future esplanade reserve (not part of this application) area around the site. The Stage 2 building is an L-shaped building with a direct frontage to site’s northern public road (Esmonde Road) boundary. The north-eastern corner of this building offers a marker entry point with public accessibility to the site. • A raised pedestrian podium is proposed in direct connection to the Stage 2 building along its southern and eastern edge. A series of wide architectural steps will directly connect the top of the podium to the site’s Esmonde Road public pedestrian entrance and the shared accessway within Stage 1. The podium will be used as a communal open space and the focal point of the site. The podium will be extensively landscaped by soft and hard landscape features including raised planter beds, tree pits, pedestrian circulation routes, seating, dedicated amenity/recreation spaces and outdoor activity facilities. Underneath the podium, a group car parking and bike parking space along with other ancillary facilities are proposed. • The Esmonde Road intersection will provide a dedicated access point and address to the site. The current intersection does not provide a pedestrian-friendly environment. Especially the current east-west road crossing with a triangular refuse island and separate left-in vehicle access is not an efficient pedestrian facility which will encourage more people to walk and cycle through this intersection. Therefore, a rationalised and modified intersection layout is 22 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna proposed herein consultation with Auckland Transport and as per Council’s Urban Design Panel recommendation. The intersection will provide access to both Stages 1 and 2 and will be constructed and completed before the functional operation of buildings in two stages commences. • A road level public plaza is proposed beside the Esmonde Road intersection as a transitional space between the public road environment and communal open space. This public space will be associated with an adjacent café area and will include informal seating, planter beds, architectural lighting and other soft and hard landscape features to make it a welcome space to the development. • The internal layout of both buildings is indicative only at this stage with a confirmed gross floor area for various residential and non-residential uses. • The building at Stage 1 includes 10,877m2 GFA with 6,800m2 of accommodation and 4,077m2 of supporting facilities floor area, including circulation. This floor area is divided into seven floors. The ground floor will accommodate all common and supporting facilities which are usually required for any shortterm managed visitor accommodation purposes. The first floor (Podium level) will have some accommodation units and a restaurant. Then next four levels (Levels 1 to 4) will be occupied by all visitor accommodations. The top floor (Level 5) will occupy only a part of the building footprint and will include penthouse apartments managed by the visitor accommodation operator. Almost half of the top floor will be kept for roof garden purposes. At this stage, the visitor accommodation units are distributed into two categories, i.e. studio and 1-bedroom units. The respective unit numbers are indicatively like this: Studio – 164; One bed – 18; and Penthouse – 5. However, this distribution may change as no commercial operator has been engaged to manage this facility. Under the Covid-19 scenario, when the worldwide tourism sector has been affected severely, the selection of a commercial operator is tricky and will require more scrutiny and assessment. It is therefore considered that the final distribution of various units and their associated internal layouts will be confirmed to Council before the building consent lodgement. That confirmed layouts will be consistent with the building footprint, coverage, mass, bulk and height, general architectural form, character and treatments including external façade’s elevational appearance as shown on the resource consent proposal. 23 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh • The building at Stage 2 includes 10,587m2 GFA with 7,368m2 of residential, 1,370m2 of non-residential and 1,849m2 of supporting facilities floor area. The total floor area is divided into three building blocks, and a raised podium and all are connected. In his building group, the eastern block is a six-storey building; the middle block is a four-storey building; the western block is a seven-storey building, and the southern podium structure is a single storey building. The ground floor of all these connected buildings includes a café, a fitness centre for the whole village (will be managed by the visitor accommodation operator), a supporting business centre for the visitor accommodation (could also be used by the village residents), a secured bike parking area, a waste refuge room, some building services facilities a covered parking area under the podium. The first floor (Podium level) of the Stage 2 building will have a community facility for the entire village, a healthcare facility, a childcare facility, a convenience store and four residential apartments. Then the upper floors of the building will be occupied by various types of apartments. The indicative apartment typology distribution is like this: 1 Bed Apartment - 37 2 Bed Apartment - 32 3 Bed Apartment - 17 In total at this stage 86 apartments have been proposed, but their typology distribution and internal layouts will be confirmed to Council before the building consent lodgement. That confirmed layouts will be consistent with the building footprint, coverage, mass, bulk and height, general architectural form, character and treatments including external façade’s elevational appearance as shown on the resource consent proposal. The floor area distribution of various non-residential uses in Stage 2 building is like this: Communal facility – 473m2 Café – 100m2 Supporting business centre for visitor accommodation – 111m2 Fitness centre – 203m2 Convenience store – 100m2 Healthcare facility – 167m2 Childcare facility – 216m2 24 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna • The majority of the apartments include one and two-bedroom units (80%) to target primarily first home buyers at an affordable price range in an area which is in the walking distance to a number of civic facilities, including a transit facility at Akoranga bus station. • The car parking area underneath the podium includes a total 80 car parks including, two car parks for shared cars (for village residents) and three disabled car parks. A separate mini bus (for village shuttle service) parking is also proposed here. This area also includes a dedicated bike and scooter parking area and a space for rubbish collection truck which will also be occasionally used as a coach parking for the visitor accommodation. Within these car parks, four spaces will be kept for the café, four spaces for the convenience store and ten spaces for the visitor accommodation. Seventy-five car parks will be accommodated within a 3-tier vertical stack parking system. • The Esmonde Road facing building in Stage 2 will have ground-level publicly accessible spaces with street-facing architectural glazing in association with street fronting landscaped yard to establish a positive public-private interface. The site frontage does not include any form of fence. Only ground covers and specimen trees demark the property boundary. A similar type of landscaped private-public interface treatment without any form of fencing has been applied along the eastern boundary beside the Stage 1 building fronting the future esplanade reserve. • A dedicated landscape treatment and planting theme will be established throughout the site, including the shared accessway, public plaza and podium level communal open space. • Proposed building materials are indicative at this stage, which will be selected from a material palette included in this resource consent proposal. The selected materials will be confirmed to Council before the building consent is lodged. The material palette for external building appearance includes a combination of horizontal and vertical metal cladding, double glazed aluminium window system, vertical metal fins, feature metal cladding to balconies and fascia, and timber cladding to selected balcony soffits. Full details of the site layout, building design and landscape design are contained in the attached architectural and landscape drawings, at Appendix C. A concurrent earthworks proposal would provide the necessary building and other service platforms for the whole site, as proposed in the earthworks plans attached at Appendix G. The following presents a further explanation of the works proposed under this resource consent application: 25 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh 6.1 Built Form and Urban Design A full set of drawings showing the building design and site layout have been prepared by Jasmax and are attached as Appendix C. The design is based on best practice of urban design and established architectural principles. The design also took into account the recommendations provided by the Auckland Urban Design Panel, and Council’s Urban Designer John Stenberg and Landscape Architect Ainsley Verstraete. The design proposal is also influenced by the design guidelines suggested by the Auckland Design Manual. In developing the proposal, the expert opinion and assessment of the country’s renowned visual impact assessment specialist Stephen Brown were taken into the design decision process. Accordingly, the design process explored several alternative options for the layout of the site. In this respect, Stephen Brown has provided an extensive ‘visual and amenity effects assessment’ report. This AEE needs to be read in conjunction with Stephen’s report to understand the proposal and assess its overall effects fully. The final design provides: • Establishment of a Village Character in an Island Setting: The distribution of the buildings into various bulk, height, form and architectural appearance was an attempt to offer a group of buildings in a village form instead of two large buildings. The finer grain of built form was considered as an essential aspect for establishing an urban village in an island setting of the site. Stephen’s report comments that This modulation stems from the concept of creating a ‘village’ of buildings across the site and relating some of the architectural forms and colouring to the coastal forest remnants around its margins – by incorporating green, brown and black walling elements intermixed with glazing and balconies. The roof heights and forms of Buildings 1 and 2 would also be varied to further accentuate the idea of a built ‘forest canopy’ rising above the pohutukawas around much of the existing site. In the overall master plan prepared by Jasmax the massing intention was to respond to topography, i.e. reinforce land-form/topography by using building form that is lower towards the edges and rising towards the centre. The massing was articulated to read as multiple buildings. This assists in breaking up massing to avoid monolithic forms and presents the character of a village The plan identifies the importance of coastal edge by leaving at least a 20m wide strip untouched on the periphery as a future esplanade reserve. The island setting is emphasised by perimeter buildings viewed from all sides providing a defined site frontage. At the same time, openings to the perimeter have been considered as significant access points while creating a strong sense of arrival through the island’s perimeter. 26 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh • Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Relationship to Esmonde Road: In any good urban design practice, it is expected that the front street needs will be addressed positively by establishing active spaces at the ground level to create a direct physical and visual connection. In this respect, the active streetscape is a primary requirement and if possible, when there are non-residential activities available, some form activity flowing onto the public space will offer an interactive interface and will encourage public to enter into the semi-private environment without any physical or psychological barrier. Character-wise the Esmonde Road frontage is different as it faces a very busy regional road where a high-speed transport environment will restrict any vehicle stopping street fronting activity. However, a positive relationship to Esmonde Road cannot be sacrificed. In this context, Jasmax’s design statement identifies that Esmonde Road between SH1 and the start of the low-rise residential buildings on the rise up to Lake Road is currently a vehicle dominated highway environment. One of the positive impacts of the proposed development is that it can help to create a new gateway to Takapuna and replace some of this highway environment with a more attractive urban environment, effectively bringing the entrance to Takapuna west by approximately 300m towards the southern end of Barry’s Point Road. To achieve a more urban street environment instead of the current high-speed traffic environment without compromising the traffic flow, the design proposal takes an indirect way of activating the street. One building (Stage 2) with its three distinct wings has been proposed along the Esmonde Road frontage with visually connected ground-level public activity instead of flowing the public activity onto the street environment. The ground floor of this building includes a café and a fitness centre with extensive glazing which face the street. The café will allow the public to enter from the eastern side through a transitional civic plaza which is proposed along the private accessway to the site instead of opening the café activity directly onto the Esmonde Road realm. A dedicated pedestrian and cycle access for the residents has been accommodated at the middle of the building Within this building above ground northern apartments are directly facing the road with their road fronting balconies and principal living areas. The car parking area has been provided at the rear of this building, and its access has been provided from the side private accessway to avoid car prominence on this streetscape. The other building (Stage 1) has been explicitly designed as a corner building with its primary elevation facing the proposed internal accessway to the west and its secondary elevation facing Esmonde Road to the north. This building orientation is considered to preserve the continuity of the streetscape along the newly proposed internal street without compromising its other public street frontage which will also be complemented by appropriate building facade treatments, block modulations, openings, on-site landscaping and ground-level visitor activity facilities with north-facing outdoor sitting. 