In these newsletters, we cover the latest building industry news, trends, and tips. In this particular issue, we talk about our new checksheets to speed up the consenting process, run through some frequently asked questions, and we also pay tribute to Alex Russell - one of our team members who recently passed away

Remembering Alex Russell

After a battle with cancer, our longest-serving building services team member, Alex Russell passed away on 9 March 2019 (aged 72).

Alex worked as a Building Officer in Wānaka for 28 years and had the rare and notable distinction of working with all forms of the Building Act from its inception in 1991. To work consistently for the same employer for nearly 30 years is a rare achievement and one that Alex was very proud of.

Alex was truly a servant of the people of Wānaka – he strove for quality building in Wānaka and was known in the building community for his high standards and tireless work ethic.

Such was Alex’s standing in the community that the Wānaka Presbyterian Church was packed out for his funeral and a special guard of honour was formed by mourners wearing high vis vests and construction helmets as his casket was carried to his trusty ute. Books of condolence were also created at the builder’s merchants in Wānaka, and QLDC is currently working on dedicating a park bench to him.

A particular highlight of working with Alex was spending lunchtimes with him prior to his death talking about building controls - he had a razor sharp memory for building consents and would often recall information only known to himself. He also had a large number of anecdotes. One included losing his pants while carrying out an inspection - he climbed a ladder to view something that the owner clearly didn’t want him to see!

Alex will be missed by anyone who knew him. His QLDC colleagues in particular miss his dapper appearance at team meetings as well as his critical eye for detail which stood us in such good stead.

Alex is truly irreplaceable.

Disposing of your stormwater onsite

Does your property have a connection to QLDC's reticulated stormwater system? If not, you will need to dispose of stormwater onsite.

To find out whether your property is connected, you can apply for a Property Information Memorandum. Or alternatively, you can search for your property on GIS mapping and review its services (by selecting the 'services' layer).

The design of your stormwater system and the details will need to be provided with your building consent application

The design of your onsite stormwater disposal system will need to demonstrate compliance with Building Code Clause E1 via:

E1/VM1
Specific Engineering Design (SED)
An Alternative Solution with support evidence to demonstrate compliance with the performance requirements of E1.

Some subdivisions may have specific requirements such as attenuation tanks and these will be specified on a consent notice in relation to the subdivisions Resource Consent.

If you're using the E1/VM1 method (Section 9.0) evidence of the field testing results need to be provided with your Building Consent documentation along with the calculations to determine the size of the soak pit. The type of soak pit (rock or chamber) should be specified on the plans along with the location of the soak pit with connections to the stormwater drainage. You may choose to use CS4.4 Stormwater Soak Pit Calculation to show compliance.

www.qldc.govt.nz/planning/building-consents/application-forms/onsite-disposal-systems

If you're making additions to an existing dwelling or building, the Building Consent documentation will either need to demonstrate the existing soak pit is suitably sized for the additional roof area. Or if an additional soak pit is to be constructed field testing, calculations and the design of this soak pit should be provided.

Where to find further information:

Building Code Clause E1

Checkout these checksheets

Throughout June and July we will be releasing new versions of our checksheets.

In-line with earlier release changes in the residential area, the new checksheets provide an open-book approach to the Building Code requirements that have to be satisfied with your consent application.

If you complete these checksheets fully and also provide clear references to demonstrate compliance, this will assist with speeding up the process and reduce the potential for requests for further information (aka 'RFIs').

The aim of these new checksheets is to help people with their applications and to get them close to 100% right first-time - not to catch people out with RFIs which cause delays to your processing

We want all Architects, Designers, Project Managers, LBPs and home owners to have a clear understanding of the design requirements that must be satisfied for Building Consent processing.

The new checksheets are easier to fill out than the older versions and should help your self-assessment of design documentation to ensure you have covered all your bases.

While applications with the old checksheets will still be accepted until the end of July, we encourage all applicants to start making use of the new checksheets now before the switchover.

New checksheets:

New guidelines for environmental management plans

A set of newly developed guidelines for environmental management plans have been created to help reduce the effects of land disturbance activities related to land development.

These guidelines were approved by Council this week and provide guidance to consent holders, contractors and consultants for the environmental management plans they submit alongside resource consent applications.

They have been created to replace the existing Earthworks Guidelines, to raise the bar, and align the district to the current national standards

The guidelines can also be applied to small-scale construction sites (such as residential construction projects carrying out land disturbance activities) without resource consent, to assist in compliance with environmental protection measures outlined in the Earthworks chapter of the District Plan.

