TOWN PLANNING

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 142, 8 February 1932, Page 6

TOWN PLANNING

ROTORUA SPECTS D1RECTOR ADDRESSES PUBLIC MEETING IN ST. JOHN'S II, ALL. PREPARING FOR DEVELOPMENT. "It is always a pleasure to speak under the auspices of your Mayor, bccause he :s one of the few men in municipal life who fully realise the importance of town planning," said Mr. J. W. Mawson, director of town planning, when opening his address at St. John's Hall on Friday 'evening. He had been specially invited by the Mayor to spealc on the subject in Rotorua and it was regrettable that only a very small audience assemblea to hear his explanation of the work which it is possible to carry out under the Act. Zoning, he pointed out, was designed to secure efficiency and economy in local administration, and the health, safety and welfare of the community. Its justificat;on lay in ch'anges which had been wrought ift the social fabric by modern inventions, the concentration of population and the complexity in our urban life. Under these conditions, indiv'dual freedom of action had, necessarily, to be curtailed, and this curtailment applied in some degree to property as well as persons. Zoning regulations, to be effective and equitable, must be eomprchensive and predicated upon facts and not upon mere (personal op1*nion. Poor zoning was worse than no zoning at all. The regulations Should be so designed as to secure an orderly growth by the control of all property according to its local future use. Looking Ahead There was no difference in principle between designing a water system and a bridge. The load to be carried must be known in advance for a reasonable t:me. Streets and utilities should be appropriately and adequately proportioned to the services to be rendered vnd this could only be determined if the character and use of the property concerned was known. This required that the policy and design of th streets and utilities be correct in the beginnmg and that the use, or occupancy, of the property should not be so changed as to call for service of a different nature or capacity. This could only be assured by a well-de-vised zoning scheme. Modern zoning fell under three main headings — use, height and area — or, in other words, the setting aside of districts or spec'fied areas for the major land uses such as residential, commercial, industrial and recreational and the regulation of the intensity of those uses by limitations upon the maximum building and populat'on densities. Each urban area had a special functional character which required individual consideration. Local Application. By a careful study of the exist'ng conditions in New Zealand, he had formed the conclusion that the following zones would be suitable for "loccrua: — (1) Residential, (a) special, (b) general. (2) Commercial, with a possible subdivision to allow of neighourhood shoppmg centres. (3) Industrial, (a) light and domestic, (b) heavy industries, which should be jxcluded. Rotorua, he pointed out, 'ivcd largely by its amenities and its citizens should, therefore, use all their efforts to maintain and enhance them. They should see that building density was kept down to the lowest possible standard and provision made i'or open spaces. They had good open areas now and they should be carefully guarded. Our streets were iome of the best of any borough in the Dominion. It might be said that they were too wide, but he did not agree with that view as it enabled the development of a boulevard and park system. Some Sugg.estions. For consideration of the local authority, he made the following suggestions: In special and general residential areas the sections should have not less than 50 feet frontage, giving •3000 square feet as a minimum area. For commercial and industral areas the frontages could be 25 feet and the size of the sections 3000 square feet. The site area in residential zones should be 6000 square feet to me family and in the general area 1500 square feet. The coverage, .hat is the size of the building in proportion to the sect'on, should be 35 per cent. in the residential quarter, 30 per cent. in the general, and 75 per cent. in the commercial and industrial. To provide front yards, houses should be set back 35 feet from the eentre of roads or 20 feet from the roadline. There should be 5 feet allowed on the side between bounda■ies and buildings. Twenty-five feet jhould be allowed for backyards in cesidential areas and 15 feet else>vhere.. The height of buildings in esidential quarters should be ketpt down to 35 feet and in commercial ireas to 45 feet. Adequate provision should also be made for light and ventilation in offices and workshops. Some Advantages. Summarsing the question, Mr. Mawson added that in addition to the advantages already mentioned, zoning ?tabilised property uses and values, thereby making property more sale-

able, eliminating speculation and affording security of tenure and investment. Public health was promoted by better ventilation. By regulating building uses heights and densities, public safety ¥was promoted and economic losses eliminated by (a) preventing undue congestion or concentration of population, (b) avoiding traffic congestion and reducing the risk of street accidents, reducing fire risks; (d) reducing risk to human life in the event of earthquakes; and (5) safeguarding and promoting the amenities of residential districts by preventing the intrusion of incom/patible land uses and preserving an open type of development. Concluding, he expressed the hope that he had given his hearers some food for thought and that there would be a better attendance at the next meeting held. He emphas*sed the fact that no scheme of town planning could be put into operation without every ratepayer having the right to investigation and a thorough understanding of what was proposed.