27 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna • 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Appropriate edge conditions, particularly with the future esplanade reserve boundaries: A positive public-private interface is considered for the future esplanade road boundary. In this respect, keeping a direct visual connection with specific physical access points to the reserve area has been actively provided to allow connectivity and at the same time preserve the necessary privacy of the village residents. In this respect, Jasmax’s design commentary states that – Building are arranged around the perimeter of the site to create an attractive frontage on all edges, recognising that the “island” site is seen from all directions. However, gaps are created between the buildings to avoid a “fortress” response, and to allow views both in and out of the development. Buildings along Esmonde Road in particular will be designed to provide a high degree of activation and visual interest, avoiding overly blank or solid elements, recognising the high number of people using this major arterial corridor. However, given the traffic speeds and volumes, it is not considered appropriate to create active frontage in the form of retail that would require and encourage vehicles stopping on the carriageway. Currently, in Stage 1 one building is proposed along the eastern boundary with the future esplanade reserve on the coastal edge of the site. This building will be primarily used as visitor accommodation, but it is part of an integrated development. So other parts of the site and buildings will be connected to this building as well. Which means in turn that the esplanade reserve and associated walkway/cycleway can be directly connected to various p[arts of the site not only the Stage 1 building. The private accessway on the western side of Stage 1 building runs straight from north to south and offers a shared environment accommodating vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. It also creates the primary public (pedestrian and cyclists both) thoroughfare in the form of a ‘public easement’ in favour of Council on top of a private accessway. This circulation facility will connect the future Francis Street Cycle/Walkway and its gateway on the esplanade reserve to the south (not part of this application) through the site to the site’s northern Esmonde Road entrance and then further to the cycle/pathway towards the Akoranga Bus Station and future Sea Path on the Harbour Bridge. • Best approach for where and how the various buildings and land uses are laid out: A comprehensive masterplan for the overall development has been considered where the site progressively accommodates building height from the edge to the centre. It is developed in order to achieve an efficient staging for the development which can be progressed as independently as possible. At the same time, the building placements are considered to address the site edge conditions appropriately, to minimise environmental effects on the neighbouring properties and to contain any possible adverse effect entirely within site. 28 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna The building placement keeps managed visitor accommodations in a cluster in Stage 1 occupying an independent construction stage which can be dealt with separately from the rest of the development for engineering design purposes. This cluster allows the developer to consider the visitor accommodation buildings as a specific investment portfolio which can be leased to a hotel operator. At the same time, more or less all residential units in the Stage 1 building will be used by short term visitors. The occupancy of the visitor accommodation will vary throughout the year and will be less occupied during the daytime when visitors are not there. It is therefore considered that the building is going to be less frequently used by traditional residential activities, which means less noise and lighting emission, and less human movement activities there. It is therefore considered that the placement of Building 1 will assist in eliminating any possible adverse effect on the closet residential properties to the east about 140m away from the site boundary. In stage 2, three building blocks of varying height (four to six-storey) will be placed along the Esmonde Road public road frontage to offer variety in the streetscape and to achieve a varying degree of intrusion within the existing skyline. The shared circulation corridor between Stages 1 and 2 will allow creation of a view corridor between blocks towards the rear of the site to the south. This keeps public visibility across the site even though some parts of the site are accessible only by private roads and will be ultimately located behind the bulk of future building blocks once Stage 3 is finished. • The communal open space and public accessibility design principle: The overall site plan of the development (refer to the master plan, which is information only in the Design Statement at Appendix B) will include a podium level pedestrian plaza in the middle of the site. The nature of the plaza will not allow it to be vested to the Council as a recreation reserve. However, the proposed recreational amenities, hard and soft landscape features within this open space and in particular its more or less rectangular shape all will be favourable to make it usable for community recreation purposes and accessible from all surrounding buildings and also directly from the proposed shared private-public accessway through the site. Even though this open plaza space will belong to the site’s individual activity owners, the overall development proposal considers it as a communal space which will be managed by the overall residents’ association of the whole site in conjunction with associated building body corporates. The open space will be open to the public, and it will have a distinct and identifiable public-communal-private interface by appropriate hard and soft landscaping along the building blocks to avoid privatisation of this space by the adjacent ground level activity owners. • A site-specific architectural design strategy: The site is surrounded on three sides by seawater and one side by Esmonde Road. The other side of Esmonde Road is occupied by a small reserve and vast area of mangrove. The site does not have any immediately adjacent private property owner. The nearest critical private property is 29 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh about 140 meters away to the south-east. Therefore the site practically offers an island setting. The land of the site towards the coastal boundary steeply goes down to reach the water level and creates a cliff edge. This cliff edge of the site is covered by dense bush and trees and creates natural protection for the site. From the edge of the cliff, there is a large drop of contours from 9-10 metres to 2-3 metres along the water edge boundary of the site. The current nature of vegetation around the site’s coastal edge indicates the site’s historical natural character. The ‘cultural value assessment’ (refer to Appendix P) undertaken by Ngai Tai ki Tamaki provides a historical narrative of the site in this way – 48 Esmonde Road, known in tradition as ‘Te Patu’, this being a reference to the strength, mana, and form of the land being likened to a patu. In considering these histories of the area alongside modern maps and images, the unique topography of Te Patu is apparent. 48 Esmonde Road is sited upon what was probably a sandspit that built up over time to create a low island at the mouth of Waipaoraora. Now fringed with mangrove and some neighbouring industrial zones, the waters surrounding Te Patu would have once been sandy and clear-flowing. Despite its low-lying, podium nature, Te Patu, by its location at the head of Oneoneroa, holds commanding views toward the inner Waitemata. These views take in Te Onewa and beyond to Te To (Westhaven) and Te Matarae (Belmont) to the south-east. Te Patu is outlined by a border of pohutukawa and karaka, some of notable size and age. As observed on-site, the larger karaka sheltering many karaka seedlings beneath their canopy can be viewed as a metaphor for the potential of Te Patu to support a kaīnga ‘Uru-karaka’ (Karaka grove). The karaka tree was valued in the traditional Māori context as it provided, once processed, edible seasonal fruit or seed. In this respect, Jasmax’s design commentary states that – The site sits on a promontory surrounded by mangroves, almost like an island-like. Being conscious of minimising visual impact issues, it was decided to reinforce the islandlike form by limiting the height of development around the perimeter and to concentrate the massing in the centre. The precedent used to illustrate this was Le Mont-SaintMichel, a French stronghold with a 1000+ year built history. Whilst Le Mont-Saint-Michel is a good example of massing & proportion of development, it had less relevance from a local context perspective. For this we looked at the history of the site itself and through research & discussion with the arborists from Peer Brown Millar. It was soon established that there was a pre-European forested canopy that was much more pronounced that what is currently on site. Species such as Pūriri and Taraire flourished, accompanying the Pohutukawa which still occupy the periphery of the site today. The shorter species hugging the coastline with the larger trees in the middle. 30 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Furthermore it was entirely conceivable that much taller trees including Kauri grew on the more elevated (central) area of the site, creating a emergent canopy profile not too dissimilar to that of Le Mont-Saint-Michel, only much more relevant to use as a conceptual framework in developing the narrative and elevations of the development. Accordingly, the proposed building design proposed by Jasmax includes a site-specific architectural design strategy where pre-existing vegetation strata provides a ‘vertical ecosystem’ including existing canopy along with upper emergent layer. The proposed building façade treatments and materials reflect the natural ecosystem and associated diversity. Other urban design features of the proposal include: • • • • • • • • A defined vehicle and pedestrian entry/exit point from Esmonde Road that connects all proposed apartments and other activities directly to the street; A legible and defined movement network through the site accommodating a fully connected network of public road and private accessways that offers connectivity to all activities within site; All proposed buildings address the front street and open space network and provide surveillance over public and communal spaces; High levels of amenity for residents with the specific public, communal and private hard and soft landscaping including designated car parks and pedestrian/ cycle circulation routes; A good solar access by proposing the majority of the residential units facing either directly north or east-west to maximise sun-light access for various activities; Concealed vehicle circulation and private parking areas under the podium that eliminates vehicle dominance within the communal shared environment and on the public streetscape; Mitigation of the building mass through façade modulation, the texture of materials, and colour; and An alignment with CPTED principles. 6.2 Landscape Treatment Comprehensive landscape treatment plans have been prepared for the proposed development by Jasmax and are attached as Appendix C. The plans incorporate proposed planting and paving separately for the public, communal and private environment. Plant species have been selected based on their suitability for use in a relatively intensive urban environment, and their low maintenance and visual/structural qualities. Low and visually permeable planting will be provided along and adjacent to the Esmonde Road frontage and around the perimeter of the future esplanade reserve within site. Wide concrete edges will be used for all planter beds to be used as informal seating along with formal seating arrangements throughout the site. 31 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Different textured concrete will be used to define the private accessway, pedestrian/cycle route, car parks and vehicle access to the car parking area. Distinctly different pattern and colour of paving will be used at the entrance to the private accessway and pedestrian crossings to provide visual interest and calm traffic. 6.3 Rubbish and Waste The proposed buildings (Stages 1 and 2) will have dedicated and screened rubbish storage area (refer to architectural plans at Appendix C). Private collection service will be contracted to collect and dispose of the rubbish from these storage areas. The private driveway here has been designed to allow the collection truck to access the site. 6.4 Infrastructure and Flooding An infrastructure report, a stormwater management plan and engineering drawings have been prepared by Maven Associates (refer Appendix E, F and Appendix G) to address infrastructure provision, stormwater management and earthworks required for the proposal. Stormwater Maven Associates have done a full Stormwater Management Plan (‘SMP’) for the proposed development which outlines the management of stormwater for the site. Refer to the Stormwater Management Plan at Appendix F for a detailed description of this Plan. Maven’s Management Plan report makes the following specific comments regarding the stormwater proposal for the development: The overall proposed site impervious coverage is 10,758m2 approximately 50% of the overall site area, with the remaining 50% of the development area either/or undeveloped or pervious. This is less than the current impervious area of the site, which is approximately 12,000mÇ, which equates to 55.5% of the net site. The SMP proposes the use of the existing stormwater outlets be reused for stormwater discharge. The site is not located within a Stormwater Management Area (SMA) and therefore, stormwater attenuation controls do not apply to the site. The SMP proposes the use treatment of new impervious areas in accordance with the guidelines of Auckland Council’s GD04 Water Sensitive Design for Stormwater, TP10 Stormwater Management Devices: Design guidelines manual and E.10 (Stormwater Management Area) of the AUP – OP. 32 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna All future trafficable surfaces including roading networks, accessways, manoeuvring and car parking areas proposed as part of the development entail stormwater quality treatment via the utilisation rain gardens to achieve the best practical stormwater management outcome. It is recommended that the design principles of this SMP be generally accepted for all site (current and future stages). Maven’s Infrastructure report (refer to Appendix E) makes the following comments too regarding the stormwater proposal for the development: Auckland Council’s GeoMaps identifies three separate existing public stormwater outlets within site, (Appendix A). The North-West outlet is shown to be traversing through the site on GeoMaps; this is inaccurate as a recent topo survey confirmed the SW line remains within the Esmonde Road road reserve prior to discharging into the harbour. All of the identified stormwater outlets discharge to Shoal Bay, Waitemata Harbour. The existing stormwater network and outlets within site provide suitable connection points for stormwater disposal of the proposed development. To service the proposed development grounded levels, a portion of the existing SW infrastructure will be removed, and a new deeper public stormwater network will be extended into the site boundary. Refer to engineering drawings in Appendix G for proposed reticulation. Private drainage will be extended from the public connection points. All private stormwater drainage will be designed during the building consent phase and will be directed to the proposed public drainage infrastructure. Wastewater Maven’s Infrastructure report makes the following specific comments regarding the wastewater proposal for the development: The Watercare Code of Practice for Land Development and Subdivision sets out the design principles for wastewater drainage and requires any development project to be provided with a means of wastewater disposal. Auckland Council’s GeoMaps identifies an existing wastewater connection located within the subject site on the eastern side of the lot. The existing connection is a 100mmØ line, which increases to a 150mmØ line, before connecting into an 825mmØ Watercare transmission trunk line. Ultimate discharge is to the nearby pump station located North-West of the site adjacent to the Barrys Point Road/ Esmonde Road intersection. 