If you have any questions about them, please contact RCMonitoring@qldc.govt.nz.

To view them, please click here.

Taking part in our commercial ratepayer survey

In July, you may receive an email or letter about taking part in our first commercial ratepayer online survey.

There are two parts to the survey and these are:

To find out about your overall experience using Council services as a commercial ratepayer
To understand your thoughts about what your rates are used for

This is the first time we have surveyed commercial ratepayers in this way and is part of a wider approach to how we assess satisfaction with Council services (in addition to our monthly customer satisfaction survey and Quality of Life survey).

The survey will take about 5-10 minutes to complete and we would love to hear from you. If you do not receive an email or letter but would like to take part, please head to: www.qldc.govt.nz/your-council/your-views

Building trends from Chris English

In the three months since the last Brace Yourself newsletter, we've seen a continuation of trends in the building consenting and inspections areas.

Building consent applications are slightly ahead (+3%) compared to this time in 2018. While still very strong in regard to numbers, it appears that the year-on-year growth in building consents received and issued has plateaued for now.

Although in saying that, the Building Services team issued 208 building consents in May - the highest number ever recorded. And the value of consented building work has increased from $736m for the nine months to $796m, an indication of the higher value commercial activity that is occurring.

The levelling-off corresponds with conversations I've had with building company owners over the last two months. Most are grateful for the breather and a break from the relentless demand that has occurred over the last three years.

In Wānaka, there continues to be strong residential activity and with Three Parks continuing to bring commercial and industrial buildings to consent and completion stage, the level of build activity in this area continues. The new supermarket and primary school (both at Three Parks) are progressing well. A drive around Upper Clutha and the building activity is also obvious - Luggate Park and Luggate Heights have multiple builds going, Sentinal Park and Timsfield in Hāwea also have significant number of builds currently on the go. Northlake in Wānaka is continuing to put new stages into the market and the building activity in that subdivision continues at pace.

In Queenstown, Hanley Farm has a significant number of builds in progress, while Arrowtown Retirement Village and Queenstown Country Club continue to generate good levels of activity. As well as this, there are smaller projects dotted around the Wakatipu Basin with developments in Arthurs Point, Glenorchy and Kingston. There are also a large number of commercial builds and residential apartments at Frankton Flats and Five Mile - either in consent stage or being built.

Some of our frequently asked questions

Q. What is the wind zone for my site?

A. QLDC doesn't provide maps for the wind zones. This is site specific and requires knowledge of the site and the surrounding areas. NZS3604 section 5 provides a simple method of working it out, or alternatively BRANZ provide maps which are a useful online tool.

Q. Why has my inspection failed? It’s definitely built to the building code.

A. One of the most significant differences between the 2004 Building Act and the 1991 Building Act is that building work not only needs to meet the Building Code but also needs to meet the issued Building Consent Plans and Specifications. This change has taken time for people to understand however it is an important change that ensures an accurate record of what is constructed is kept on the QLDC property files.

Q. What is required when applying for wood burner Building Consent?

A. There are a few steps required - for details please head to: www.qldc.govt.nz/planning/building-consents/solid-or-liquid-fuel-burners

Q. Does my building need to provide access and facilities for persons with disabilities?

A. All public buildings, and most buildings where people are employed, are required to provide access and facilities to enable all of the population to use the building. This is directly related to one the purposes of the Building Act: “buildings have attributes that contribute appropriately to the health, physical independence and well-being of the people who use them”.

Please refer to Section 118 of the Building Act - particularly Schedule 2 which lists the building types that this applies to. A common area where RFIs are raised is section (z) other buildings, premises, or facilities to which the public are to be admitted, whether for free or on payment of a charge. To achieve compliance you may choose to use the acceptable solutions, cited standard NZS 4121:2001 or alternative solutions.

Queenstown

Wānaka

Our Building Services team

Our Building Services team is overseen by Chris English, QLDC's Building Services Manager. Together with Chris, we provide important services to our district's community.

We work across our Wānaka and Queenstown offices and this format enables us to have coverage all the way from Kingston to Makarora for building queries. These queries range from building consents, to inspections and compliance checks and can come from a variety of people - builders, architects, developers, and members of the public who may not have built before.

To view previous issues, please visit: www.qldc.govt.nz/planning/building-consents/brace-yourself
If there is a topic that you would like to see covered, please let us know by emailing: chris.english@qldc.govt.nz