Mount Maunganui residents and visitors have told Tauranga City Council that improving air quality, and making it easy and safe to get around, are key as the area grows.
Council has been consulting with the community on the draft 30-year plan for the area between Mount Maunganui and Arataki.
Commission chair Anne Tolley said Mount Maunganui was growing fast and that needed to be balanced with retaining the town's history and relaxed beach vibe.
"There will be changes, but we will respect where we've come from and what people love about the mount, while focusing on the practical needs of our community, supporting business and industry, and enhancing our natural environment," she said in a statement.
The draft plan will be presented to council in early 2024.
Council also noted the density that might arise from government changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Under the plan, building heights in downtown Mount Maunganui could rise. Heights of six storeys could be allowed in the shopping area and within 400 metres of it, then four storeys between 400-800m of the shops.
Some residents and businesses raised concerns about traffic congestion, pollution and a lack of infrastructure at the Tauranga City Council (TCC) Plan Change 33 hearings.
One of New Zealand's worst sites for air pollution is the Mt Maunganui industrial area. Sprawling across 450 hectares of land around the Tauranga Harbour, the industrial zone is home to the country's largest port and 800 businesses. More than 40 of those are known to harm the environment, including the port itself.
Concerns about air pollution in Mt Maunganui first arose in 2015, when a local marae, Whareroa, began to complain about the impacts of sulphur on the whānau who live on its land within the industrial zone.
A report comparing the air quality between the Mt Maunganui residential area, and another suburb 5km from the port called Otumoetai, found that particulate matter from heavy industry was causing at least 13 additional premature deaths in the mount each year.
RNZ