33 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh The existing 100mmØ/ 150mmØ portion of the wastewater line will need to be upgraded in size to meet capacity requirements of the development. It is proposed a new 225mm public wastewater line will be extended in the same alignment from the existing manhole situated over the existing 825mm Watercare wastewater transmission line. Installation of the new wastewater will be via open trench installation. Private wastewater infrastructure will be extended from the new public network to service the proposed development. The proposed development network has been designed to have capacity for peak wet weather discharge, as per the WWCOP. Calculations for the proposed development entail a total wastewater design flow allowance of 5.75l/s, Peak Dry Weather/Self cleansing design flow (PDWF) of 17.26 L/s and peak wet weather flow (PWWF) of 38.54 L/s. The proposed 225mmØ public wastewater line will have sufficient capacity to service the subject development. Downstream capacity of the transmission line and pump station have been preliminary investigated with Watercare. It is considered that the recent upgrade of the pump station would have allowed for Maximum probable development of the upstream catchment area (including our site). However, information regarding the modelled network capacity downstream is to be confirmed with Watercare. Water Supply Maven’s Infrastructure report makes the following specific comments regarding the water supply proposal for the development: The Watercare Code of Practice for Land Development and Subdivision sets out the design principles for water supply and requires assessment against SNZPAS 4509:2008 NZ Fire Service Fire Fighting Water Supply Code of Practice Potable Water Supply Auckland Council GeoMaps identifies an existing 100mmØ watermain fronting the site within the Esmonde Road reserve. As presented in the 48 Esmonde Road Building Utilities Report undertaken by WSP, based on Watercare guidelines of 250 litres per day per person and a Peak Factor of 5, the total daily demand is 470,018 litres and the peak flow rate is 27.54 L/s (5.31L/s for Stage 1, 4.23 L/s for Stage 2 and 18.00 L/s for Stage 3). Based on the calculations used for building design in the Building Code for consent, the daily demand is 34 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 160,398 litres and the peak flow rate is 35.07L/s. For resource consent, the greater use of 470,018 litres per day and the greater flow rate of 35.07 litres per second should be allowed to cover all scenarios and future building consent documentation. In absence of flow testing, it is unlikely the existing 100mmØ watermain has sufficient capacity to service the entire development. The nearest larger sized main is a 310mmØ transmission main located adjacent to the Eldon Street / Esmonde Road intersection. To service the proposed development, a new 250mmØ OD watermain from the subject site will be installed alongside the existing watermain and connect to the existing 200mm DN which ultimately connects the 310mmØ transmission main on Eldon Street. Watercare require potable water supply for domestic use for all new residential developments. To service the proposed development, a new public water supply network will be extended from the existing public water supply network. Lot connections will be formed on the network to serve all proposed lots under the subdivision. Refer to Engineering Plans in Appendix D for the proposed water supply layout. Information regarding the modelled network capacity downstream is to be confirmed with Watercare as part of the Resource Consent process. Fire Fighting The minimum firefighting water supply classification for residential developments is FW2. Therefore, any future residential development must meet the following water supply requirements: • • • • A primary water flow of 12.5 litres/sec within a distance of 135m An additional secondary flow of 12.5 litres/sec within a distance of 270m The required flow must be achieved from a maximum two hydrants operating simultaneously A minimum running pressure of 100kPa It is proposed the development will be serviced by 3 new fire hydrants installed on the proposed 250mmØ watermain within the berm fronting the subject site. Flow rates and pressures are to be tested to confirm minimum requirements for the water supply classification stipulated in SNZPAS 4509:2008 can be achieved. 35 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Overland Flow Path Maven’s Stormwater Management Plan report makes the following specific comments regarding flooding and overland flow paths in relation to the proposal for the development: Auckland Council’s GeoMaps does not identify any flood sensitive, flood prone or flood plain areas within or directly surrounding the site. The coastal margins of the site are, however, subject to the 1% AEP and 1m sea level rise control. Given the height of the developable areas, however, this is not considered to be a constraint. Auckland Council’s GeoMaps identifies an overland flowpath (“OLFP”) which flows east to west within the Esmonde Road reserve and discharges into the harbour to the west of the subject site. Finished levels associated with the development have been designed to direct overland flow within the site away from building platform. Runoff from Stages 1 & 2 will no longer discharge onto Esmonde Road and instead track along the proposed pavement and discharge directly into the harbour. Given there are no major OLFP traversing adjacent to the proposed building are to have adequate freeboard in accordance with Auckland Council and Building Code requirements. Other Infrastructure Existing service networks are present in the surrounding area and telecommunications, power and gas are available for the proposed development. It is anticipated that network upgrades/ extensions may be required to support the proposed development. This will be undertaken as required. Services will be connected to the proposed development as per respective Service agreements. Chorus manages telecommunications in the area, and Vector manages power and gas supply in the area. Kingstone is currently in design discussion with Vector and Electrix about the proposed removal and undergrounding of overhead electric line over the site. For further of the utility requirements for the site, WSP has undertaken a specific Building Utilities Report which will be utilised for building consent design purposes. 6.5 Traffic, Access and Parking An integrated traffic assessment has been prepared by Tonkin & Taylor Limited (refer to Appendix H). This report considers the overall development of the site, including the current Stages 1 and 2 proposal, and the future Stage 3 proposal. Accordingly, the report assesses the overall potential impacts of the proposal comprising 182 managed visitor accommodation units and five penthouse apartments in Stage 1, 86 apartments in Stage 2 and possible 275 apartments in Stage 3 which are not part of this current Resource Consent application. The 36 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna report has forecasted traffic volumes and assesses the possible transport effects not only on the local road network but also considers effects within site in terms of access, circulation and parking provision. The traffic report has made an overall comment in this way: The location of the proposed development is situated in a site which allows for an optimum connection into the future walking and cycling network, as well as to existing public transport infrastructure. Based on the above assessment of the transport effects and the associated recommendations, it is considered that the site of the proposed development at 48 Esmonde Road in Takapuna, Auckland, and the surrounding transport network can accommodate the anticipated traffic and can provide suitable access arrangements. Access The development will be served by an existing intersection at Esmonde Road and will be served internally by a private accessway, which will be developed off this public road intersection providing access to all proposed buildings. It is proposed that the internal private accessway will be a shared environment for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists and there will be a public easement on top of this accessway in favour of Auckland Council to allow public to utilise this access for walking and cycling. The vehicle circulation width of the proposed main access road will be 6m and will not be associated with any carriageway kerb within a shared environment. The shared environment will have additional spaces for pedestrian and cycle movement, car drop-off areas, planter beds, and formal and informal seating to form a public plaza. In relation to the access proposal, the traffic assessment by T&T includes the following comments (for detailed assessment refer to T&T Traffic Report at Appendix H): The available sight distance plays an important role in a driver determining whether it is safe for vehicles to enter or exit a side road or access roads. A desktop assessment has been conducted to estimate the available sight distance. This is compared against the Safe Intersection Sight Distance (SISD) requirements. The sight distance to both the east and west is above 151m and is therefore considered to be adequate and satisfy the Austroads minimum requirements. The AT Transport Design Manual outlines a number of intersection principles to ensure intersections can be seamlessly navigated, safely and easily for all users. 37 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Based on these principles, the proposed intersection layout keeps all vehicle movements similar with the exception of combining the left turn into the site with the westbound bus lane and removes all slip lanes, which are known to be unsafe for pedestrians. With the likely increase in pedestrian and cyclist movements due to the development and other investments in the area, this layout allows for safe crossing facilities for both pedestrians and cyclists. This layout also connects pedestrians and cyclists travelling between Takapuna and the Devonport Peninsula to the Akoranga bus station and the future Northern Pathway, providing further connectivity to the Auckland City Centre and the rest of the North Shore. Parking Provision Under the AUP, the proposed development site is zoned as ‘Residential – Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings Zone’. Section E27[1] of Chapter E of the AUP sets out the minimum and maximum parking rates in relation to particular land use zones. It is noted that there are no maximum and no minimum values specified for the residential and visitor accommodation land use except café and dairy type activities. The car parking area underneath the podium includes a total 80 car parks including one minbus (for village shuttle service) parking, two car parks for shared cars (for village residents) and three disabled car parks. This area also includes a dedicated bike and scooter parking area and a space for the rubbish collection truck, which space will also be occasionally used as a coach park for the visitor accommodation. Within these car parks, four spaces will be kept for the café, four spaces for the convenience store and ten spaces for the visitor accommodation. Seventy-four car parks will be accommodated within a 3-tier vertical stack parking system. For the detailed parking assessment refer to the Traffic Report in Appendix H. 6.6 Earthworks Earthworks will be required over the entire site area of approximately 14,247m2 and entail cut/ fill operations for the excavation of private drainage, the formation of building platforms and paved accessways for Stages 1,2 and the vacant land of future Stage 3 too. It is expected that the maximum cut depth will be approximately 6.0m. Temporary batter slopes not exceeding 1:2 will be created during construction. Silt control measures will be installed onsite prior to the earthworks commencing. All silt control measures will be checked and confirmed acceptable by the Engineer before works commence. The site will be progressively stabilised with imported hardfill. A geotechnical investigation will be undertaken to confirm the site is geotechnically suitable for the development proposals, a completion certificate will be provided at the completion of the earthworks as required. 38 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna The Engineering Drawings detail the extent of works. The following is a summary of the proposed works: Total area of ground disturbance = 14,247m2 Maximum cut and fill depth = 6.0m Cut 0.5m Fill Total volume of cut to waste off site 58,200m3 Total volume of cut to fill = 100m3 Net Volume (waste off site) = 58,200m3 The earthworks are not anticipated to create any issues with regard to site stability, given that the ground conditions on the site have been assessed (refer geotechnical report prepared by Tonkin & Taylor, at Appendix L). In addition, a sediment and erosion control details plan has been prepared to manage silt loss (refer to engineering drawings at Appendix G). Proposed measures for erosion and sediment control have been designed under the guidelines of the Auckland Council’s GD05 document. Resource consent will require that erosion and sediment control measures are implemented and maintained in accordance with the Engineering Drawings. 6.7 Contamination The site is not associated with any known contamination record. As such no contamination investigation is therefore considered necessary. 6.8 Subdivision The proposal does not involve any form of subdivision at this stage. 39 - . .. Proposed entry view from North-West 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 7.0 Plan Assessment / Compliance with the AUP Standards Chapter E - Auckland Wide Rules Auckland-wide Complies Infringement Activity Status Natural Resources E1 - E7 The proposal   Water quality will address and discharge the objectives and policies appropriately. P E8   Stormwater discharge and diversion E9 Stormwater Quality E10 Stormwater management area     P n/a Comments Objectives and Policies only. The existing stormwater network and outlets within the site provide suitable connection points for stormwater disposal of future residential development and will be reused as necessary. No new outlets to the harbour are proposed as part of the development. It is a permitted activity (A1). The proposed impervious areas will be used for high contaminant generating car park where stormwater runoff will be directed to an existing authorised stormwater management device or system. It is a permitted activity (A1). The site is not located within any stormwater management area. 41 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna E11 Land Disturbance - Regional E11.4.1   Activity table - all zones and roads E11.4.3 Activity table – overlays   30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh RD RD Restricted discretionary activity for earthworks greater than 2,500m2 within the Sediment Control Protection Area (A9). The proposed earthworks would be carried out over an area of 14,247m2, which is within the Sediment Control Protection Area. Restricted discretionary activity for earthworks greater than 5m2 within the Significant Ecological Areas Overlay (A28). The proposed earthworks would be carried out over an area of 14,247m2, which is within the Significant Ecological Areas Overlay. RD Restricted discretionary activity for earthworks greater than 5m3 within the Significant Ecological Areas Overlay (A30). The proposed total earthworks would involve a volume of 58,200m³, which is within the Significant Ecological Areas Overlay. E11.6 Standards E11.6.1 Accidental Discovery Rule E11.6.2 General Standard (1) 42 Noted.   