Wellington said yes to more homes, in the right places!
Together, we have won a brighter future for our city.
You’ve probably seen the headlines by now: on Thursday, our city councillors voted to change the zoning rules in Wellington and say yes more homes. Councillors rejected the Independent Hearings Panel’s many sketchy recommendations, and introduced a slew of pro-housing amendments that went above and beyond the City for People asks.
This is a huge victory. The new District Plan will enable thousands of new homes, in the right places.
Over the last four years, City for People has strived to bring a different perspective to conversations about our city’s future, that have been long been dominated by a privileged few who benefit from the status quo. Our team of volunteers have put their lives on hold and dedicated hundreds of hours of their time. We’re proud to have radically changed the direction of the housing debate in Wellington.
We would like to thank the Councillors who stood up for a progressive vision for our city. They have taken real action on the housing crisis, and we are proud to have them represent us.
Of course, we still need the Minister for Housing, Chris Bishop, to approve the councillor’s changes, but he’s given every indication that he will.
Housing wins the war:
“There is no other way of putting it. The new Wellington District Plan is the biggest, fattest W in the history of the pro-housing movement in this country. For the Yimbys, the New City, the progressives, the urbanists, a City for People, for anyone who wants to own a townhouse or apartment in Wellington, this is an enormous, unprecedented victory.
In the stroke of a pen (and a six-hour meeting with many tedious amendment votes), Wellington has moved from the most restrictive housing market in New Zealand to the most permissive.”
— Joel McManus, The Spinoff
Housing advocacy groups celebrate big changes to Wellington's zoning rules:
“Housing advocacy groups and pro-density councillors are delighted by changes to Wellington's proposed district plan, after a series of amendments were made by councillors at Thursday's meeting. Amid a housing crisis in the capital, the Wellington City Council has broadly rejected a plan criticised for not doing enough to encourage more houses, drawn up by an independent hearing panel.
Luke Somervell from the group City for People said they were stoked with the amendments which would allow higher buildings in more places.
"The assumptions of people on the panel were so out of touch and out of step with the evidence," he said. "We were worried that councillors would listen to them, instead of what people want. A lot of people want more housing, they want to live in apartments, in fact they'll take anything at this stage, really."
He said increasing the housing stock would alleviate the long queues at flat viewings symptomatic of the competitive rental market, and make it harder for landlords to rent run-down places at high prices.
— Kate Green, RNZ
‘YIMBYs’ win Wellington housing debate: what does that mean for the city?
Pro-density group City for People, founded Marko Garlick and Eleanor West, has been pushing for a dense, upzoned housing plan since 2020. They were stoked with Thursday’s result.
Garlick felt motivated to start a campaign after being shocked that while several groups were formed to protect character areas, no-one was advocating for new, dense housing to solve the housing crisis.
[…]
West believed the decision made by the council on Thursday would lead to “housing abundance” in the next decade.
“I'm hoping that we'll see new developments going up all over the place. I'm hoping that we'll see lots of cranes. I think real cities have cranes and Wellington doesn't have enough so that would be nice to see.”
— Erin Gourley, The Post
Our Walk Home: march for a liveable city
On Monday, we marched from Civic Square to Newtown. The Independent Hearings Panel said Wellington didn’t need to zone for heaps more housing in Newtown because the city is an “amphitheatre” and it’s not reasonable to assume people who walk to work also walk home.
But you all turned up, the sun came out, and we proved them wrong.
And now our councillors have voted to include Adelaide Road in the city centre zone, which means six storey apartments will be allowed by default. Exactly the result we were hoping for!
Huge thank you to our brilliant volunteer organisers, Preyanka and Finn <3
City for People supporters tell their stories
Over the last month, we’ve been copied in on so many lovely emails from City for People supporters, calling on their councillors to make sensible decisions with all of our futures in mind. Thank you to everyone who used our email template and made your voices heard.
Here’s an exert from an email by Newtown resident, Tim (shared with permission):
“Please, councillors, when you think of Newtown, and when you think of the city as a whole, think about how special this place is, and the joy of enabling people to live in it. This is an incredibly special place and you and I are so lucky to enjoy it. But what makes it special is the people, and the communities we can create together. Please take this once in a generation opportunity to enable housing, so we can make this city an affordable place for current and future residents.”
Other media coverage we recommend:
Live updates: Wellington City Council approves ambitious new District Plan The Spinoff
The pros and cons of Wellington's controversial district plan (audio) RNZ
Wellington City Council removes heritage status from derelict buildings for more housing Newshub, with comments from City for People spokesperson, Luke 👇
Revealed: All the changes councillors want to make to Wellington’s District Plan The Spinoff
Wellington housing: Rewriting the rulebook for building in the capital RNZ
Who benefits from a feminist city? Miriam Moore of Women in Urbanism on The Spinoff
The moment that could change the future of housing in Wellington The Spinoff
The story of Wellington’s housing panel The Spinoff
Extra special shout out to Joel McManus at The Spinoff and Erin Gourley at The Post for their dedicated coverage of the District Plan debate over the last few months: thank you both for making sure this once-in-a-generation decision got the public attention it deserved.
Finally, thank you for your support
We are so grateful to all of you who have supported our campaign over the last four years. You volunteered your time. You made submissions. You donated money. You wrote letters. You turned up to public meetings. You sent emails. You marched with us. You shared our messages with your friends, your whānau, your neighbours, your colleagues, and your electrician.
You all helped make this happen. Together, we were a voice that could not be ignored.
From the bottom of our hearts, ngā mihi nui.
— Eleanor, Marko and the City for People team.
P.S. don’t forget to RSVP for the special edition Urban Nerds next week (19 March). If you're still reeling from our huge win, this is the perfect opportunity for collective processing.
