Designations and requirements in proposed district plans
Abstract
This guidance note provides information on including designations and requirements in proposed district plans. Designations form a key part of the district plan review process. Not only does plan review involve “rolling over” existing designations, but it is also an opportunity to modify existing designations in proposed district plans, including a council’s own designations. It can also be used by requiring authorities to introduce new requirements.
The 1st Schedule of the RMA deals specifically with how new requirements can be included in, and existing designations carried over into, proposed district plans.
Guidance note
Context
A designation is a planning technique used by Ministers of the Crown, local authorities and network utility operators approved as requiring authorities under s167 of the RMA. Only these parties can designate land for public works or network utilities and they must be financially responsible for the project, work or operation on the designated land.
A designation is a form of ‘spot zoning’ over a site or route in a district plan. The ‘spot zoning’ authorises the requiring authority’s work or project on the site or route without the need for a land use consent from the relevant district council. It is also similar to a comprehensive land use resource consent as it enables a requiring authority to undertake the works within the designated area (subject to any conditions applied to it). The requiring authority may do anything that is in accordance with the designation, and the usual provisions of the district plan do not apply to the designated site. Designated areas nevertheless have an ‘underlying zone” which applies in terms of any other activities undertaken on the land.
A designation also places restrictions on what anyone other than the requiring authority can do on the designated land without the requiring authority’s permission.
Designations apply to district plans only. Any works outside the scope of the designation may require land use consent and resource consents from regional councils may also be required even for works authorised by the designation.
Schedule 1 of the RMA specifies how requirements and designations are dealt with in proposed plans. This includes ‘roll over’ designations and requirements (notices for new designations) that are intended to be notified through the proposed district plan in accordance with s170. Refer to the flowchart for including notices of requirement in a proposed plan (PDF 33 KB)
A rolled over designation is a designation that was in the operative district plan and that the requiring authority requests to have included (rolled over) into the proposed district plan.
Until included in an operative plan, notices for new designations are referred to as requirements.
As with any plan review or preparation process, there can be considerable delays until a requirement is included in a proposed district plan through the 1st Schedule process. A requirement can only be relied upon once it is included in an operative district plan as a designation. However, s19 of the RMA may allow a requirement to have effect as a designation before the plan is made operative, if the requirement is beyond challenge.
A requiring authority can also serve a notice of requirement for a new designation into an operative district plan. This process is set out in Part VIII of the RMA and is not covered by this guidance note. See A Guide to Designations under the Resource Management Act 1991 for more information.
Plan early
Rolling over designations and requirements that are intended to be notified through the proposed district plan requires early and thorough forward planning in the plan preparation process, particularly as the timeframes specified in the RMA should be considered as a minimum.
Requiring authorities should be provided with an extended period of time to prepare and ensure better planning outcomes are achieved. This helps to avoid the council dealing with a flood of requests at the last minute and to enable better planning through adequate review.
Requiring authorities should also be provided guidance about what the council expects, including:
- The council’s process and timeframes
- Any additional steps the council will take (such as getting requiring authorities to check their designations in the proposed plan schedules before notification)
- The level of detail required in the notice, including any proposed conditions
- Details of the size, scope, precision, and format required for maps.
Establishing a process and timeframes
Sufficient time and council resources should be allocated to allow for including designations as a separate process component of the overall plan review process.
The following steps may help to manage the process as part of the plan review:
- Appoint one person as a “Designations Project Manager” or with overall responsibility for managing the roll over of existing designations and introducing new requirements. The Designations Project Manager should be part of the plan review project team or have input into that team so that overall plan review timeframes are achieved.
- The plan review project team will need to provide advice and assistance to the Designations Project Manager. They should be experienced in processing notices of requirement and rollovers.
- Legal overview and input can also be critically important during this process, particularly when dealing with the adequacy of information or the notification process.
- Clearly define the process, timelines, responsibilities, and resources of the plan review project team required throughout the process. Consider contracting work out to consultants if the resources are not available within the council. The council will still retain responsibility for the outcome.
- A good administration and filing system from the outset is essential. Set up an appropriate file management system so that the multitude of requests can be safely handled. Many councils set up master files for each requiring authority, and a second tier of files for each rollover request or new requirement.