Standard will It is considered given the nature be met. of the proposal that it will not give rise to the listed effects on receiving waters. 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna E11.6.2 General Standard (2)   E11.6.2 General Standard (3) E11.6.2 General Standard (4)     E11.6.2 General Standard (5) E11.6.2 General Standard (6) E11.6.2 General Standard (7) E11.6.2 General Standard (8) Standard will All earthworks shall comply be met. with the erosion and sediment control guidelines for land disturbing activities in accordance with Auckland Council’s GF05 guidelines. Standard will All works will be undertaken in be met. accordance with best practice. n/a No trenching has been proposed at the earthworks stage. Noted.       E12 Land Disturbance - District E12.4.1  Activity table – all zones and roads  n/a There are no kauri trees on the site. Standard will The proposed earthworks be met. shall be limited to the area of earth previously disturbed or modified. Standard will The proposed earthworks be met. shall be limited to the area of earth previously disturbed or modified. RD (A6) Earthworks greater than 2500m². The proposed earthworks would be carried out over an area of 14,247m². RD (A10) Earthworks greater than 2,500m³ in volume. The proposed total earthworks would involve a volume of 58,200m³. 43 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna E12.6 Standards E12.6.1 Accidental Discovery Rule E12.6.2 General Standard (1) E12.6.2 General Standard (2) 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Noted. n/a No land disturbance is proposed within riparian or coastal protection yards. Standard will Due to the nature and scale of be met. the proposed earthworks, it will not result in instability issues to neighbouring properties. n/a No network utilities will be affected by the proposed earthworks as none are currently located within the site. Standard will The proposed earthworks will be met. occur within the site and will not obstruct access to public footpaths, berms, private properties, network utilities or public reserves. Standard will Noted – Appropriate erosion be met. and sediment control measures (in accordance with GD05) will be installed and maintained for the duration of the land disturbance. These measures will be confirmed with Council prior to the commencement of the land disturbance. n/a The earthworks are not for these purposes.     E12.6.2 General Standard (3)   E12.6.2 General Standard (4)   E12.6.2 General Standard (5)   E12.6.2 General Standard (6) E12.6.2 General Standard (7) E12.6.2 General Standard (8)     n/a   n/a 44 The proposed earthworks are not located near Transpower transmission line poles. The proposed earthworks are not located near Transpower transmission line towers. 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh E12.6.2 General Standard (9) E12.6.2 General Standard (10) E12.6.2 General Standard (11)  Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna  n/a The proposed earthworks are not located within 12m of a Transpower transmission line pole or tower. Noted.   E12.6.2 General Standard (12)   E12.6.2 General Standard (13)   n/a Auckland Council’s GeoMaps does not identify any flood sensitive, flood prone or flood plain areas within or directly surrounding the site. Standard will There is no existing overland be met. flow path within the site. The flow path outside the site within the Esmonde Road reserve will be preserved. n/a Auckland Council’s GeoMaps does not identify any flood sensitive, flood prone or flood plain areas within or directly surrounding the site. E12.6.2 General Standard (14) E12.6.2 General Standard (15) E12.6.2 General Standard (16)   n/a   n/a   n/a E12.6.2 General Standard (17)   n/a There is no existing overland flow path within the site. The proposed earthworks are not for any of the listed purposes. The site is not within the Historic Heritage Overlay The proposed earthworks are not associated with a temporary activity, nor within a site or place of significance to Mana Whenua. The site is not within the Historic Heritage Overlay. 45 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Other Auckland Wide Natural Resources Rules E13 – E14 n/a   Clean fills / Air quality E15 P   Vegetation management and biodiversity n/a E16   Trees in open space zones E17 Trees in P   roads E18 – E19 Natural character of coastal environments     Built Environment E22 – Artworks   E23 – Signs E24 - Lighting   Mana Whenua E20 – E21 46   Not relevant. No protected vegetation is being removed. Not relevant. No removal of existing street trees or works to these trees is proposed. The proposal Objectives and Policies only. will address the objectives The proposal does not involve and policies any activity within the future appropriately. 20m esplanade reserve area. No earthworks and no tree removal is proposed within the 20m strip. n/a A cultural value assessment has been undertaken in this respect. The proposal Objectives and Policies only. will address the objectives and policies appropriately. n/a No signage is proposed. P Lighting would comply with the relevant standards. 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh E25 – Noise and vibration Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Standard will An acoustic assessment of the be met. proposal has been undertaken, which has not identified any acoustic effect. The necessary recommendations of this report to achieve compliance with the relevant noise standards will be followed.   Infrastructure E26 Infrastructure   P The proposal involves standard stormwater, wastewater, water, telecommunication and electricity pipes, ducts, cables and other associated devices, ie. stormwater rain gardens, transformers, switchboards and meters. E27 Transport E27.4.1 Activity Table   P E27.4.1 Activity Table   RD E27.4.1 Activity Table   RD (A1) Parking, loading and access which is an accessory activity, and complies with the standards for parking, loading and access as detailed below. (A3) The proposal includes more than 100 dwellings and more than 100 units for a visitor accommodation. The proposal exceeds the trip generation standards set out in Standard E27.6.1 (A6) For the proposed new activity the access will be obtained using an existing vehicle crossing from Esmonde Road which is a regional road and has restrictions on access. 47 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna E27.6.2 Number of Parking / Loading spaces   30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Standard will Parking - Table E27.6.2.3 be met. There is no minimum and no maximum requirement in terms of parking numbers for all dwellings in the THAB zone, visitor accommodation, community facility, care centre and healthcare facility under Table E27.6.2.3. The number of parking spaces for the proposed café (4 parking spaces) and dairy (4 spaces) satisfy the standards for these land uses. E27.6.2 (6) Bicycle Parking   E27.6.2 (7) End of Trip Facilities E27.6.3 Design of parking and loading spaces     48 Loading – Table E27.6.2.7 One loading space is provided for the non-residential uses ion Stage 2 and one loading is proposed in Stage 1 for the visitor accommodation. Otherwise no loading space is required for the proposed residential activities. Standard will Table E27.6.2.5 be met. Bicycle parking (both short-stay and long-stay) will be provided as required under the AUP. n/a No end of trip facilities are required Standard will Car parking spaces comply with be met. all requirements. 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna E27.6.3.3 Access and manoeuvring   E27.6.3.4 Reverse manoeuvring   E27.6.3.5 Vertical Clearance   E27.6.3.6 Formation and Gradient E27.6.3.7 Lighting     E27.6.4.2 Width and number of vehicle crossings   E27.6.4.3 Width of vehicle access and queuing requirements   Standard will The development will ensure be met. that all parking and loading spaces and their associated manoeuvring spaces are designed in accordance with the AUP. Manoeuvring of heavy vehicles within the site has been assessed using an 8.8m rigid body truck as the design vehicle and a 12.6m coach as the check vehicle. Standard will The development will ensure be met. that safe access and egress for vehicles will be facilitated through parking space and street geometry which is in accordance with the AUP and AT CoP. Standard will Sufficient vertical clearance for be met. the proposed carparks is provided. Standard will All formation and gradients will be met. be in accordance with the AUP requirements. Standard will Lighting will be provided be met. within the carparking area in compliance with the lighting standards of E24 Standard will One vehicle access is proposed be met. via the existing signalised access intersection. The width of the crossing to this access is to be assessed as part of Engineering Plan Approval (EPA) process. Standard will All vehicle accesses are be met. between 5.5m (minimum) and 6.0m (maximum) in width. 49 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna E27.6.4.4  Gradient of vehicle access E27.6.5 Design  and location of off-road pedestrian and cycling facilities E30 Contaminated Land E30.4 Activity  Table   30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Standard will Driveway gradients will be be met. in accordance with Table E27.6.4.4.1 Standard will The development will ensure be met. that all off-road pedestrian and cyclist facilities will meet the requirements as set out under the AUP.  n/a E31 – E35   Hazardous substances / Industrial Activities / Discharge E36. Natural Hazards and Flooding E36.4.1   n/a The site is not associated with any known contamination record. Not relevant. n/a Not relevant. Auckland Council’s GeoMaps does not identify any flood sensitive, flood prone or flood plain areas within or directly surrounding the site. There is no existing overland flow path within the site. E38. Subdivision - Urban E38.4.2 –  Activity table - Subdivision in residential zones 50  n/a The proposal does not involve any subdivision at this stage. 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Chapter H - Zone Rules (Terrace Housing and Apartment Zone) Activity or Standard Activity Table H6.4.1 Complies Infringement Activity Status   Comments RD (A3) The proposal includes new dwellings but it does not comply with one of the standards of A3 – ie. H6.6.5 Building Height. RD (A13) The proposal includes a visitor accommodation facility which will accommodate greater than 10 people. RD (A14) The proposal includes a dairy with 100m2 gross floor area. RD RD (A15) The proposal includes a café with 100m2 gross floor area. (A20) The proposal includes a care centre (child-care facility) accommodating greater than 10 people. RD (A21) The proposal includes a community facility (for the proposed village residents). RD (A25) The proposed includes a healthcare facility with 167m2 gross floor area. P (A30) The proposal requires the demolition and removal of the existing Church building from the site. RD (A35) The proposal includes new buildings on the site. 51 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Standards – as required by (A3) H6.6.5   Building height H6.6.6 Height in relation to boundary within the Residential – Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone H6.6.7 Alternative height in relation to boundary within the Residential – Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone H6.6.8 Height in relation to boundary adjoining lower intensity zones 52   30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh RD n/a Some of the proposed buildings infringe the standard 16m height plane applicable for the THAB zone. In this respect, refer to assessment in Section 10.1.2 to review the effects of this infringement. The site is surrounded by water zone on three sides and a public road on the front boundary. This standard is not applicable to the site’s external boundaries.   n/a This standard is not applicable to the site’s external boundaries.   n/a The site is surrounded by water zone on three sides and a public road on one side. This standard is not applicable to the site’s external boundaries. 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh H6.6.9 Yards  Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna  P All proposed buildings comply with all yard controls. o Front (1.5m) o Side (1m) o Rear (1m) It should be noted that the following are not core standards to be complied with for dwellings but are included within the matters of discretion, therefore the status of the standard is demonstrated below. Standard will Total impervious area is 67% H6.6.10   be met. covering construction Stages 1 Maximum and 2. impervious area (70%) Standard will Total building coverage is 35% H6.6.11   be met. covering construction Stages 1 Building and 2. coverage (50%) Standard will Total landscape area is 33% H6.6.12   be met. covering construction Stages 1 Landscape and 2. area (30%) H6.6.13 Standard In four dwellings out of 86   Outlook space will not be apartments in Stage 2, outlooks met for four spaces have the correct size but dwellings these are overlapping on each (Units 1A & other in case of two adjacent 1D of Levels 1 dwellings in the same building. & 2 of Stage 2 building). H6.6.14 Standard will There is no direct face to   Daylight be met. face or back to back dwelling situation on the site except the visitor accommodations units which are separated from Stage 2 apartments by a 48m separation distance. H6.6.15 Standard will All outdoor living spaces in the   Outdoor Living be met. form of upper level balconies Space meet the standard. 53 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna H6.6.16 Front, side and rear fences and walls H6.6.17 Minimum dwelling size 54     30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh n/a No fence is proposed along the site’s different boundaries. Standard will All dwellings will meet the be met. relevant size standards. 