After so much grim news from the new government, we finally got some good news yesterday-
The YIMBYs win big in WellingtonThere 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.
There were 26 proposed amendments on Thursday, and the Yimbys won every single one of them. Even watching from inside the room, it felt unbelievable, almost impossible. Wellington is a city that has been dominated for decades by the Old Town, a faction of powerful, wealthy residents who will do anything to prevent density and stop any change to the neighbourhoods they hold so dear.
There’s actually very little to analyse here. The meeting wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t complex. The Labour, Green and pro-housing independent councillors romped home. The independent hearings panel’s recommendations were so anti-housing they inspired a backlash, giving progressive councillors political cover to push for even denser housing than would have previously been possible. It was an overwhelmingly one-sided affair. But there are a few points that are worth a deeper dive.