It is important to ensure that the decision makers and council officers are fully informed on the differences between new, rolled over and modified designations, what the council makes decisions on and what it makes a recommendation on. This should occur early on in the process, as it will help to avoid any problems or issues raised throughout the process.
Calling for existing designations to be rolled over
Clause 4(1) of the 1st Schedule of the RMA requires a council, before notifying a proposed district plan, to invite all requiring authorities that have designations in the operative district plan (which have not expired) to give written notice stating whether they require the designation to be included in the proposed plan, with or without modification.
This letter must state a final date by which the requiring authority is to provide its written notice to the council. The council must give the requiring authorities at least 30 working days to respond. However this time frame for calling for requests to roll over designations may not be a realistic timeframe for particularly larger councils and requiring authorities to achieve quality results.
If a requiring authority wishes to roll over an existing designation into a proposed district plan it must send the council a notice of this within the specified timeframe. At this stage the requiring authority's notice must also specify whether any modifications to the designation are proposed. If modifications are sought, the requiring authority is to include in its notice the nature of and reasons for the modifications.
If the requiring authority fails to notify the council within the specified time, the designation must not be included in the proposed plan. However, where appropriate, the council could choose to waive the timeframe under s37 of the RMA to provide for a longer period of time, up until when the plan is notified. Once the proposed plan is notified, no further designations can be rolled over. A new notice of requirement would have to be issued by the requiring authority (essentially, starting the designation process from scratch).
While rolling over of designations does not oblige a requiring authority (including a council) to review its designations, it is timely for reviewing them for accuracy, relevance, and the appropriateness of any conditions. It also opens designations to public submissions through the plan notification process. A designation, once confirmed has the effect of a rule in the Plan.
Requiring authorities should review the wording of their designations carefully, and where necessary request modifications to address inadequate wording. The need for modifications may arise from changing land uses, technology, and public understanding.
It is also possible that the purpose of historical designations may be described by a single phrase such as “defence purposes”. Such designations contain little guidance to the requiring authority, council or public as to what activities are authorised and how they are to be regulated. Consider the clarity of the wording of the 'designated purpose.' (See for example Ngataringa Bay 2000 Inc v Minister of Defence No3 [1992] A158/92 and Waimarie CC v Hogan [1978] 2 NZLR 587, Olsen v Minister of Social Welfare [1995] w32/95).
When dealing with a rolled over designation, the council may consider liaising with the requiring authority to seek conditions that provide more certainty. If necessary, councils have the option of making a submission on the designation through the plan review process which may seek clarification of designated purpose or further conditions.
When calling for existing designations to be rolled over the council should:
- Ensure designations to be rolled over have not lapsed (although this should have already been done).
- Check the status of the requiring authority and seek clarification if necessary. Any confirmation must be from an appropriate person, such as a Minister of the Crown or a person acting under delegated authority from a Minister.
- Refer the list of current requiring authorities held by the Ministry for the Environment
- Ensure requiring authorities are responsible for specific designations.
- Establish a database of requiring authorities, designations, existing conditions, and contact person(s) to help keep track of existing and lapsed designations.
- Remind requiring authorities of the five-year expiry timeframe under s184 of the RMA. Requiring authorities need to specify and justify a longer timeframe for a rolled over, modified, or new designation, if they do not envisage 'giving effect to the designation' within five years of the plan becoming operative.
For best practice examples, see Tauranga City Council and Masterton District Council’s letters calling for existing designations to be rolled over.
This flowchart for rolling over of designations in the plan preview process sets out the ten steps involved in processing roll over of designations in the plan review process including calling for existing designations to be rolled over, notification of the proposed plan, submissions, hearings, decisions and recommendations and appeals.
The council as requiring authority
The period of plan review can be a good time for the council to assess its own use of designations. The council can include in its proposed district plan any of its own new requirements and any of its own designations to be rolled over with or without modifications. When calling for existing designations to be rolled over or the inclusion of new requirements the best approach is to treat council departments like any other requiring authority, and to expect and deliver the same standard of communication and co-operation. The decision needs careful consideration as there are costs and benefits of using a designation against other planning mechanisms.
The key issue is for the council to determine the appropriate balance between council’s rights as a requiring authority and decision maker, and the use of designations as a planning instrument to identify and protect a public work. Clause 4(5) of the 1st Schedule 1 of the RMA provides for the council's own designations through the plan review process.