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-FinaI-amh >Proposed pedestrian entry to the site Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh 8.0 Resource Consents Required 8.1 Status of the Planning Documents On 29 September 2016, Auckland Council resolved to make the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan ‘Operative in part’. On 8 November 2016, the council gave public notice that the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan shall become ‘Operative in part’ on Tuesday, 15 November 2016. For the purposes of this site, the AUP (OP) is now considered to be operative and no consideration needs to be given of the legacy plan. 8.2 Auckland Unitary Plan (Operative in Part) Resource consent is required for the following reasons: Chapter H6 - Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone • Restricted discretionary activity consent is required for constructing buildings that do not comply with the Standard H6.6.5 – Building Height (A3). • Restricted discretionary activity consent is required to erect a visitor accommodation facility within the site which will accommodate greater than 10 people (A13). • Restricted discretionary activity consent is required to accommodate a dairy within the proposed urban village with 100m2 gross floor area (A14). • Restricted discretionary activity consent is required to accommodate a cafe within the proposed urban village with 100m2 gross floor area (A15). • Restricted discretionary activity consent is required to accommodate a care centre (child-care facility) within the proposed urban village which will accommodate greater than 10 people (A20). • Restricted discretionary activity consent is required to accommodate a community facility within the proposed urban village (A21). • Restricted discretionary activity consent is required to accommodate a healthcare facility within the proposed urban village with 167m2 gross floor area (A25). • Restricted discretionary activity consent is required pursuant to H6.4.1(A35) for the construction of new buildings. 56 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Non-Core development standards Note that the infringements to the following development standards do not form reasons for consent but are noted below as they form matters of discretion. • H6.6.13 Outlook space – Standard will not be met in four dwellings out of 86 apartments in Stage 2, outlooks spaces have the correct size but these are overlapping on each other in case of two adjacent dwellings in the same building. E11 Land Disturbance – Regional • Restricted discretionary activity for earthworks greater than 2,500m2 within the Sediment Control Protection Area (A9). The proposed earthworks would be carried out over an area of 14,247m2, which is within the Sediment Control Protection Area. • Restricted discretionary activity for earthworks greater than 5m2 within the Significant Ecological Areas Overlay (A28). The proposed earthworks would be carried out over an area of 14,247m2, which is within the Significant Ecological Areas Overlay. • Restricted discretionary activity for earthworks greater than 5m3 within the Significant Ecological Areas Overlay (A30). The proposed total earthworks would involve a volume of 58,200m³, which is within the Significant Ecological Areas Overlay. E12 Land Disturbance – District • Restricted discretionary activity for earthworks greater than 2,500m² in area (A6). The proposed earthworks would be carried out over an area of 14,247m². • Restricted discretionary activity for earthworks greater than 2,500m³ in volume (A10). The proposed total earthworks would involve a volume of 58,200m³. E27 Transport • Restricted discretionary activity for accommodating more than 100 dwellings and more than 100 units for a visitor accommodation. The proposal exceeds the trip generation standards set out in Standard E27.6.1 (A3). • Restricted discretionary activity for the proposed new activity where the access will be obtained using an existing vehicle crossing from Esmonde Road which is a regional road and has restrictions on access under E27.4.1 (A6). 57 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh 8.3 Overall Activity Status of the Application Overall, the application falls to be considered as a restricted discretionary activity. 9.0 Consultation It is considered that any potential adverse effects associated with this proposal would generate less than minor adverse effects to surrounding neighbouring properties. For this reason, consultation with surrounding property owners or other parties has not been explicitly undertaken. However, due to the site’s strategic location, since the middle of 2019, extensive consultation has been undertaken with various stakeholders, including the respective Council officers and the Auckland Urban Design Panel (AUDP). In July – August 2019 a number of informal discussions happened with the Council’s Development Programme Office (DPO). In this respect, initially, Alina Wimmer and Anne Bradbury from the DPO kept liaison with Kingston for the initial project feasibility assessment purposes. Then Mel Chow from the DPO took a lead role in liaising with various other Council officers. The first formal meeting with a wider Council team was organised by Alina Wimmer on 12 September 2019. This meeting was attended by various key people from different Council organisations, including Auckland Transport (AT), Premium Team, Plans & Places and Council’s norther resource consent team. The applicant and their key consultants also attended that meeting to discuss the initial design proposal. At that meeting, it was discussed that the project proposal needs further consultation with various key Council technical groups individually to address multiple issues to resolve. Accordingly, the following meetings and design discussions happened from the end of last year until this month before lodgement: • • • • • • 58 First AUDP design presentation and discussion – 10 October 2019 Second AUDP design presentation and discussion – 28 November 2019 Council pre-application meeting (Council planners, urban designer and landscape architect) – 4 February 2020 Meeting with Council planners Nick McCool and Erica Su (North West Resource Consents) – 14 February 2020 Meeting with Auckland Transport and NZTA – 9 March 2020 Meeting with Council urban designer (John Stenberg), landscape architect (Ainsley Verstraeten) and Planner (Erica Su) – 9 March 2020 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna • Council design meeting (John Stenberg and Ainsley Verstraeten) – 27 March 2020 • Council pre-application meeting (Council planner, landscape architect, development engineer, traffic engineer, earthworks specialist, Francis Street Cycleway AT Project Manager, coastal specialist, parks planner, Geotech specialist and Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Advisor) – 17 April 2020 • Third AUDP design presentation and discussion – 7 May 2020 • Meeting with the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board (Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and Local Board Advisor) – 19 June 2020 Three AUDP design discussions and other Council officers meetings contributed significantly to finalise the application proposal. The critical pre-application meeting minutes and AUDP’s design recommendations are included in Appendix S and T. The proposal has also gone through a separate consultation with Mana Whenua under the AUP(OP). This iwi consultation was facilitated by Jasmax’s cultural engagement specialist Apenti Tamanui-Fransen. At the beginning of this iwi consultation process, the following iwi has been notified by Mel Chow from the DPO about the proposal. Response Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No Involvement Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No Iwi Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Ngāti Maru Ngāti Pāoa Ngāti Tamaterā Ngāti Te Ata Ngāti Whanaunga Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Te Ākitai Waiohua Te Kawerau a Maki Te Patukirikiri Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua After that Apenti did the follow-up consultation and provided the following consultation update. The following outlines the hui/ meetings we had with Ngai Tai Ki Tamaki representatives. I’ve also included the Cultural design document that highlights the process and focus points for the 3 key hui we have had to date. Also to note, we made contact with all the Iwi included in the above table via email and/or phone call. From this two iwi responded; Ngati Maru and Ngai Tai. We have been working closely with Ngai Tai’s representatives 59 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Zaelene Maxwell and Reuben Kirkwood since, however Ngati Maru have not come back to us since our first engagement. Hui 1: 23 January 2020. Meet with both Ngai Tai and Ngati Maru reps separately. Focus was around establishing a relationship/ whakawhanautanga Project Overview How Ngai Tai would like to be involved in the project and structure of workshops. Hui 2: 17 March 2020 Meet with Rueben & Zaelene to discuss potential narratives to be incorporated into design Confirm exact scope of each workshop. Time involved for Ngai Tai ki Tamaki for each workshop, prep time, workshop time, design time. Confirm fee estimate with Zaelene based on their hourly rates + foreseeable expense. Confirm who will complete the Cultural Assessment and ensure the costs associated with this are included. Hui 3: 23 March 2020 Onsite Visit pre lockdown to speak to potential Ngai Tai narratives with Rueben Kirkwood. Also to identify key land marks in and around the site. Hui 4: 4 May 2020 Cultural Values Assessment (CVA) received week prior Met to discuss next steps for project. Ngai Tai wanting to ensure they were involved in pivotal hui through all stages including hui with Local Board. 10.0 Section 104 Assessment A consent authority must have regard to a number of matters under section 104 of the Resource Management Act 1991 when considering an application for resource consent. In the case of the subject application those considerations include the actual and potential effects of an activity on the environment, the relevant provisions of a district plan, regional policy statement or other relevant statutory document, and any other matter the consent authority considers relevant and reasonably necessary to determine the application. The following assessment addresses all relevant considerations under s104 of the RMA. 60 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh 10.1 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Actual and Potential Effects on the Environment The actual and potential effects associated with the proposal are assessed in the context of the following matters: 10.1.1 Positive Effects This proposal will have significant positive effects that should be recognised and considered in the overall assessment. The proposed redevelopment of the site will provide high-density living as anticipated by the provisions of the THAB zone. The proposal will deliver a sustainable, 21st -century urban village on the site. The village will be primarily a high-density residential development with a limited number of non-residential uses to achieve a ‘live-work-play’ situation for its residents. A comprehensive masterplan for the overall development has been considered where the site progressively accommodates building height from the edge to the centre. It is developed to achieve an efficient staging for the development which can be developed as independently as possible. At the same time, the building placements are considered to address the site edge conditions appropriately, to minimise environmental effects on the neighbouring properties and to contain any possible adverse effect entirely within site. The distribution of the buildings into various bulk, height, form and architectural appearance was an attempt to offer a collection of buildings in a village form instead of two large buildings. The finer grain of built form was considered as an essential aspect for establishing an urban village in an island setting of the site. The design deliberately kept a 20m wide tree-covered strip of the land untouched around its entire coastal boundary to maintain the natural character of the site’s current island landmass. The site planning for both stages of the development has taken a comprehensive approach in deciding and locating various buildings in the site, activities within different floors of various buildings and establishing an integrated village character with communal space in the middle surrounded by various activities. The bottom two levels of various buildings include different publicly accessible activities to strengthen the village atmosphere where residents, visitors and the general public have the freedom of accessing various parts of the site in a sensible way without any physical barrier (i.e. gate or fence). In this respect, the overlapping of various activities among different buildings and cross-connections between these building are deliberate design attempts. The design and layout of the site and each of the dwelling seeks to maximise on-site residential amenity including access to sunlight, privacy, outlook, and private open space. The proposed landscape treatment plans include a comprehensive planting plan that will positively contribute to the visual character and amenity of the site and the surrounding neighbourhood. The overall 61 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh design and external appearance of the building sets a high standard to complement and enhance the surrounding area, especially the Esmonde Road streetscape, which is currently very ordinary and dominated by high-speed vehicular activities. The visual appearance of the proposal will ultimately offer a gateway feeling for the Takapuna Metropolitan Centre and will act as a benchmark for similar intensification that will follow. Currently, the site does not offer any public access to its coastal edge, and this edge looks untidy and unattractive as it is not under any form of proper maintenance at the moment. The southern edge of the site is adjacent to Shoal Bay which is a popular inner bay with its shallow water base for recreational water activities including kayaking, windsurfing, recreational fishing, kite surfing etc. Nevertheless, around the site’s water area currently, there is no formal access point or viewing platform, and users of this area are sometimes taking risks in using and accessing the area through mangroves. The proposed development is going to address this issue by providing direct public accessibility on its coastal edge at a number of locations. The future esplanade reserve proposal will make this accessibility more attractive and useable. The proposal will facilitate increased intensification in a location that is well-served by public transport, educational institutions, employment, shops, recreational facilities and community services. The future residents will support local shops and businesses and provide higher patronage on the public transport modes that serve this area. The project will be able to generate about 200 to 300 construction jobs which can be highly beneficial for the local construction sector in North Shore. Eventually, the development will be able to offer a decent number of permanent employment opportunities for the day-to-day management of the village activities, for offering services through the project’s non-residential activities and for the maintenance of the site. The village will offer all the necessary technology, physical facilities and amenities to enable live-work situation for independent professionals and families with young children. The shared-car facility, shuttle bus service and a limited number of on-site car parking spaces will make it possible to achieve a less car-dependent lifestyle. The shared nature of the village will assist in establishing neighbourhood resilience and foster community feeling. It is considered that the proposal will generate economic and social effects in this location that are both positive and significant. 10.1.2 Effects on Neighbourhood Character and Visual Amenity It is essential to understand the setting of the subject site before assessing any form of the possible adverse effect of the proposed development. The site, its landform, current visual appearance of the site’s existing built form and natural character and its relationship with the surrounding neighbourhood have been all identified and discussed in details in Sections 3 and 4 of this report. These matters are assessed in detail in Mr Brown's report. 