*Two Activities, Five Items, and One Entertainment in this Digest.*

*Activities.*
Activity 1: Centre Web Page Revitalised.
Activity 2:   Preparing to attend Houston Conference.

*Items*.
Item 1: One way to reduce the cost of housing in New Zealand.
Item 2: How to catch up with Australia.       
Item 3: How to Destroy the Auckland Economy – another step along the way. 
Item 4: Planning in extremis – the Omokoroa Story.
    

*Entertainment 1: Muslim weather *
* *

*Funding:*   Even a Dollar Helps! 

*Activity One:** **Centre Web Page Revitalised.*
Technology moves on and our Web Page is quite old and by modern standards has 
been difficult to load onto, and generally modify as needed. I wanted to bring 
the management closer to home and to use the latest easy to use software. Until 
recently there was no one in the neighbourhood able to do the job and provide 
ongoing maintenance – one of the few problems with living in remote areas. 
However, all has come right, and we now have a new version of the web site, 
which we are gradually bringing up to date, and it will be updated daily or as 
necessary.
The main addition is a search engine so we do not have to anguish so much over 
where to file things.
This is not intended to be a blog page because it would take too much of my 
time. However, we are thinking of adding a comments section under major and 
popular papers so readers can chat among themselves.
The hit number has only been counting since we started the upgrade and we shall 
be interested to see how we go.
If you have any comments on how to further improve the page, let us know. This 
is the time to get it right.
Go to:
http://www.rmastudies.org.nz/
Don't use your "history" link or any existing links you have. They may take you 
to the now defunct page.
*
*
*Activity Two: Preparing to Attend Houston Conference.*
I leave for Houston on the 13th May, and return on the 22nd May. 
There is still time to enroll. Any New Zealander interested in kick starting our 
economy and wanting to keep New Zealanders in New Zealand rather than filling 
planes to Australia and elsewhere should seriously consider attending this 
conference and escaping from the nonsense which pervades our discussions on 
urban economies, housing and transport.
*
*

*Item One:   One way to reduce the cost of housing in New Zealand.*
There should no longer be any argument about the need to release more land for 
housing in New Zealand if we want to make housing affordable for everyone once 
again. However, while increasing the number of lots available is necessary, it 
is not sufficient – we must also reduce the costs of those lots.

One formula is to change the RMA to require Councils to provide two "classes" of 
lot, especially in greenfield areas. At present a swarm of consultants have 
persuaded councils that new lots need to be fully certified before sale, mainly 
to prevent Councils from being liable for downstream failings or difficulties. 
The end result is that new lots require a specified building platform, a geotech 
(foundation)  report, a certified street crossing, a certified driveway, a 
stormwater management report , a sewage treatment report, and a soil stability 
report – and any other report the consultants and staff can dream up to increase 
their revenue flows.

The end result is a collection of costs which are out of reach of most families, 
especially those on a low income, and hence these people can neither produce new 
sections nor buy them. They are prices out of both ends of the supply and demand 
chain.
Incredibly, by the time a dwelling gets a building permit it may have had three 
reports on its on-site sewage treatment plant.

The solution is obvious and proven. When we buy a car we can one with a warrant 
of fitness and registration or we can buy it "as is – where is."
 
A reformed RMA could require councils to offer sections which meet the most 
basic requirements – such as four pegs in the ground, and a safe street 
crossing, but nothing else. The LIM report would advise purchasers to "beware" 
and advise that the section has no geotech report or any other report. This may 
sound radical but there are thousands of rural lots on the market which have no 
certification but are sold at the price set by the costs of new lots. Naturally, 
these "as is – where is" lots would be cheaper. Less than twenty thousand 
dollars in many locations. Which is a good starting point for the young couple 
trying to enter the market. 

In the ideal situation a potential buyer should be able to approach a farmer and 
say "I want to buy an acre of your land", go out and peg it out, get the survey 
and complete the purchase. If that person does not want another house next door 
then the parties can enter a covenant to that affect. But the bureaucrats and 
consultants would not get a look in. And the lost could cost no more than 
$20,000, which would set a useful baseline.

The Centre welcomes any feedback on this idea and especially on how to write the 
idea into law.
*
*

*Item Two:   How to Catch Up with Australia.*

*Texas is emerging as the great success story as the effect of its low cost 
housing and attractive commercial environment influences American location 
decisions. Go to:*

http://www.ntxe-news.com/artman/publish/article_45704.shtml

*
In this report a leading Texan expert on residential real estate is betting 
housing affordability will be the “most significant growth stimulant” for Texas 
over the next 25 years.

