Tauranga city councillors have been told to play a greater role in the development of the Smiths Farm special housing area in Bethlehem.

In a submissions hearing yesterday, Tauranga Community Housing Trust chair Jo Gravit said: 'We are looking at the whole process from a slightly different point of view.”

Smiths Farm was the subject of a submissions hearing this week. Photo: File.

The hearings are for 22 residents, mostly from Westridge Drive, who want their voices heard in opposition to council's stated intention to direct traffic to the proposed site along the narrow two lane road.

Tauranga Community Housing Trust wants council to take charge of the special housing area (SHA) development.

Jo says it's an excellent opportunity for the authorities to address the challenge for a new model of village neighbourhood living for a thousand or so people.

'We do not believe that a private developer will show the level of diversity of size and design and neighbourhood innovation that a council-led partnership has the potential to achieve,” says Jo.

'Just approving an SHA based on more compact sites in a standard subdivision only fast tracks planning consents along developers' existing styles. We can do better than that when the land is publicly owned.

'A council-led SHA could demonstrate how to live, work, learn and play in a new housing development over several years, on an exceptional site.”

Tauranga is a growth area with changing demographics that doesn't have a wide range of housing choices for an increasingly diverse population, says Jo.

The fastest-growing housing trend is towards long term rentals, with Tauranga moving towards 50 per cent.

Unlike many other countries, however, there is not a culture of trusts, local government or private long-term rental investment companies in New Zealand that purpose-build and retain rental units.

Jo insists that Smiths Farm may be an opportunity to promote such options.

'It requires public discussion,” says Jo

'Everyone knows the problem of single earner, fixed income or ‘blue collar' families being unable to get on the home ownership continuum or even rent a long-term affordable home.

'Tauranga Community Housing Trust recommends that far more consultation is undertaken on options for Smiths Farm as a site for new homes.

'We support the proposed direction, but the process and analysis needs far more in-depth. No decision needs to be made immediately.”

The trust have suggested that traffic issues can be resolved by linking the special housing area with Greerton, via a low-impact road and bridge across the valley to Gate Pa.