As a councillor my inbox often contains emails from Napier residents worried about what is being built near their homes.

They talk about developments they only learned about once consent was granted. About feeling shut out of decisions that affect their street, their outlook, their privacy, or their sense of place.

The consistent message is simple.

People already feel they do not have enough influence over development in their own city.

That reality matters as the Government proposes to replace the Resource Management Act with a new planning and environmental system through the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill.

In Napier, planning is not an academic exercise.

It is the difference between stormwater systems coping or failing. Between new housing being supported by infrastructure or putting pressure on what already exists. Between protecting Te Whanganui-a-Orotu and slowly eroding it. Between a city centre that feels welcoming and one that people avoid.

As a low-lying coastal city, long-term resilience must sit at the heart of how and where we grow.

The proposed reforms promise a system that is faster and more consistent. Few would argue the RMA works well. It is slow, expensive, and overly complex.

But how we replace it matters.

At the heart of these reforms is a shift toward central control.

Local and regional plans would be replaced by single regional spatial plans. National policy would carry stronger, binding weight. Ministers would gain wider powers to intervene. Public participation would be concentrated earlier and reduced later, when specific developments are proposed. 

Supporters say this will create certainty and speed up delivery. I understand that motivation. What concerns me is what we lose in the process.

Local government exists to reflect local priorities.

Napier is a diverse city, with different neighbourhoods, communities, cultures, and needs. Narrowing those priorities is not simple. It requires ongoing conversation and local judgement. Yet people are already telling me they feel they do not have enough influence over development.

Centralising decision-making will only deepen that disconnect.

Councillors live in the communities they serve. They see the impacts of planning decisions, good and bad. They hear from residents, businesses, and community groups long before issues become headlines.

In Napier, we are investing heavily in stormwater upgrades, flood protection, and transport renewals. We are enabling more housing while trying to keep it connected to jobs, services, and amenities. We are working to lift safety, activity, and confidence in the CBD.

These challenges do not fit neatly inside national templates.

They require local judgement.

Under the proposed system, councils increasingly operate within tightly prescribed national settings. The role shifts from shaping outcomes with communities to administering frameworks designed elsewhere.

That changes the democratic relationship.

Engagement becomes more technical and more front-loaded. People are asked to comment on abstract frameworks rather than tangible proposals. By the time projects appear, the big settings are already fixed.

There are also implementation risks.

Councils are expected to start designing new planning systems before key national standards and environmental limits are finalised. New responsibilities arrive without guaranteed long-term funding.

In an environment of rate caps and rising costs, councils face unenviable choices: cut other services, increase rates, or stretch planning functions thin.

Environmental outcomes are also uncertain. Limits and targets only protect the environment if they are backed by good data, consistent monitoring, and effective enforcement.

Taken together, these reforms are not simply technical updates.

They reshape who holds power.

Yes, the planning system needs to work better.

But improvement should strengthen local democracy, not dilute it.

Planning determines how our city grows, who can afford to live here, how safe and connected people feel, and how we protect what makes Napier special.

Those choices should be grounded in community voice.

Now is the time to ask questions and engage with the proposed replacement of the RMA.

Because if we leave this conversation to others, Napier’s future will be shaped without Napier’s voice.

Sally Crown
Deputy Mayor of Napier