“Texas is the most housing-affordable, high-growth state in the nation,” says 
Dr. Jim Gaines, research economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M 
University. 
“So far, skyrocketing home prices common to fast-growing states like California 
and Florida have not occurred in Texas. Texas leads the nation in job creation. 
If Texas maintains its average employment-to-population ratio as expected during 
the next 25 years, the state will add another 4.5 to 5.8 million jobs," says Gaines.
“More people and more jobs will lead to higher personal income, ”says Gaines. 
"The 2005 Texas median household income of $42,139 could reach nearly $68,000 by 
2030."

If anyone wants to know more about the Texan formula for success they could join 
me at the American Dream Coalition Conference, from May 16th – 18th at Houston, 
Texas.
Go to: http://americandreamcoalition.org/
You will see that "Amalgamation", and "Super-Cities", are not even on the 
forty-three item Agenda. Maybe these people know what really counts.
*

*Item Three: How to Destroy the Auckland Economy – another step along the way.*
Someone once complained to me that Auckland was a badly planned city. I replied 
"Of course it is. That is what planning does. All planned cities are badly 
planned because nobody knows how to do it."

The latest example is the ARC's call for Councils to stop providing car-parking 
for workers to encourage people to get out of their cars and use public 
transport. They argue that Auckland's massive investment in public transport 
will be wasted if it remains convenient for people to use their cars. They do 
not stop to consider that many US cities have spent billions of dollars on 
public transport and the end result is a reduction in public transport market 
share. So they had better get used to it.
Of course the "anti-parking" campaign will work. Aucklanders will use public 
transport – they will climb onto 747s and fly to Australia or somewhere else 
where people are allowed to exercise their choices rather than be dictated to by 
planners who always have their own carpark near at hand.

Remember when the justification for spending billions on public transport was to 
provide Aucklanders with a choice? This is a strange kind of choice. The choice 
you have when you don't have a choice.

*Item Four: Planning in extremis – the Omokoroa Story.*
But the most chilling piece of planning lore has come out of the Smart Growth 
Plan for Omokoroa (Plan Change 69)in the Western Bays. The Centre made 
submissions against this amazing piece of total design of a whole peninsula - 
Beca Planning's structure plan conveys the impression the Council (Or Beca 
Planning) own all the land while in fact it remains in private hands.
Go 
to: http://www.wbopdc.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/FFC6EE52-0BBC-4A06-BC6F-4048C1545737/49890/Appendix5Part1.pdf

To scan all the documents go to:
http://www.wbopdc.govt.nz/Projects/OmokoroaUrbanisation/

Anyhow, one of the submissions was dismissed with the following gem:

"There is a growing body of evidence to show that how we plan our communities
can impinge on peoples (sic) health and wellbeing, it (sic) would be socially
irresponsible to willingly allow development patterns and styles that promoted
crime, secondary lifestyles (sic) and/or excessive resource consumption."

Notice there are no references sited to this extensive research, (making the 
claims difficult, if not impossible, to check) but the research which the Centre 
has looked at is deeply flawed and assumes that location determines behaviour 
(spatial determinism) whereas in reality behaviour determines where we locate. 
And who determines what is excessive resource consumption? Al Gore?

Another submission was rejected on the grounds that "Development yields and 
section sizes have been determined by applying Smartgrowth requirements." 
"Development yields" is the new euphemism for minimum density. These local 
residents may own a piece of land but the planners have determined a minimum 
density for it – they may want to just build a single dwelling but will be 
 forced into the apartment business.
Remember when we were told that the RMA would see an end to "the direction and 
control" of the use of land?

Is that the sound of another 747 leaving for Australia?


*Entertainment One:  Weather forecasting.  *
The British have succumbed to PC pressure and have adopted Muslim weather 
forecasts. It is not dificult.
The British weather is sometimes Sunni but mostly Shi'ite.


*Funding.*
Never has the Centre been asked by so many to do so much. And we try to oblige. 
However, everything costs money and the Government is remorseless in its demands 
for provisional taxes and GST. We really don't want to fold our tent and creep 
away so your donations are essential to our ongoing efforts. The Centre donation 
form is attached.
Remember – even a dollar helps!