62 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna In summary, the site has no immediately adjacent private property as its neighbour, and it is surrounded by water on three sides and a wide public road with a vast open space across the road. This gives an ‘island’ like setting for the site. It is not a vast landmass, but because of its distinct separation from the surrounding land area and its plateau type landform, the existing church building at the centre of the site is reasonably visible from the land and water around it. The adjacent Esmonde Road is a busy and wide traffic route with multiple lanes, but it has a more less unobstructed sightline to the east (i.e. Lake Road and Takapuna Central) and to the west (i.e. SH 1 intersection and the North Shore’s western side of the motorway corridor). The writer of this report himself travels through this road every weekday for his vehicular journey to and from his workplace at the Takapuna Centre. Based on his personal experience, it has been identified that the people who regularly use this Esmonde Road from both ends have the opportunity to view the existing Church building more or less at the middle of their journey. However, this view is a dynamic not a static view when the motorists are busy in passing through four back to back intersections of Fred Thomas Drive and Barrys Point Road at the western end of Esmonde Road, and Burns Avenue and the site’s intersection at the Eastern end. For the motorists who wait at the intersection of Fred Thomas Drive and Barrys Point Road for their left turn onto Esmonde Road have the opportunity to view the existing Church building for a bit longer time as they are waiting on a red light. The cyclists and pedestrians who use the footpath on the northern side of Esmonde Road will have a longer viewing time to see the subject site’s visual appearance, but again it is a passing view not static. At the moment there is no footpath along the site’s road boundary on the southern side of Esmonde Road. However, for any journey, the viewing experience includes a large boxy type monolithic building with its massive roof and a large number of parked cars around the building. In an urban context, this experience is not enriched with any significant visual quality. The Vector power pylon on the site along its water edge and the overhead electricity line crossing Esmonde Road also do not assist here from visual amenity point of view. Without any visible activity and street activation, the site gives an impression of a misused site in a strategic location close to the water and the Takapuna centre. Currently, the site does not offer any public access to its coastal edge, and this edge looks untidy and unattractive as it is not under any form of proper maintenance at the moment. The overgrown trees with lots of weeds underneath in combination of swampy land and mangroves around do not form any lasting visual quality. The neighbourhood around the site is clearly in a transitional development phase at the moment. The area to the north-west along Barrys Point Road is currently occupied by 50s/60s light industrial and commercial buildings. However, this area is a mixed-use zone under the AUP and has the opportunity to occupy all five storey (16m) buildings. The same level of builtform transformation is expected in the residential area to the north-east which is currently occupied by mostly one or two-storey detached bungalows and 60s townhouses, but the area has THAB zoning like the subject site and is anticipated to be transformed into a high-density residential of 5 to 7 storey apartments. The residential area to the east has a mixed housing urban zone and can accommodate up to three-storey walk-up apartments. The area to the 63 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh south-east except a strip of land along the Shoal Bay has mostly mixed housing suburban zone and can include more medium density type intensive developments. Currently, the Takapuna Metropolitan Centre is going through a significant urban transformation process. As a result, it is expected that the residential area in the greater Takapuna which is a trendy seaside neighbourhood will be a target area by the local real estate industry to push for quality urban gentrification. In this context, the proposal has been carefully designed to ensure that it offers an appropriate built form to integrate with the complex neighbourhood character anticipated in the area under the AUP development vision. The design will not inappropriately dominate the visual quality currently experienced by the residents and travellers around the site The proposed new buildings have been designed to provide a high-quality visual appearance as viewed from the surrounding areas. The high-quality visual appearance of the proposed buildings has been achieved through design techniques, including breaking down different building masses through façade modulation, materials, and colour. Stephen Brown has reviewed the proposed design, and it has been assessed by him identifying the following key aspects. • • • • 64 The subject site’s low elevation and ‘centre of gravity’ is relative to viewpoints to the east – around Esmonde Road and Burns Avenue. This helps to offset some of the effects of over-height development that might otherwise be more apparent, reducing the potential for visual over-dominance and the overlooking of other residential properties. The site’s physical isolation from residential and recreational receiving environments nearby – notably around Francis Street, Tennyson and Bracken Avenues, and the Patuone Walkway – helps to reduce the proposal’s visual prominence to dominance, and any effects in relation to privacy. It also prevents Stages 1 and 2 from appearing to reduce the open space values associated primarily with the margins of Shoal Bay. Viewing distance also plays a significant role in diminishing the visual presence of both stages and any related skyline intrusion. This is particularly significant in relation to views from the Northern Motorway and its Esmonde Road Interchange, but it also helps to limit the degree of such effects in relation to residential receiving environments both north and south of Esmonde Road. The receiving environments around the subject site have a highly variable nature: thus, the residential areas near Francis Street and Bracken Avenue, together with the Patuone Walkway, are much more sensitive to change and susceptible to the effects of the proposed development than are Esmonde Road, the Northern Motorway and the bottom of Barrys Point Road – which are both modified and, to varying degrees, already quite utilitarian in nature. 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh • • Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna The proposed development would not affect any significant views towards Shoal Bay and the Waitemata Harbour, or even towards Rangitoto from the Northern Motorway and its Esmonde Road interchange. Although the proposed buildings would be large, the proposed modulation of their facades and rooflines, combined with JASMAX’s theming for both Stages, would help to emphasise their residential character and role. This would help to reduce their apparent scale and mass, while contributing feelings of urbanity and sophistication to the proposed complex. To a certain degree, the large scale forms would also generate a frisson of positive tension between Shoal Bay, as a key part of the Waitemata Harbour, and the urban environs flanking its water area and mangroved margins. In his concluding remarks, Stephen has confirmed that – Based on this assessment, it is my opinion that proposed Stages 1 and 2: • • • Would be consistent with the Urban built character and neighbourhood character anticipated in the AUP for the coastal and residential areas around the subject site, even if it contrasts quite marked with the current character of that landscape / environment; As such, it would avoid having an adverse impact on the ‘aesthetic coherence’ and ‘pleasantness’ of the environments anticipated by the AUP – even though (again) this requires anticipation of what is to come within these environments, rather than assessment against what presently exists; and It would have no impact on other amenity values, including those associated with visual dominance or over-dominance, privacy and the spatial qualities of both neighbouring properties and Shoal Bay’s coastal margins. Regarding the proposed earthworks, it needs to be noted that the proposal includes the creation of building platforms, accessways and service trenches for Stage 3 as well. The Stage 3 earthworked area will be entirely covered by a raised podium at RL 10m, which is practically at the same level of the current central ground level part of the site. The visual appearance of the proposed excavation will therefore be hidden and contained within the site. Any possible changes in the existing ground level will not be significantly noticeable from outside. Based on the above assessment, it is therefore considered that any actual or potential adverse effects on neighbourhood character or visual and residential amenity as a result of the proposal’s additional height above the 16m general height plane for the THAB zone will be less than minor. This is also confirmed by Stephen Brown in his ‘visual & amenity effects assessment’ (refer to Appendix D). 65 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 10.1.3 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Effects of Non-Residential and Construction Activities on Residential Amenity The proposal includes one building primarily for managed visitor accommodation purposes in Stage 1 and another building primarily for apartments with some minor non-residential uses in Stage 2. The floor area distribution of various non-residential uses in Stage 2 building is like this: Community facility – 471m2 Café – 100m2 Supporting business centre for visitor accommodation – 111m2 Fitness centre – 203m2 Convenience store – 100m2 Healthcare facility – 167m2 Childcare facility – 216m2 The non-residential uses are an integral part of the design proposal to achieve an urban village with ample opportunities for sharing and residents engagement in various communal activities. This is an undeniable urban re-generation option for any brownfield development. When the urban planning of Auckland is aiming for a compact city model then the traditional concept of a village is highly essential to achieve community feeling among Aucklanders otherwise a ‘bubble household’ structure will not be beneficial. The applicant is committed to develop its flagship project at 48 Esmonde Road as a sustainable urban village of the 21st century. The village will be primarily a high-density residential development with a limited number of non-residential uses to achieve a ‘live-work-play’ situation for its residents. The floor area distribution of various non-residential activities is considered carefully to minimise the presence of these other uses within a primarily residential environment. At the same time, these minimum floor area for non-residential activities will not allow them to become a destination for outside users and would not allow them to compete with another similar type of uses outside the site. These specific facilities will be primarily used by the residents and the village as a whole will offer an only minimum number of car parking spaces to avoid outside users. In this respect, the site planning for both stages of the development has taken a comprehensive approach in designing and locating various buildings in the site, activities within different floors of various buildings and establishing an integrated village character with communal space in the middle surrounded by various activities. The bottom two levels of various buildings include different publicly accessible non-residential activities to strengthen the village atmosphere where residents, visitors and the general public have the freedom of accessing various parts of the site in a sensible way without any physical barrier (i.e. gate or fence). The overlapping of various activities among different buildings and cross-connections between these building 66 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna are deliberate design decisions. The distribution of the buildings into various bulk, height, form and architectural appearance was an attempt to offer a group of buildings in a village form instead of two large buildings. The finer grain of built form of residential nature was considered as an essential aspect for establishing an urban village in an island setting of the site. In site planning, other aspects have also been given high importance, which are the spatial separation of residential and non-residential spaces, separate entrance for apartments and separating individual private outdoor spaces for apartments from communal spaces to preserve the privacy of residential users. To preserve the residential character of the village, some penthouse apartments have been mixed with the visitor accommodation facility. All penthouse apartments will have private rooftop spaces as their private outdoor spaces. Otherwise, all other residential units in the Stage 1 building will be used by short term visitors. The occupancy of the visitor accommodation will vary throughout the year and will be less occupied during the daytime when visitors are not there. It is therefore considered that the building is going to be less intensively used by residential activities, which means less noise and lighting emission, and less human movement activities there. It is therefore considered that the placement of Building 1 will assist in eliminating any possible adverse effect on the closet residential properties to the east about 140m away from the site boundary. The ground floor of Stage 2 building includes a café and a fitness centre with extensive glazing which face the street. The café will allow the public to enter from the eastern side through a transitional civic plaza which is proposed along the private accessway to the site instead of opening the café activity directly onto the Esmonde Road realm. A dedicated pedestrian and cycle access for the residents has been accommodated at the middle of the building. Within this building above ground northern apartments are directly facing the road with their road fronting balconies and principal living areas. This will assist in offering the residential character of the development on the streetscape and providing less external visual exposure to the development‘s non-residential uses. The car parking area has been provided at the rear of this building, and its access has been provided from the side private accessway to avoid car prominence on the streetscape. It is also confirmed from the relevant infrastructure assessment that there is adequate capacity in the existing stormwater and public reticulated water supply and wastewater network to service the proposed development. From the visual amenity effect assessment, it is identified that the proposed building intensity, scale, location, form and appearance is compatible with the character and residential amenity provided for within the zone and compatible with the surrounding residential area. The proposed limited area of non-residential activities will avoid high levels of additional non-residential traffic on local roads. 