Housing for Everyone - ​Plan Change 9

The plan change will enable greater housing choice in Rotorua by amending the current rules. This is an important part of addressing our housing shortage because it enables more houses to be built in areas that have access to jobs, public transport, amenities and other community facilities.

When more people live in an area, we can invest more efficiently in those things that enhance a community such as parks and open spaces, streets, schools and health services. This is critical to creating thriving communities.

A plan change is the process for amending the Rotorua District Plan. This includes changes to the rules and the zones. This is a public process where people have the opportunity to make submissions and have their say on the changes.

There is a significant lack of housing in Rotorua, which is contributing to a housing crisis. The Government and the Council have agreed that one way to increase the amount of housing is to make changes to the Rotorua District Plan to allow “Medium Density” housing in all residential areas.

As a result, the government has directed the Council to notify a Plan Change by 20 August 2022 to the District Plan to introduce the new Medium Density residential standards.

On 14 March 2022 an Order in Council (OIC) from the government directing Rotorua Lakes Council to incorporate the medium density residential standards as per the requirements of the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021.

It is a change to legislation that introduces new rules that replace some of the current district plan rules in order to encourage greater residential development and housing choices for communities that are experiencing an acute housing need. The Act requires all relevant Councils to incorporate the new Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) into every relevant residential zone in their district plan by August 20 2022. As part of the Housing Plan Change, Councils have also been directed to use the Intensification Streamlined Planning Process (ISPP) for the formal statutory plan change process which will enable Councils to implement intensification faster.