City Plans Affordable Housing

By BURGESS, Dave

WELLINGTON City Council has floated a plan that could wipe thousands of dollars in property development fees to allow first- home buyers to climb on to the property ladder.

Council planning director Ernst Zollner said a study had identified land in Adelaide Rd, near Newtown, that was “ripe for development” as townhouses, complemented by cafes and groves of roadside trees.

“We think about 2000 more people could live there. It would be low-rise developments, no more than three storeys.”

He said the townhouses would be affordable so a couple could buy their first home and then save to buy something “bigger and better”.

Private developers had asked if the council would consider dropping development fees in the city — which could be as high as $15,000 and used to pay for building infrastructure costs — if an apartment was bought by a first- home owner.

“The council could recommend that the developers don’t pay development contributions and they have to pass that (benefit) on to the buyer,” Mr Zollner said. The developers also said they would negotiate preferential bank loans for first-time owners.

The council’s northern growth management framework identified that growth would happen north of the city. Mr Zollner said there was room for at least another 1200 houses in the area.

The biggest development at Lincolnshire Farm, between Grenada Village and Horokiwi, could accommodate 900 new houses. Most of the remainder would be at Stebbings Valley in Churton Park.

Sections at Lincolnshire Farm have yet to go on sale, and 500- square-metre sections at Stebbings Valley cost up to $220,000. Both sites are zoned for residential use.

The council also has land in Owhiro Valley that it could rezone as residential. Big residential blocks are available in Porirua, Upper Hutt, and on the Kapiti Coast.

But though land for housing was not a problem, its location could be, Mr Zollner said. “We have gone from 500 people to 11,000 people living in the central city in about 10 years. A lot of people want to live close to amenities where things are walkable.”

——————–

(c) 2007 Dominion Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.