67 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh The acoustic assessment by WSP confirms that – Regarding operational noise associated with the development; with the mitigation measures outlined,, the noise generated by the tenancies and traffic is predicted to comply with the AUP noise limits at all sensitive receivers. As information is not currently available for the mechanical plant, it is recommended that this is reviewed prior to Building Consent to ensure that noise from mechanical services achieves the AUP noise limits. We, therefore, predict that noise effects associated with the operation of the development to be negligible. Construction activities on the site will occur during normal working hours and will comply with the relevant noise rules in the AUP to ensure that the amenity of adjoining properties is not compromised. Intermittent noise and vibration arising from construction activities would be of short duration and, for this reason, unlikely to cause any significant nuisance to neighbours who are not even present immediately adjacent to any of the site’s external boundaries. Earthworks proposed will result in truck movements to and from the site as mostly cut material will be taken out of the site. The required truck movements will not have a significant impact on the amenity of adjoining sites given the temporary nature of the work and the location on a regional road carrying a substantial volume of traffic. Any potential adverse effects that may arise during the construction phase can be effectively managed through appropriate conditions of consent. It is considered that any adverse effects on the amenity of the village residents, immediate neighbours and the surrounding roads due to the proposed non-residential uses and construction activities will be less than minor. 10.1.4 Cultural and Heritage Effects Currently, the site does not have any culturally sensitive or heritage structures and features. To identify any unknown features, a specific heritage assessment (refer to Appendix Q) and cultural value assessment (refer to Appendix P) have been undertaken. The heritage assessment states that – 68 The property at 48 Esmonde Road has one recorded archaeological site in the property boundary, R11/973, the house of Ngapuhi chief Eru Patuone. This site was recorded in 1979 but subsequently visited in 1996 and 2003 and deemed destroyed. This was confirmed during the current survey as modification of the landscape is extensive. Within the footprint of the Harbourside Church, childcare centre and carpark there has been site levelling that involved removing the highpoint of the knoll. Spoil from this process appears to have been pushed over the slopes surrounding the property and is now eroding onto the mudflats. The construction of Esmonde Road to the north of the property has also heavily modified the site topography. Despite 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna this, the property itself has high archaeological significance. This is due both to its location on a peninsula within Shoal Bay and therefore a desirable location for preEuropean Maori occupation, and also the historically-recorded occupation of the property by the notable Ngapuhi chief Eru Patuone and his descendants from 18521895. Based on the recommendation of the heritage assessment, the proposal has also gone through a separate consultation with Mana Whenua under the AUP(OP). This iwi consultation was facilitated by Jasmax’s cultural engagement specialist Apenti Tamanui-Fransen. At the beginning of this iwi consultation process, all relevant iwi individually has been notified by Mel Chow from the DPO about the proposal. After that Apenti did the follow-up consultation and provided the following consultation update. We had four hui with Ngai Tai Ki Tamaki representatives. Also to note, we made contact with all the Iwi included in the original list via email and/or phone call. From these two iwi responded; Ngati Maru and Ngai Tai. We have been working closely with Ngai Tai’s representatives Zaelene Maxwell and Reuben Kirkwood since, however Ngati Maru has not come back to us since our first engagement. As a result, Ngai Tai ki Tamaki has worked with the Jasmax design team and their cultural engagement specialist to develop a cultural design narrative for the proposed development, which will be primarily utilised at the detailed building consent design and detailed planting plan preparation stage. The design narrative has been prepared by Reuben Kirkwood, and currently, it is a part of the Cultural Value Assessment (CVA) which has been undertaken by the iwi. The design for the future esplanade reserve area (not part of this application) will require close collaboration with the iwi to reflect their cultural features in the design. The proposed earthworks design and associated construction management plan have taken into account the recommendations of the CVA, especially in relation to cultural value issues. At the current resource consent stage, the CVA provides a general framework for the proposal from a cultural perspective. The CVA has not identified any known cultural feature on the site but has confirmed the cultural values associated with the site. Accordingly, the CVA has recommended the inclusion of artist Reuben in the detailed design stage, which has been noted and acknowledged by the applicant. Again, several earthworks related conditions have been proposed by the CVA, which is acceptable to the applicant. As such, it is considered that subject to conditions, and detailed architectural, landscape and engineering plan approval being obtained, that any possible adverse effects on cultural values will be able to be minimised and contained within site, and will not generate any more than minor effects. 69 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 10.1.5 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Shading Effects The proposal would generate shading effects. Comprehensive shading diagrams have been provided, within the architectural drawing set attached at Appendix C. At many times, any shadows generated by the proposed buildings will be largely contained within the site or surrounding water area. The shading diagrams have modelled shadows at three representative dates of the year, being late summer/ early winter (21 March), winter (21 June) and summer (21 December). For each date, there are three times assessed – 9 am, 12 pm and 3 pm. The shadow diagrams are demonstrating that the shadowing effects of the proposed development will generally be concentrating within site without any adverse effect on the neighbouring residential sites to the south-east. Based on this analysis, and in the context of the site and its proximity to neighbouring properties, it is considered that the proposed development would not generate any shading effects on any adjacent property. The external shading effect here is nil. 10.1.6 Traffic Effects The proposed access, parking and vehicle layout have been reviewed by T&T (refer Appendices H and X). T&T is satisfied that the proposed access and parking will provide practical access arrangements and the proposal will not compromise the safe and efficient operation of the adjoining roading network or the safety of pedestrians and vehicles using the site. The proposed intensity of use is consistent with that expected by the AUP for sites located within the THAB zone. T&T has assessed the proposed development and the associated public road intersection. The T&T traffic report has made an overall comment in this way: 70 The location of the proposed development is situated in a site which allows for an optimum connection into the future walking and cycling network, as well as to existing public transport infrastructure. Based on the above assessment of the transport effects and the associated recommendations, it is considered that the site of the proposed development at 48 Esmonde Road in Takapuna, Auckland, and the surrounding transport network can accommodate the anticipated traffic and can provide suitable access arrangements. 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna The number of car parking spaces proposed to be provided onsite is within the permitted activity standards and is also supported by the proximity of the site to the amenities of the nearby commercial centre, as well as public transport services. Overall, it is considered that the proposal will not generate any significant adverse effects in relation to traffic, parking or access. 10.1.7 Effects on Public Interface As noted above, Maven Associates has prepared a servicing design and plans to ensure the site can be served with suitable infrastructure, including wastewater, stormwater, water supply, power and telecommunications. Details of the design are attached in Appendix G. Connections to the public stormwater, wastewater, water supply and general utility networks within, and around the vicinity of the site can be provided in accordance with the relevant Council standards. Maven Associates is satisfied that the proposed new infrastructure design will be suitable for the site and it will not compromise the upstream or downstream catchments. It is considered, subject to conditions and engineering plan approval being obtained, that any effects on infrastructure will be less than minor. 10.2 Relevant Provisions of a Plan or Proposed Plan 10.2.1 Objectives and Policies The Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone anticipates a high-density housing development of five to seven-storey high in selected locations. The zone also allows some small scale non-residential uses including visitor accommodation. The proposal has been designed to be consistent with the built form character and activity expectation of the AUP for this particular zone. The objectives and policies of the THAB zone are set out in sections H6.2 and H6.3 of the AUP. These provisions seek to ensure that land adjacent to centres and near public transport networks is developed to provide high-intensity residential activities that support the function and role of the nearby centres and transport facility, in this case, the metropolitan centre at Takapuna and Akoranga Bus Station. The THAB zone’s 16m permitted height plane has been infringed by the proposal, but the varying nature of the proposed height has been restricted within five to seven-storey as expected by this high-density zone. The proposal otherwise complies with most of the other core and non-core development standards with a minor infringement to a non-core standard of outlook space. This particular infringement is considered to be small in scale and of no 71 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh material effect. As a result, the proposed development will align with the objectives and policies of the THAB zone. In this respect, refer to Appendix V for detailed assessment. Objectives and policies relating to transport are set out in sections E27.2 and E27.3 of the AUP. These objectives and policies seek to ensure that the benefits of an integrated transport network are realised, and the adverse effects of traffic generation are managed. They also require that safe and efficient parking is provided along with safe and amenable pedestrian access to sites and along public footpaths. The proposed development has been designed to comply with the transport-related requirements of the AUP generally and is therefore considered to be consistent with the objectives and policies about transport. In this respect, refer to Appendix X for detailed assessment. Objectives and policies relating to earthworks are set out in sections E11 and E12 of the AUP. These provisions seek to ensure that earthworks are managed to ensure erosion and sediment loss to waterways is avoided or minimised. The erosion and sediment control measures that are proposed on the site will ensure these objectives and policies are achieved. Overall, the development proposal for the site seeks to achieve a high-quality urban design outcome that responds to the site’s zoning expectations and the changing urban development trend in the area. The proposal is considered to be a well-designed high density primarily residential development that establishes a gateway to the Takapuna Metropolitan Centre without creating any inappropriate visual and amenity effects on the surrounding area. It integrates well with the current and also future planned mass transit facilities of the area. The proposal’s cycle and pedestrian-oriented development vision will support the patronage of the high profile regionally significant project - Sky Path. It is considered that the proposed development achieves the relevant objectives and policies of the AUP and will give effect to many of the outcomes that are sought. With respect to some of the critical objectives and policies, the proposal seeks to: Residential – THAB zone 10.2.1.1 Use land adjacent to centres and near the public transport network efficiently to provide high-density urban living that increases housing capacity and choice (Objective H6.2(1)); 10.2.1.2 Provide a development that is in keeping with the area’s planned urban built character of predominantly five, six or seven storeys, in identified areas, in a variety of forms (Objective H6.2(2) and Policy H6.3(2)), as well as providing quality on-site residential amenity (Objective H6.2(3)); 10.2.1.3 Establish non-residential activities for the community’s social, economic and cultural well-being, while being compatible with the scale and intensity of development anticipated by the zone (Objective H6.2(4)); 72 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 10.2.1.4 10.2.1.5 10.2.1.6 It will contribute positively to the visual quality and safety of the local neighbourhood and streets through the use of extensive landscaping and planting on site, establishment of semi-permeable fencing, and by providing for passive surveillance (Policy H6.3(3)); The proposed development is of a height, bulk, form and appearance that positively responds to the planned residential character of the area and allows immediate neighbours to have a reasonable standard of sunlight access and privacy, and to avoid excessive dominance effects (through high quality design, significant setbacks from boundaries, and by substantial adherence to the relevant development standards) (Policy H6.3(5)); The proposed dwellings will have useable ground level outdoor living space, privacy and have access to sunlight and amenities necessary to meet the day to day needs of the residents through careful placement of the building on site and the use of appropriate screening and planting (Policy H4.3(6) and (7)). Earthworks 10.2.1.7 Land disturbance is undertaken in a manner that protects the safety of people and avoids, remedies or mitigates adverse effects on the environment. (2) Sediment generation from land disturbance is minimised. (3) Land disturbance is controlled to achieve soil conservation (Objectives – Regional). 