Auckland is poised to adopt a compromise plan that allows for taller residential buildings near key transport corridors while restricting development intensity in outer suburbs. The approach seeks to balance growth demands with local concerns, addressing the city’s ongoing housing shortage and infrastructure limitations.

Council members are scheduled to vote on the hybrid plan, which emerged after months of debate and consultation with local boards and iwi. The proposal enables apartment towers of 10 to 15 storeys at train stations along the Western, Eastern, and Southern rail lines, with six-storey structures permitted along major bus routes. However, building heights in 14 hubs located more than 10 kilometers from the city center would be capped at six storeys. Small local centers, typically comprising convenience shops and modest retail outlets, would be excluded from six-storey development provisions altogether.

Richard Hills, chairman of Auckland Council’s policy, planning and development committee, expressed hope that the compromise would unite councillors and allow the city to advance its development agenda. He emphasized focusing density where existing infrastructure, including water supply and public transport, is robust enough to support increased population.

This latest plan follows years of evolving policy, beginning with the council’s 2016 update to planning rules intended to accommodate up to 1.2 million new homes in the coming decades. Subsequent government directives raised targets initially to two million and then scaled back to 1.4 million homes, legally obliging Auckland Council to accommodate this growth. When councillors faced the choice last month, they rejected more aggressive development scenarios, which had projected substantial economic benefits, instead opting to collect further input on two less ambitious options.

Local boards and iwi provided swift feedback, shaping a hybrid plan that promotes increased density close to the city center and high-capacity transport routes, while limiting growth in more distant hubs. In some cases, localized adjustments were made—for example, Meadowbank Train Station was designated for six-storey limits due to its residential surroundings and limited access, with higher-density development redirected to nearby areas like Remuera Road. Similarly, the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board supported taller buildings in central Takapuna but requested a reduction in the designated high-rise zone to better fit existing neighborhood character.

Under the proposed rules, approximately 85 percent of Auckland’s land area would remain subject to current planning standards. If the plan receives council approval, public consultation is expected to begin next month, with a final decision anticipated by mid-2024.

Hills acknowledged the challenges of navigating shifting government requirements and multiple rounds of planning, likening the experience to being caught in a “washing machine,” but expressed optimism that the compromise would enable the city to move forward.