Zoning 'the nigger in the wood pile,' says Govt planner

Taupo Times, Volume 23, Issue 56, 16 July 1974, Page 3

Zoning 'the nigger in the wood pile,' says Govt planner

The necessity for rural zoning of land, particularly in coastal and lakeshore areas, was questioned in Taupo last week by the retiring district planner for the Ministry of Works and Development, Mr W. L. Beaumont, Hamilton. C'Given a county fhat has the interests of town and country planning at heart, a«d who can be relied upon to live up to their planning responsibilities, rural zoning can be dispensed with," he told the Taupo County Council. Mr Beaumont, who is retiring later this month and moving to Northland, said his opinions were not necessarily shared by his department or by the Minister of Works and Development. "Whilst all other areas of residential, commercial and industrial activity are carefully divided and con- ' i

trolled, there is really no planning whatever in the rural zone," he said. "The norm in district schemes is to have a minimum size for subdivisions in rural zones and to arbitrarily select a long list of predominant and conditional uses. "But to select a single minimum size of subdivision to cover a whole county with all its varied types of soils and landscape is nothing more than a stab in the dark, and cannot really be defended on any planning grounds." Mr Beaumont said it was not the size, but the use to which a sub'division was put, that counted most. "Much has been said against the provision for specified departures and much has been done by way of amendent to the Act to tighten up the conditions under which they may be granted. "But the fact is that the fault neither lies in the Act, nor in many cases in the application; the fault lies in the council' s. own code of ordinances — something completely within their control. "Zoning is the nigger in the wood pile. . It has

become the be and endall." Mr Beaumont said the important thing about all land uses was their relationship to the landscape within which they were situated, and their effect on each other. Clearly incompatible uses should not be placed in juxtaposition. "How then is this to be achieved if we do not have a rural zone? "It is necessary first of all to set out clearly in the scheme statement the attributes of the scenery and of the land itself that are intended to be controlled and why that control is necessary. "Then would follow a list of the criteria which would have to be met before development of any kind would be permitted, to be subject to the imposition of such further conditions as a county might deem necessary in any particular case. "There would be no predominant uses in the area concerned; uses of any kind would be conditional ones. "If a proposed use was turned down by a county on the grounds that it did

not conform with the criteria set out for the area then presumably an application for a specified departure could be made." If such an approach were to be adopted in rural areas, especially in areas of sea and lakeshore, then subdivisions not possible except with great difficulty under the present system of rural zoning could be permitted, he said. Many already permitted would probably not have been allowed. "Once you zone land, you must have a boundary line, and what you can do on one side of the line you may not be able to do on the other. "To set' such boundaries in any rural scene is well nigh an impossibility." Mr Beaumont also had some personal comments on ownership of Maori land. "The Maori is constantly under fire for either wanting to hold on to the ownership of his land in all circumstances, or else to be allowed to subdivide whereever he wishes. "I feel the blame is often unfairly apportioned. "The ownership of land to the Maori is, on the whole, a much more sacred trust than it is to the pakeha. "Generally, he sees no reason why building should not be permitted on areas of land partitioned long ago, but on which in

I Zoning "nigger in the wood pile" says planner

today's enlightened town planning thought, such building could well be most 'inappropriate." But, said Mr Beaumont, it was possible to carry out the best town planning ideas and, at the same time, satisfy the aspirations of the Maori. "Meet him halfway. and you will find him to be very generous, especially in the matter of the provision of reserves. "He is every bit as anxious of their need as the pakeha. "I suggest that where ever there is a marae a Maori community zone could be established. "This could rope in some areas of land already cut up but not built on in the reasonable vicinity of the marae. "Building and other acceptable uses would then be permitted within this zone. This should not be looked upon as an effort to segregate the Maori, as the areas to be covered by these zones would, in fact, be of his own choosing as a result of discussion with the county. "I visualise that none of .. I

the land within the zone would be freeholded but would belong to the community represented in the zone." Tauranga county had already set the main in this

respect, said Mr Beaumont. "But where large areas of land are required to be set aside for reserves, then perhaps the answer would lie in leasing those lands in perpetuity, rather than

buying them and so de-, priving the Maori of that title to which he clings so dearly. "In return though, I would look to the Maori to acknowledge that in areas where a very large percentage of the total land is Maori owned — such as in the Tauranga-Mount Maunganui district — it would be poor planning indeed to deny any use of that land for important public works. "I feel confident that, if the district scheme were to reflect these attitudes, then the Maori, like most other thinking people, will be found to be a generous partner to have in the operation of the Town and Country Planning Act." Mr Beaumont was farewelled by the Taupo County Council last week, and tributes were paid to his work. The county chairman, Mr J. M. Black, praised his "sound reasoning in his approach to town planning matters" ,and Mr G. A. Thompson said he was amazed at Mr Beaumont's detailed knowledge of the Taupo county.