Developing a section for infill housing is a complex but rewarding process, writes Fraser Thomas Survey Director, Gary Blyth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Infill\nhousing has been occurring within New Zealand since the 1970\u2019s where additional\ndwellings have been constructed onto an existing residential site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To\nachieve separate legal ownership of the infill housing, subdivisions have been\ncompleted either by cross-lease, unit title or freehold tenure, using the\nservices of qualified planners, surveyors and engineers. To enable the\nnecessary certifications to be completed and for land transfer survey to be\ncompleted, the professionals need to be suitably qualified as either Chartered\nProfessional Engineers or as Licensed Cadastral Surveyors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As with\nany project, the first step is to complete due-diligence. Infill housing\nis no different and is particularly important, as each property is\nunique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nsecond step is to engage a suitably qualified planning, surveying and\nengineering team who have the necessary expertise in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nfirst checks that will be completed will be to review the Record of Title, to\nassess if there are any impediments to further development of the\nproperty. These may include a land covenant, that may restrict the site\nto one dwelling or a consent notice from a Local Authority, that may impose a\nrestriction on the site in terms of additional development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stage\nof the assessment would be to check the zoning and planning controls that are\nparticular to the site. These will be set out in the Local Authorities\nDistrict or Unitary Plan. District Plan controls relating to infill\ndevelopment may be either density controlled or design controlled, or a mixture\nof both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For\nexample, the Auckland Unitary Plan has moved to design based controls for the\nlarger areas of residential zoned land. The design controls allow infill\nhouses to be approved, in some cases, as permitted activities for up to three\ndwellings where the controls have been met. Controls would include items\nsuch as building site coverage, yards, maximum height or height in relation to\nboundary, as examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following\nconfirmation that the site can accommodate infill housing, based on the zoning\nand development controls, the next item to be ticked off is issues related to\nthe site-related features and infrastructure. Site-related features may\ninclude a site which is subject to flooding, instability or possible soil\ncontamination. The more common of these would be flooding, and may\nrequire the completion of a Flood Report to assess possible flooding impact to\nthe site, in order to accommodate any additional dwellings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Infrastructure\nassessments will include an assessment as to whether any additional dwellings\ncan be adequately serviced for wastewater, stormwater and water supply. This\nassessment will require the professional to review Council\u2019s records and assess\nwhat, if any, extensions to services that may be required. Capacity of\nexisting public reticulated systems will also need to be reviewed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only\nfollowing completion of a full feasibility of a particular site, by a\nprofessional with the necessary experience in infill housing and land\ndevelopment, will the development potential of the site be reliably known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the\nfun stuff starts, with looking at what can be designed to fit within the\nexisting site constraints. Your land development professional will work\nwith your nominated Housing Company or Architectural Designer to assess what\ncan be accommodated on the site. The planning controls of the District or\nUnitary Plan will largely dictate the design controls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once a\nConcept Layout has been completed, a budget costing for the full development\ncan be put together which will enable the developer to assess the economics of\nthe project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These\ndetails are usually required by any lending agency that you may be working with\nto fund the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the\nLocal Authorities District and Unitary Plans have relaxed their controls, to\nallow higher intensity development to occur within our urban centres. So\nnow is the time to be looking at realizing the value in your existing property\nor purchasing to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When considering any infill development of a property or the purchase of a property for intended development it is critical that you engage appropriately qualified and experienced professionals (surveyors and engineers) to ensure your development will be a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Infill housing has been occurring within New Zealand since the 1970\u2019s where additional dwellings have been constructed onto an existing residential site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To\nachieve separate legal ownership of the infill housing, subdivisions have been\ncompleted either by cross-lease, unit title or freehold tenure, using the\nservices of qualified planners, surveyors and engineers. To enable the\nnecessary certifications to be completed and for land transfer survey to be\ncompleted, the professionals need to be suitably qualified as either Chartered\nProfessional Engineers or as Licensed Cadastral Surveyors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As with\nany project, the first step is to complete due-diligence. Infill housing\nis no different and is particularly important, as each property is\nunique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nsecond step is to engage a suitably qualified planning, surveying and\nengineering team who have the necessary expertise in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nfirst checks that will be completed will be to review the Record of Title, to\nassess if there are any impediments to further development of the\nproperty. These may include a land covenant, that may restrict the site\nto one dwelling or a consent notice from a Local Authority, that may impose a\nrestriction on the site in terms of additional development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stage\nof the assessment would be to check the zoning and planning controls that are\nparticular to the site. These will be set out in the Local Authorities\nDistrict or Unitary Plan. District Plan controls relating to infill\ndevelopment may be either density controlled or design controlled, or a mixture\nof both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For\nexample, the Auckland Unitary Plan has moved to design based controls for the\nlarger areas of residential zoned land. The design controls allow infill\nhouses to be approved, in some cases, as permitted activities for up to three\ndwellings where the controls have been met. Controls would include items\nsuch as building site coverage, yards, maximum height or height in relation to\nboundary, as examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following\nconfirmation that the site can accommodate infill housing, based on the zoning\nand development controls, the next item to be ticked off is issues related to\nthe site-related features and infrastructure. Site-related features may\ninclude a site which is subject to flooding, instability or possible soil\ncontamination. The more common of these would be flooding, and may\nrequire the completion of a Flood Report to assess possible flooding impact to\nthe site, in order to accommodate any additional dwellings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Infrastructure\nassessments will include an assessment as to whether any additional dwellings\ncan be adequately serviced for wastewater, stormwater and water supply. This\nassessment will require the professional to review Council\u2019s records and assess\nwhat, if any, extensions to services that may be required. Capacity of\nexisting public reticulated systems will also need to be reviewed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only\nfollowing completion of a full feasibility of a particular site, by a\nprofessional with the necessary experience in infill housing and land\ndevelopment, will the development potential of the site be reliably known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the\nfun stuff starts, with looking at what can be designed to fit within the\nexisting site constraints. Your land development professional will work\nwith your nominated Housing Company or Architectural Designer to assess what\ncan be accommodated on the site. The planning controls of the District or\nUnitary Plan will largely dictate the design controls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once a\nConcept Layout has been completed, a budget costing for the full development\ncan be put together which will enable the developer to assess the economics of\nthe project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These\ndetails are usually required by any lending agency that you may be working with\nto fund the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the\nLocal Authorities District and Unitary Plans have relaxed their controls, to\nallow higher intensity development to occur within our urban centres. So\nnow is the time to be looking at realizing the value in your existing property\nor purchasing to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When considering any infill development of a property or the purchase of a property for intended development it is critical that you engage appropriately qualified and experienced professionals (surveyors and engineers) to ensure your development will be a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mason can be contacted on 03 358 5936.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Developing a section for infill housing is a complex but rewarding process, writes Mason Reed, Fraser Thomas’ Geotechnical Director and Christchurch Manager, in this month’s NZ Property Investor Magazine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[61,60,62],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraserthomas.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4808"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraserthomas.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraserthomas.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraserthomas.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraserthomas.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fraserthomas.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraserthomas.co.nz\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraserthomas.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraserthomas.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraserthomas.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}