Resource Consents Update – December 2024

In this update we provide important information about the recent Council decisions on Plan Change 14 (PC14) which were made on 2 December and formally notified on 12 December. 

The PC14 decisions primarily relate to intensification within commercial centres and the residential 'walkable catchment' areas around them – referred to as the 'Policy 3' areas (under the National Policy Statement on Urban Development). The size of the residential catchment differs depending on the type of centre. 

The Council accepted most of the Independent Hearings Panel’s (IHP) recommendations for these areas but made a number of ‘alternative recommendations’ which will be referred to the Minister for RMA Reform for a decision. A few discrete decisions were also made on sites outside these areas, namely two heritage listings and the removal of a proposed Character Area.

Key points:

• IHP recommendations accepted by the Council became operative on 12 December and the previous District Plan provisions no longer apply. 
• Alternative Recommendations have legal effect from 12 December, alongside the equivalent original provisions in the District Plan. Both must be complied with until the Minister has made decisions on these. They include zones, overlays and rules. All of the alternative recommendations are outlined in the Public Notice.
• The zoning, rules, overlays and other map notations for the remainder of the city and Banks Peninsula have not changed. The operative District Plan zones and rules continue to apply.
• A map showing only the areas/sites covered by the decisions and alternative recommendations is now available on the PC14 webpage. A brief user guide will be added soon.
• Copies of the new MRZ and HRZ rule packages have also been added to the webpage.

How can I check whether a site is affected by the decisions?

Our new map shows Policy 3-area properties affected by the 2 December decisions, including alternative recommendations where relevant. The rest of the city is greyed out, and the operative Planning Maps/Property Search should continue to be used for those areas.

Policy 3 areas are the commercial centres, the High Density Residential zones around the Central City and the Town Centre zones (and some larger Local Centre zones), and the 'walkable catchment' areas around other smaller centres (shown on maps as 'Policy 3 MRZ Extent'). The extent of the catchments varies depending on the size of the centres.

What are the final provisions?

A 'clean' copy of the provisions accepted by the Council and the alternative recommendations is now available on the PC14 webpage, under the 'Decision Chapters' heading. The alternative recommendations are highlighted.

The online District Plan and Property Search haven’t been updated yet due to the amount of GIS and other work involved (likely to be early February).

What recession planes now apply in the Policy 3 areas?

The Council has rejected the IHP recommendation for recession planes. The alternative recommendation to the Minister is to apply the Sunlight Access Qualifying Matter in the Council’s right of reply, instead of the MDRS recession plane recommended by the IHP. 

This means that, for MRZ and HRZ, there will be two recession plane rules in play until decided by the Minister:

• the operative rules which start at 2.3m, and 
• the PC14 alternative recommendation, which starts at 3m and an angle depending on boundary orientation.  

If an application complies with the operative rule but not the alternative recommendation rule, resource consent will be required under the alternative recommendation rule only. If both are infringed, consent will be required under both.

The Alternative Recommendation, as relevant to the Medium Density Residential Zone, is described below (noting that the modified recession plane also applies to HRZ):

14A.5.2.6 Height in relation to boundary

a. No part of any building shall project beyond a building envelope constructed by recession planes shown in Appendix 14A.12.2 diagram G (below) from points 3 metres above ground level along all boundaries. Where the boundary forms part of a legal right of way, entrance strip, access site, or pedestrian access way, the height in relation to boundary applies from the farthest boundary of that legal right of way, entrance strip, access site, or pedestrian access way. 

b. This standard does not apply to— 

• i. a boundary with a road; 
• ii. existing or proposed internal boundaries within a site; 
• iii. site boundaries where there is an existing common wall between 2 buildings on adjacent sites or where a common wall is proposed;  
• iv. where related to a retirement village, shall only apply to the perimeter boundary of the site or development site for the retirement village; 
• v. within the Local Centre Intensification Precinct:  
  • A. the construction of three or more residential units of a maximum of 12 metres in height from ground level, to any part of a building:  
    • 1. along the first 20 metres of a side boundary measured from the road boundary; or 
    • 2. within 60 per cent of the site depth, measured from the road boundary; whichever is lesser.  
    • For corner sites, depth is measured from the internal boundaries, that are perpendicular to the road boundary. 
  • B. Where the boundary is with a site: in a residential zone (other than HRZ ) that is outside of the Local Centre Intensification Precinct; or an Open Space zone; v. A shall not apply.  

Diagram G. Applicable to all buildings in the MRZ and HRZ.

The Council’s alternative recommendation to the Minister includes recession plane exemptions. These are within HRZ (for above 12m or front parts of sites), and in MRZ regarding the Local Centre Intensification Precinct, which seeks to apply the recession plane exemption for the front part of sites for MRZ around select Local Centres (Barrington, Bishopdale, Halswell, Wigram, Sydenham South, North West Belfast, Prestons and Richmond).

This is the same exemption provided for in HRZ, being no recession plane for the first 20m of parcel depth (or 60 per cent, whichever is lesser) for any comprehensive development of 3 units or more, except the building height is limited to 12m. 

What is the residential pathway process and how does it work?

The IHP recommendation specified that retention of the operative District Plan residential rules was necessary because, in some cases, the new rules were less enabling than the old rules. The pathway approach allows applicants to choose whether to use the new rules or the old rules. The default is the new rules, so if an applicant doesn’t specify one or the other in their resource or building consent application, the new rules will automatically apply. 

The explanatory rules state that the two pathways are to be kept separate (i.e. once one is used, the other can’t be used on the site at a later date). However, one of the clauses recommended by the IHP in their Minute 58 (clause (e)) would allow applicants to use a hybrid of the two pathways via a consent process. The Council decision rejected the IHP recommendation for that 'hybrid' provision. Council’s alternative recommendation to the Minister is to ensure the two pathways remain separate. Aside from that aspect (which is in legal effect), all other aspects of the pathway process are operative. 

The old zones will be shown as overlays in the planning maps for the new Medium and High Density Residential zones and included as a new sub-chapter (14B) in the District Plan. 

What happens to current applications within the policy 3 areas decided by the Council?

Resource consent applications

For current applications within the Policy 3 areas, the zoning will change (except the CBP and CO zones) and the new rules will apply. 

Rules which were accepted by the Council are operative and will replace the old rules altogether. The only situation in which the old rules are still operative is where Council rejected the IHP recommendation and made an alternative recommendation affecting the site/proposed development. In that case, both the alternative recommendation and the equivalent old rule (for the operative District Plan zone the site was in) will apply and the application will need to be checked against both for compliance. 

Some proposals may become a permitted activity and no longer require resource consent, enabling applications to be withdrawn. 

Some proposals may trigger new rules that did not previously exist under the operative District Plan (e.g. the outlook space rule for habitable room windows, or minimum glazing for street-facing façades in the MRZ and HRZ). 

In most cases we expect processing will be able to continue without the need for applicants to submit a new AEE addressing the new rules. There may, however, be some cases where a new rule is triggered with substantially different effects to those covered in the existing AEE. 

Our planners are checking current applications and will contact applicants if there are any changes to the zoning and rules. Old applications that are not currently active will be checked when they are reactivated.

Building consent applications

There may be some situations where a PIM or BC was issued prior to 12 December with a section 37 notice relating to the old rules, but the proposal is now permitted under the new rules. Applicants can email our Duty Planner to request reassessment of the proposal against the new rules, and lifting of the section 37 notice where appropriate.

Keep in touch

If you have any questions about your resource consent applications, please email us at CCCResourceconsentapplications@ccc.govt.nz

For general enquiries, you can email dutyplanner@ccc.govt.nz or call 941 8999.