An artist's impressions of what Hutt City might look like if radical changes to the rules around housing are agreed to.

A lack of housing for young families has forced the Hutt City Council to look at a range of proposals that would radically change the city.

Councillors will next week consider proposals to change the rules around housing.

Mayor Ray Wallace believes the changes are critical to the future prosperity of the city.

NICHOLAS BOYACK/STUFF New houses in Wainuiomata hit the $500,000 mark earlier this year. The city council has responded to a lack of affordable housing for families by suggesting a range of radical changes to its District Plan, encouraging infill and terraced housing.

"Our concern is that we don't have sufficient housing or the right type of housing to satisfy our current population, let alone the growth we are now starting to see."

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Rapidly rising house prices, a lack of land and a narrow selection in the type of houses being built, were major problems facing families who wanted to live in Lower Hutt, Wallace said.

A range of council projects under way - including a conference centre and hotel, Fraser Park Sportsville and turning the city towards the river – were aimed at rejuvenating the city.

The cost ran to hundreds of millions and Wallace said the expenditure needed to be backed by a growth in population.

"The cold reality is that if we fail to solve this problem (housing) in a thoughtful and planned way, council's rejuvenation strategies won't be fully realised and our economy and our collective quality of life will suffer. A business-as-usual approach would be irrational."

Infill housing and three-storey houses represent a big change for an area that has marketed itself as "a garden city" attractive to young families.

The council has been weighing up its options to change the rules around housing for some years but the changes are likely to face stern opposition from existing homeowners, who will argue they will devalue their property.

In 2013 the council also floated the idea of rezoning a large part of rural Wainuiomata as residential.

A furious response from rural land owners forced a backdown but Wallace said the council had to now look at that option.

On Monday he posted a summary of the possible changes on social media. The response was mixed with one Naenae resident calling for a greater range of housing styles.

"We are looking at leaving the valley I've always called home. We just can't afford to buy what we need to house our family here and there is no land to build anything."

Woburn resident Des Darby spoke to a recent District Plan meeting on housing opposing infill and three-storey housing.

"I think the idea of a three-storey building, one metre from an existing house, is totally unacceptable."

He believed the proposed changes were based on the false premise that families would live in a three story building.

"What mum and dad wants to walk up three flights of stairs, with their shopping and babies. It will become lower class housing."

The District Plan changes will be discussed at a council meeting on October 10. The public will have four months to make submissions.

What the council is proposing.

* A wider range of housing at higher densities, including apartments and terraced houses in areas with good access to transport, shopping, parks and schools.

* New suburban zones, allowing buildings up to 10 metres or three storeys high. The zones are in Stokes Valley, Taita, Naenae, Avalon/Park Ave, Epuni, Waterloo, the edge of the central business district, Alicetown, Waiwhetu/Woburn and Wainuiomata.

* Infill housing, allowing for two dwellings per site and minor dwellings such as tiny houses and granny flats.