Video English on the Auckland housing market
A controversial plan to intensify housing densities within some of Auckland's inner-city suburbs has been voted down.
Auckland Council called an extraordinary meeting of its governing body on Wednesday to settle an ongoing debate about whether it should dump an upzone planned for the city's housing.
Councillors voted to scrap the plan - 13 to 8 - during the heated public hearing.
It was convened after planners revealed a revised zoning scheme for its Unitary Plan in December last year which proposes higher density zones in suburbs said not to have been consulted during the original process.
Concerns had been expressed about the changes leading in to the vote and some councillors wanted planners to revert to the original 2013 zoning plan or re-open consultation.
A second vote to scrap the "out of scope" zoning changes made in late 2015 was also passed.
Numerous advocacy groups such as the Auckland Ratepayers Alliance claimed the would-be proposals were undemocratic and celebrated their demise in the aftermath of the vote.
"Today is the day that Auckland Council realises it can no longer ride roughshod over the democratic rights of ratepayers," spokesperson Jo Holmes said.
"This was always about natural justice and democracy."
But supporters of the changes say they're needed to give young Aucklanders a chance at buying homes.
They say dropping the plan would worsen inequality and councillors have offered no viable long-term alternative to more dense housing.
Under the scrapped council maps, parts of expensive neighbourhoods such as Mount Eden, Remuera and Takapuna would become mixed-housing zones - meaning more than one house can be built on each section up to limits of three storeys.
West Auckland areas such as Blockhouse Bay, New Lynn and Point Chevalier would also have seen some increased density.
In total, the would-be changes would mean single-dwelling-only areas would make up about 26 per cent of the city, compared to the 31 per cent now.
