Resource Consents Update – June 2025

In this update:

• Plan Change 14 and the ePlan 
• Radiocommunication pathways
• Development contributions
• Fees for 2025/26

Plan Change 14 – Chapter 14B Development Pathway 

The Hon Chris Bishop, Minister responsible for RMA Reform, has issued his decisions on the Council’s alternative recommendations on Plan Change 14 (PC14), and these were publicly notified on 19 June. This means that all zones and rules for Policy 3 areas, which are generally within and around commercial centres, are now fully operative. 

We’re pleased to report that the ePlan and Property Search have been updated to incorporate these changes, except for a few rules relating to the residential Chapter 14B Pathway – specifically, some of the Chapter 14B sub-chapters and references within other chapters. These will be updated soon.

Key points about the new rules

• Policy 3 areas are the Central City and commercial centres, and the new High Density Residential (HRZ) and Medium Density Residential (MRZ) zones around these centres. The extent of these areas is specifically shown on the planning maps in the District Plan Property Search, and some rules are now different between Policy 3 areas and non-Policy 3 areas. In addition, select Specific Purpose School and Hospital, and all Tertiary Education sites, have also been updated in accordance with the IHP recommendation.
   
• Residential Chapter 14B Pathway allows applicants to choose to use the previous District Plan rules, instead of the new rules for residential development, on properties zoned MRZ and HRZ. Rule 14.3 outlines how the pathway process works. The default is the new rules, so if an applicant doesn’t specify they’re using the Chapter 14B Pathway in their resource or building consent application, the new rules in sub-chapter 14A will automatically apply. Care needs to be taken, as once 14B is selected, the rules in 14A cannot be used later for the same site. 
  
  The previous zones are shown as ‘Residential Overlays’ on the planning maps, under the ‘Other Notations’ tab, and the overlay rules are contained in new sub-chapter 14B. They’re essentially the same as the original zone rules but with unrelated content removed. 
  
  The Chapter 14B Pathway incorporates the full package of pre-PC14 rules, including relevant district-wide rules (e.g. Chapter 7 Transport access and cycle parking rules), as well as those in the residential chapter. Please note that this is an update on our previous newsletter. The Chapter 14B Pathway can also be used for residential development on sites in the Specific Purpose School zone with an ‘alternative zone’ of MRZ or HRZ. Reference to the Chapter 14B Pathway will be added to applicable district-wide rules in the ePlan soon. 
   
• Decisions on parts of PC14 for other areas of the city haven't been made yet, so the current zones and rules continue to apply to them. The decisions on the balance of PC14 are required by the end of this year.
   
• We’re preparing guidance on some of the new MRZ and HRZ rules and will send this out soon. We’re also putting together a checklist of information to include on plans for multi-unit residential developments to address the new rules.
   
• For more information about the Minister’s decisions on the Council’s alternative recommendations for PC14, see our Newsline story.

An image of the Central City Radiocommunication Pathways Planning Map, available here (PDF).

Radiocommunication pathways

As part of the Council’s decisions on PC14, a new sub-chapter has been added to Chapter 6 General Rules and Procedures of the District Plan, to apply the Radiocommunication Pathways qualifying matter. Chapter 6.12 Radiocommunication Pathway Protection Corridors provides for the protection of the radiocommunication pathways from the Christchurch Justice and Emergency Services Precinct (CJESP) to key radiocommunication sites in the Port Hills. These pathways provide emergency and day-to-day coverage for New Zealand Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Hato Hone St John ambulance communication services, and Civil Defence.

In radiocommunication networks, information is carried across distances using radio waves which travel through the air in a straight line. These waves need a certain volume of airspace around the straight line, and both the line and the surrounding airspace make up a radiocommunication pathway. The more that things get in the way of this pathway, the less reliable it becomes, because signals are reduced and become unreliable, and a pathway may even be blocked. Chapter 6.12 of the District Plan now protects these CJESP pathways from intrusions by buildings, structures (including cranes), and utilities, ensuring that vital communication links for emergency services are maintained.

The pathways are identified on the Central City planning maps (pages 9-16) and the ‘Qualifying Matters’ tab in the ePlan Property Search. The maximum height limits for buildings, structures and utilities above existing ground level are included in Tables 1-3 in Rule 6.12.4.2. If you or your client are proposing to build under one of these pathways, then you’ll need to ensure that the proposed activity doesn’t exceed the maximum height limit specified in the tables. This may be a different height to that specified for the relevant zone of the site. The height limit is also inclusive of features that may block the pathways, such as radio and television aerials, finials, lift shafts, plant rooms, water tanks, air conditioning units, ventilation ducts, chimneys, antennas and similar architectural features on buildings, spires and towers. 

The Ministry of Justice encourages applicants to get in touch with them in the early stages of any proposal and welcomes emails to precinctmanagement@justice.govt.nz

Development Contributions Policy

The Council’s decision on the adoption of the Draft Development Contributions Policy 2025 has been deferred to allow it to be considered alongside the Central City Development Contributions Rebate Schemes, which are currently open for public consultation until 14 July 2025.

A final decision on the Draft Development Contributions Policy 2025 is now expected in late August. As a result, a new policy will not be adopted until, at the earliest, 1 September 2025.

In accordance with Section 198(2A) of the Local Government Act 2002, complete applications submitted before a new development contributions policy is adopted will continue to be assessed under the current Development Contributions Policy 2021. 

Fees for 2025/26

Resource consent fees for the coming year will largely remain the same, with only the monitoring charges being updated. The new fee schedule will be updated tomorrow on our website.