10.2.1.8 Land disturbance is undertaken in a manner that protects the safety of people and avoids, remedies or mitigates adverse effects on the environment (Objective – District). Transport 10.2.1.9 Land use and all modes of transport are integrated in a manner that enables: (a) the benefits of an integrated transport network to be realised; and (b) the adverse effects of traffic generation on the transport network to be managed (Objective E27.2(1)). Overall, it is considered that the proposed development achieves the relevant objectives and policies of the AUP. 73 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 10.2.2 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Relevant Standards / Assessment Criteria As a restricted discretionary activity, Councils restriction is limited to a number of matters of discretion under the following relevant categories: • • • • H6 Residential – Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings Zone E11 Land Disturbance – Regional E12 Land Disturbance – District E27 Transport The matters of discretion in relation to the above categories have been addressed in various other sections of this report. Further, the relevant assessment criteria relate to the policies and objectives of the zone which have been discussed along with assessment Criteria of E11, E12 and E27 in detail in Appendices V, W and X. The effects due to infringement to the threshold identified in the permitted building height control for the THAB zone have been offset by the locational setting of the site, high-quality urban design, other complying development standards of the zone and various positive effects that will be generated by the proposed development. The proposal otherwise complies with most of the other core and non-core development standards with a minor infringement to a non-core standard of outlook space. This particular infringement is considered to be small in scale and of no material effect. All development standards have been considered in the assessment of the proposal and discussed in the report. It is considered that the proposal is consistent with the relevant assessment criteria. 10.3 Relevant Provisions of Other Statutory Documents The Regional Policy Statement (‘RPS’) provides a policy overview to guide the content of all district planning documents within the region. The proposed development would be consistent with Chapter B2 of the RPS – Urban Growth and Form as it provides for a quality compact development that is an efficient use of a site and that provides a high-quality urban environment for residents and the neighbourhood. 74 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh 10.4 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Any Other Matters Section 104(1)(c) requires Council to have regard to any other matter that it considers relevant and reasonably necessary to determine an application. 10.4.1 Auckland Plan The Auckland Plan was adopted in 2012 and provided a 30-year vision and strategy for the Auckland area. The purpose of the Plan is to provide for better coordination and investment and address a broader range of issues than land use matters. The Plan seeks to address a range of matters including: • • • • • • The role of Auckland in New Zealand; The social, economic, environmental and cultural objectives for Auckland and its communities; Existing and future land use patterns (residential, business, rural and industrial use) including the sequencing of growth and provision of infrastructure; Existing and future location of critical infrastructures such as transport, water supply, wastewater and stormwater, other network utilities, open space and cultural and social infrastructure; Policies, priorities, programmes, and land allocations to implement the strategic direction, and Nationally and regionally significant areas (ecological, recreation and open space, environmental constraints, landscape, historical heritage and natural features). The Auckland Plan confirms the continued need to deliver a quality compact city which meets housing demand and keeps pace with growth. It is considered that the proposal supports the strategic direction of the Auckland Plan by providing quality intensification and well-planned housing in an area that is infrastructure enabled. There are no ‘other matters’ that are considered to be of relevance in this instance. 75 . HIM .5 - up ?1 ?luff- . Proposed ground level civic plaza 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 11.0 Part 2 Matters Section 104 is expressly subject to Part 2 of the RMA. Part 2 sets out the purpose and principles of the Act, with a focus on promoting sustainable management of natural and physical resources (s5); recognising and providing for matters of national importance (s6); having particular regard to other significant resource management matters (s7), and; taking into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti O Waitangi) (s8). With regard to the matters contained in Part 2, it is considered that the proposal will promote sustainable management of natural and physical resources. The proposal will deliver muchneeded quality intensification in a comprehensive way into the Auckland community, where infrastructure and other residential amenities are already available. The proposal is sustainable use of land resources within existing urban limits and will enable positive social, economic and cultural outcomes not only for future residents but for the community as a whole. Adverse effects of the proposal have been adequately avoided, remedied and mitigated. It is therefore considered that the proposal meets Part 2 of the Act. 12.0 RMA Section 106 The RMA sets out additional circumstances when a consent authority may refuse subdivision consent. However, the proposal does not involve any subdivision at this stage. 13.0 Notification Assessment The Council will need to determine the basis on which the application will be processed. The options available are public notification, limited notification, or non-notification. The Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 has introduced a number of changes to the approach for determining the question of notification. Sections 95A and 95B have been amended to introduce a new ‘step by step’ process that the Council must follow when determining whether to publicly notify or limited notify an application. These steps are addressed below. On the basis of the following assessment, it is considered that the application should be processed on a non-notified basis without the need for any written approvals. Overall, it is considered that any actual or potential adverse effects that will arise from this proposal will be less than minor. 77 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 13.1 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Public Notification (s95A) Section 95A now includes a number of steps that must be followed to determine whether an application should be publicly notified. Step 1 sets out requirements for mandatory public notification. None of these applies to the proposal. Step 2 sets out situations where public notification is precluded (if not required under step 1). Section 95A(5)(b)(ii) precludes public notification if the activity is a restricted discretionary or discretionary activity, but only if the activity is a subdivision of land or residential activity. The application is not entirely for residential activity. It involves some non-residential activities, including visitor accommodation. The proposal is not associated with a subdivision. However, it is a restricted discretionary activity overall. Public notification is therefore not precluded. Step 3 is relevant if public notification is not precluded under Step 2. The application is for a number of activities, and none of these activities is subject to a rule or national environmental standard that requires public notification. Based on the assessment provided in this report and supported by various specialist reports, it is considered that the activity will not have or is not likely to have adverse effects on the environment that are more than minor. The consent authority (the Council) should be able to decide that too, in accordance with section 95D comfortably. Step 4 is the last step and relates to the consideration of special circumstances and whether these would warrant notification. It is considered that there are no special circumstances in this instance to suggest that public notification is appropriate. In the absence of any demonstrable adverse effects on either the environment or on any person, it would be difficult to sustain an argument for public notification on the basis of special circumstances. As a result of the above assessment, public notification of the proposal is precluded in accordance with section 95A of the RMA (as amended). 13.2 Limited Notification (s95B) As with the amendments to Section 95A, Section 95B also sets out a number of steps that must be followed to determine whether an application should be subject to limited notification. Step 1 relates to the consideration of certain affected groups and affected persons. There are no such groups or persons who would be affected by the proposal. Step 2 sets out situations where limited notification is precluded (if not required under step 1). The application is not a controlled or prescribed activity, and there is no rule or environmental standard that precludes limited notification. 78 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna Step 3 outlines situations where affected persons must be served with notice if such notification is not precluded under step 2. The activity is not a ‘boundary activity’, and it is considered that there are no affected persons (refer section 12.3, below). Step 4 is the last step and relates to the consideration of special circumstances and whether these would warrant notification to persons not already determined to be eligible for limited notification. It is not considered that there are any special circumstances in this instance that would warrant notification of the application to persons that are otherwise not already identified as being eligible for limited notification. Based on the above, limited notification of the proposal is not considered appropriate in accordance with section 95B of the RMA (as amended). 13.3 Are there any Affected Persons? (S95E) The proposed development has been designed to avoid and minimise potential or actual adverse effects to adjacent properties and the overall community, such as visual domination, residential amenity, shading, loss of privacy, cultural and heritage, traffic and infrastructure. This is achieved through the locational setting of the site, high-quality urban design including careful placement and architectural design of the development, best possible earthworks and engineering design, careful assessment of the overall transport effects and adoption of walking, cycling and public transport oriented design decisions, compliance with most of the development standards of the zone and various positive effects that will be generated by the proposed development. The proposed developed is designed on the basis of a set of good urban design principles. The high-quality visual appearance of the building has been achieved through design techniques, including breaking down the building’s mass through façade modulation, materials, and colour. An effective iwi consultation and constructive engagement with various Council officers, organisations and AUDP also assisted in assessing whether there are any affected persons. Essentially, the AUP contemplates (even encourages at a policy level) buildings on the site at a scale that is encompassed by the development controls. Those development controls are intended to protect the amenities of adjoining sites by limiting the effects of built form. In this proposal the outcome of the physical effects of the proposed development are considered to be insignificant in particular when the site does not have any immediate neighbour. On the waterside, the island setting allowed the proposal to be viewed by the nearest residential neighbour (about 140m away) at a distance with a lower scale. It is also considered that on the roadside, the visual appearance of the development will only offer dynamic visual experience, not a static one. These matters are assessed in detail in Mr Brown's report in Appendix D. A detailed assessment of the potential shading effects of the building on the surrounding area was undertaken in section 10.1.4 of this report. In addition, various expert reports and their 79 Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh concluding assessment of effects in Appendices B (Design Statement), E (Infrastructure), F (Stormwater Management), H (Traffic), L (Geotechnic), M (Acoustic), N (Ecology), O (Arboriculture), P (Cultural Value - Iwi), Q (Heritage) and R (Coastal Hazard) have been taken into account. That analysis, and other discussions of environmental effects elsewhere in section 10.1, clearly supports a conclusion that any effects on adjoining properties and the overall community would be less than minor. 14.0 Conclusion This application from Kingstone Property Limited seeks to construct a comprehensive housing development in the form of a 21st century sustainable urban village. The development will allow the residents to experience a live-work-play environment with some minor nonresidential uses on the site at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna. The site is identified as Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings zone. The AUP zoning of this site has not been appealed, and the provisions require that the application is assessed as a restricted discretionary activity. The proposal has been reviewed by a range of technical specialists and is deemed to be suitable for development, subject to appropriate conditions. Overall, it is considered that the proposal results in a high-quality residential development which introduces an architectural form that is anticipated and appropriate within the THAB zone in this location. Having considered the actual and potential effects of the proposal, it is considered that the development will not generate any significant adverse effects that cannot be avoided or potentially mitigated through conditions of resource consent. The proposed activity is entirely consistent with the relevant objectives, policies and assessment criteria of the AUP. Granting consent will enable the development of quality intensification and well-planned housing in an area that is infrastructure enabled. It will also enable the applicant to generate significant social benefits through the provision of an appropriately designed urban living environment for members of the community. Overall, it is concluded that granting consent to the proposal on a non-notified basis is appropriate, subject to conditions. 80 30/06/2020 R001-48 Esmonde Rd-AEE-Final-amh Kingstone Property Limited Proposed Urban Village Development at 48 Esmonde Road, Takapuna 15.0 Limitations This report has been prepared for the particular project described and for the purpose of satisfying the statutory information requirements for an application being made under the Resource Management Act 1991. No responsibility is accepted by Kingstone Property Limited (or its directors, agents or employees) for the use of the report or any part of it in any other context or for any other purpose. Signed for and on behalf of Kingstone Property Limited Abu Hoque Planning & Design Manager / BArch, MArch (Hons), MURP / MNZPI Kingstone Property Limited 81 Appendix A: Appendix B: Architectural Landscape Concept Drawings Visual Amenity Effects Assessment Infrastructure Report Stormwater Management Plan Earthworks Engineering Drawings Integrated Traffic Assessment Construction Traffic Management Plan Appendix J: Waste Management Plan Geotechnical Assessment Appendix M: Ecological Assessment Arboricultural Assessment Cultural Value Assessment Appendix G: Coastal Hazard Assessment Council Pre-Application Meeting Minutes Urban Design Panel Recommendations Existing Site Topographical Plan Assessment Against THAB Assessment Against Earthworks Assessment Against Transport Kingstone Property Limited Level 15, 5-7 Byron Avenue, Takapuna PO Box 127, Albany Village, Auckland 0755 Ph 021 576 537 abu.hoque@hobsongreen.co.nz www.hobsongreen.co.nz