New campaign calls on councillors to vote for housing affordability in the District Plan
Joint PRESS RELEASE: councillors must vote to change the zoning rules.
Today City for People launched a new campaign calling on Wellington City Councillors to vote yes to housing affordability in the District Plan.
City for People is a non-partisan coalition of individuals and organisations — including Generation Zero, Renters United, Women in Urbanism, Parents for Climate Aotearoa, the Sustainability Trust, and Cycle Wellington — who share a progressive and sustainable vision for Wellington and are working together to advocate for change.
In 2021, City for People successfully campaigned for an sensible Spatial Plan for Wellington that would enable our city to build more homes. But the Spatial Plan is not legally binding – it’s just a blueprint.
City for People spokesperson, Jesse Richardson, says Councillors must say yes to building more homes in our city when the District Plan goes to Council for a final vote in March.
“Everyone in Wellington should have a chance to live in a home that is affordable, accessible, healthy and warm. That isn’t a reality for far too many people in our city, and that’s why we are calling on the Council to take bold action to address this crisis.
“We made great progress with the pro-housing Spatial Plan but at this stage it is just a blueprint – we need Councillors to make this a reality by voting yes to affordable housing in the District Plan, which is the rule-book for the next 30 years.
“This is a key decision-point for all Councillors. If people can’t afford to live in our city it will stagnate and die.
“We are campaigning for a city built for people. A city all of us can share – where there are enough homes for everyone, it’s easy to get around, and we have choices about the types of homes we want to live in, and which of our local communities we want to put down roots in.”
Generation Zero spokesperson, Elena Wood, says the new District Plan is critical for the future of Wellington.
“This is an opportunity for change. Our city is growing and we want to welcome new neighbours. We need our city councillors to change the rules and make it easier to build more homes where people want to live.”
We’re asking Wellington City Councillors to:
Raise building height limits in the city centre or remove them all together.
Increase what’s considered “walkable” from 10 minutes to 15 minutes.
Recognise that the Johnsonville train line and the Newtown bus route are “mass-rapid transit” routes.
Apply the Medium Density Residential Standards consistently across the whole city.
Keep special character areas the same size agreed to in the Spatial Plan.
City for People’s website sets out our vision for Wellington and explains why each of our five asks are important for the future of our city.
Refer to our website for detailed explanations of our five asks and other FAQs.
Media liaison contact: 027 529 1079
cityforpeoplenz@gmail.com
Twitter: @CityForPeopleNZ
Photo by Chun Fei Chin on Unsplash