Nelson's mayor says there should have been consultation with the community before a controversial housing intensification plan was released for the city.
Last month, Nelson City Council publicly notified plan change 29 - which proposes three new residential zones, with a high density zone where buildings of up to six storeys are able to be built without resource consent.
Tim Bayly, who is lobbying against the proposal, has called it daylight robbery, saying it gives developers a carte blanche and removes the rights of homeowners.
At a meeting this week, Mayor Nick Smith said he had been wrong in assuming what was in plan change 29 was consistent with the Future Development Strategy, which had already been consulted on and was adopted last August.
A key component of the 30 year strategic plan was to prioritise a broad level of intensification within the existing urban area, particularly in Nelson.
Smith said the high density areas proposed in Stoke under plan change 29, were "very significantly different" to what was in the Future Development Strategy and during its consultation there was no mention of site boundaries, daylight angles or whether six storey buildings would require publicly notified consent.
"I take ownership that they are details I should have checked on, if I knew what I know now I would have said that those details are sufficiently important... they are really critical details of which there should have been some engagement with the community beforehand."
Nelson city. Photo: RNZ / Tracy Neal
Smith said he had erred in not checking those details and in hindsight, the council should have done pre-notification community consultation.
His comments were met with applause and a "hear, hear" from the public gallery at the meeting.
They came after councillor Mel Courtney moved that plan change 29 be withdrawn, and instead consulted on as a draft.
"I have serious doubts about the plan that's out at the moment... we haven't done it the right way, we should have done some consultation earlier, much, much earlier.
"This major plan change we're told is the biggest in a generation and we mustn't rush it and push it through because this affects most people's largest financial asset, their home."
Courtney said the Nelson community was not opposed to intensification, but it wanted it to be planned carefully and on a more refined scale.
"We cannot and we must not have six storey apartment buildings being able to built without a resource consent, without any protection for local residents, and consideration of their amenity values."
Councillor Matthew Benge, who seconded the amendment to withdraw the plan change, said people were really upset by the proposed changes, and he likened the appearance of six-storey buildings to the v-bombs sent into England in World War II.
"It's putting that sort of uncertainty in people's minds, will one of these things land beside me and I have $100,000 wiped off the value of my house."
Residents protesting Plan Change 29 outside the Nelson City Council. The plan is proposing greater housing intensification in the city. Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee
Elected members heard legal advice about withdrawing from the plan in a public-excluded session, before voting against the amendment, seven to five, amid booing from the public gallery.
Smith voted in support of withdrawing the plan change and said while intensification was needed in the city, starting again would allow for pre-notification consultation that should have done in the first place.
Bid to withdraw plan fails, but submission period extended
The bid to withdraw the plan failed, but the submission period has been extended until 31 October, with further sessions in a bid to increase engagement with the community.
The council agreed to host five neighbourhood meetings, four drop-in sessions and an online webinar aimed at engaging the community in discussions about the plan change.
Each meeting will be chaired by elected members, with residents able to ask about the proposed changes for their individual neighbourhoods and find out more about the submissions process.
At the drop-in sessions, council planners will be available at at the region's libraries to meet one-on-one with people who have questions.