"Impacts of Planning Rules, Regulations, Uncertainty and Delay on Residential Property Development" MOTU Report is cited by Hon Dr Nick Smith is speech “Overhauling the Resource Management Act”.
The report can downloaded from this link:
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/sites/all/files/2_The_Impacts_of_Planning_Rules_Regulations_Uncertainty_and_Delay_on_Residential_Property_Development.pdf

In a quick search we have found references to Heritage in the following sections of the MOTU Report.

The reports authors make the following comment in their Introduction.

"....First, we present a framework for considering the issues, highlighting the importance both of regulatory policies (i.e. the regulations themselves) and of regulatory practices (i.e. the implementation of the regulations). We then use a counterfactual research methodology in which we question developers directly concerning a range of planning-related matters to find out whether certain policies: (a) raise costs of particular forms of development, or (b) prevent particular developments from proceeding at all.
We stress at the outset that our analysis only covers costs of regulations, not their benefits. Thus our study should not be interpreted as a cost:benefit analysis of any of the regulatory policies or practices discussed. Regulations are adopted because the relevant authorities consider that they have benefits that outweigh their costs...."
Page 4

 

"In other developments, the loss in capacity related to issues associated with urban design requirements, retention of heritage building and protected trees, and the need to provide on-site infrastructure over and above what was required to service the development."
Page 3

 

"4.4 Impact of regulations on residential development costs
The survey identified a number of development attributes which are affected by residential planning rules and regulations. Each of these attributes is discussed along with a summary of developers’ comments and the estimated per dwelling cost implications for the development. The cost implications are calculated on the basis of the spreadsheet templates included in Appendix 1. The development attributes include: .....

..........

• Urban design considerations; and
• Heritage controls and tree protection."

Page 26

 

".... Section design considerations (e.g. section sizes, site coverage, heritage protection, etc.) had an important effect on decisions whether or not to develop residential sections and stand-alone dwellings..."
Page 27

 

"Table 2
Heritage and Tree Protection..... (Increase in Cost per Dwelling)..... Subdivisions "$6,000 to $10,000"
Page 28

 

"Heritage controls and tree protection
A number of the projects included in the survey were developments which incorporated heritage buildings (e.g. older villas) and protected trees. Developers’ perceptions were that Council was inflexible in its consideration of these issues. Consequently, these features resulted in a loss of development capacity and more complex design to integrate the trees or buildings into the development’s design.
Information provided by the developers’ survey implies Council imposed requirements in relation to the retention of heritage buildings such as villas and protected trees can increase the costs by $5,600 to $9,800 per dwelling.24"
Page 35

 

"Loss of potential development capacity
".....In other developments the loss in capacity related to issues associated with urban design requirements, retention of heritage building and protected trees, and the need to provide on-site infrastructure over and above what was required to service the development’s requirements. ...."
Pages 36/37

 

"....In addition, developers think too much weight is placed on concerns from people who own properties in the surrounding area. They think Council should focus on the issues and the impact of the development rather than the voices of what may be a vocal minority.....
A recent comment, typical of existing residents trying to preserve their existing environment at the expense of the wider community, appeared in the New Zealand Herald:

The Grey Lynn Residents Association, which has a number of heritage and special character state homes in its neighbourhood, were dismayed at the corporation's submission. "We are empathetic to Housing NZ's wish to house more people ... [but] the heritage overlay is absolutely critical to the fabric of Grey Lynn," said spokeswoman Nicola Legat. Lynne Butler, Freemans Bay Residents Association co-chair, said: "To start pepper-potting [properties in] Freemans Bay will have a huge impact on the character of the streets." – (NZ Herald 11th July 2014)."

Page 43/44

 

"Conclusions...
...In other developments the loss in capacity related to issues associated with urban design requirements, retention of heritage building and protected trees, and the need to provide on-site infrastructure over and above what was required to service the developments’ requirements. ..."Page 50

 

"... Heritage controls and tree protection."
Page 62 ( The developer comment refers specifically to tree protection.)