The ACT government will face new pressure to overhaul suburban planning rules to allow more houses in Canberra, after the ACT Labor conference endorsed a motion calling for urgent zoning reform.
The ACT Labor party adopted a policy of ultimately overhauling zoning to allow medium density housing in all areas previously zoned RZ1, which currently allows only detached housing.
Transport Minister Chris Steel said the government could make changes to allow more housing with support of the policy at the party conference and said current zoning system in the ACT was exclusionary.
"This has to change because we can no longer spread out into the nature reserves around Canberra to provide more housing estates," Mr Steel said, speaking in support of the motion on the conference floor.
Mr Steel said a generation of young people and workers would not have access to housing without changes to the planning system.
"I am strongly of the view that we've reached a time in our city's life where we must reform our zoning laws to provide more housing options for more families sustainably within our communities, close to services, infrastructure and green spaces, while keeping the character that makes our city a great place to live," he said.
The party's policy platform was on Saturday amended to say the party would notify proposed zoning changes as a matter of urgency before the end of the current parliamentary term.
The adopted policy also said minimum parking requirements for all residential dwellings would be wound back.
The initial motion was moved by party delegate Howard Maclean, the convenor of Greater Canberra, a community action group that has been campaigning for planning system changes to allow more housing in Canberra.
Mr Maclean said the policy would deliver more housing, reduce traffic congestion and emissions.
"There are some in our community who feel that our suburbs should not change. But this has costs. This costs in poverty, in homelessness, in emissions and environmental destruction, in commuting times and congestion," Mr Maclean told the conference.
"Delegates, we should not accept arguments from those who just don't like the look of new housing as a reason to prevent it."
The original motion said RZ1 would be changed to allow development similar to what is already permitted in RZ2, while RZ2 would become more like RZ3. Housing above shops in CZ4 local centre areas would also be permitted.
But the amended motion said the government would begin the process to change the zoning laws before the next election, rather than complete the changes.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr in March said there would be great value in making it easier to build secondary houses in existing suburbs, saying "missing middle" homes would be needed to house a rapidly growing population.
A new planning act was passed by the Legislative Assembly earlier this year, which will move to a so-called outcomes based model.
The government has not yet released the updated territory plan, district strategies and technical specifications that will govern how the new system works.
Planning Minister Mick Gentleman this week told budget estimates the documentation required for the adoption of the new system were being considered by cabinet, and suggested they would be released sometime before the end of September.
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