Variations allowing developers to leave in-house parking provision out of high rise developments, and permitting commercial developments on The Strand Reclamation have been approved by the commissioner.

The ruling means ratepayers will be subsidising developments in the CBD by paying for the parking requirement that is presently the developers' responsibility.

Parking variations on The Strand have been approved by the commissioner.

The parking variation represents a complete about face in city policy. Until now developers were required to provide parking for tenants and or customers of CBD buildings.

Council argued the costs of making developers pay for the parking spaces used by their tenants is stifling the CBD's development.

When it was put out for public consultation earlier this year, Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby said the minimum parking requirement is one reason why the hotel development in the CBD never eventuated.

The minimum on-site car parking rules in the City Plan Rules are linked to the amount of gross leasable floor area, and requires developers to either provide three car parks for every 100m2 of leasable floor space – or pay about one third the $34,000 cost of setting up a CBD car park.

Since 2004 the council has collected $307,123 in parking fees – enough to create nine parking spaces.

Developers building in the suburban centres, Papamoa, the Mount and Greerton, will still have to provide or pay for parking.

Variation Five opens the way commercial development on The Strand waterfront redevelopment, in line with the council's stated intentions, and to extend the present three week time restriction on temporary activities.

Independent hearings commissioner David Hill says the risks imposed by the adopting the variations are 'sufficiently small as to not warrant granting the relief sought.”

'If the forecasts are wrong, the adverse effects are more likely to emerge in the second decade of the planning horizon and beyond the immediate 10 year life of the city plan, which is more than sufficient time to introduce remedial provisions necessary to correct any such error. Additional remedies are available to council outside that, should they be required.”