Council departments often have differing views on how the district plan should provide for council activities. These differing views can become very apparent when council notices of requirement are lodged.
As with any requiring authority, give council departments sufficient advance notice for designations in the plan review process, to ensure good timely information and for their resourcing purposes. It is also helpful to learn the needs and requirements of the council departments and to educate them about RMA requirements and the plan review process. They should be aware of resourcing and timeframes. They may also be required to defend their requirement through the submissions and appeal process.
New requirements
In the situation where a council has received a notice of requirement under s168 of the RMA and proposes to notify a proposed under clause 5 of the 1st Schedule of the RMA within the following 40 working days, the council may, with the consent of the requiring authority, include the requirement within its proposed plan instead of using the process under s169 of the RMA.
A requiring authority must submit a notice of requirement to the council for any new designation to be incorporated into the proposed plan.
The council should advise requiring authorities who have lodged new notices of requirement of any likely changes to the date of public notification of the proposed district plan, so that they can choose whether to relodge them for inclusion within the proposed district plan.
Assessing new notices of requirement and rolled-over and modified designations.
Council’s should ensure that new notices of requirement received at the time of plan review are subject to the same robust assessment that they would receive if lodged at any other time. Any requests for further information on new notices of requirement must be made prior to the notification of the proposed district plan. (See for exampleEstate of PA Moran v Transit NZ w55/99 and Quay Property Management Ltd v Transit NZ [2000] W28/00).
While a council can not lawfully request any further information on rolled-over or modified designations, the council should negotiate with the requiring authority to provide additional information prior to notification of the proposed district plan. This may avoid the need for the council, and other parties, to subsequently make submissions on these.
Receiving adequate information from the requiring authority for rolled over designations and new requirements is necessary for robust review and assessment. The public needs good information on which to base submissions, and the council or commissioner needs good information on which to base any recommendation.
For further information see Frequently Asked Questions in A Guide to Designations under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Notifications and Submissions
Until this point, including requirements and rolled over designations in a proposed plan should have run as a separate (often parallel) process to the overall plan review. The two processes integrate when the roll over designations and requirements are put into the proposed plan for public notification. (See the Notifying proposed plans guidance note).
In addition to the general notification of the proposed district plan, councils are required under clause 1B of the 1st Schedule to individually notify landowners or occupiers who are likely to be 'directly affected' by the requirement.
The term 'directly affected' is unique to notification of notices of requirement. It contrasts with the term "adversely affected" used in relation to resource consent notification. Public notices must include:
- A statement that any person may make a submission on the proposed plan, and
- Details of the process for public participation in consideration of the proposed plan.
- A statement that anyone who wishes to make a submission on a rolled over designation or new requirement may do so.
A council may lodge submissions on any rolled-over designation or new requirement contained in its own plan, particularly where the council considers it is insufficiently described or that requires more detailed conditions.
Councils should carefully consider whether to make a submission on a rolled over designation or new requirement. This is because it may be the only opportunity to request changes, given that the council must include these matters in its plan at the request of a requiring authority. The Environment Court would then become the ultimate arbiter of the final decision.
The council will then summarise any submissions on designations, along with submissions on other provisions of the proposed district plan, and publicly notify the availability of the submission summary and the closing date for further submissions. (See the Submissions on a Plan guidance note).
Hearings
The council will then hold a hearing if requested or necessary. Hearings are required on any submissions received on notices of requirement notified in the proposed district plan. If no submitters wish to be heard, or requests to be heard are withdrawn, a hearing is not required. (See the Making decisions on a plan guidance note).
Using commissioners
The council should consider appointing an independent commissioner or commissioners to sit on the hearing panel when it is making a decision on its own notice of requirement and when making submissions on its own plan (such as requesting changes to a rolled-over designation or new requirement). The commissioner must be perceived as independent by all parties.
For further information see:
- Keeping it fair: Conducting hearings under the Resource Management Act 1991
- Use of commissioners guidance note
Conditions on designations
The council can recommend conditions on a rolled over designation or a new requirement. Conditions become an integral part of the designation and cannot be severed from it.
Conditions can only be imposed on new requirements or modified designations. They cannot be imposed on rolled over designations where these are not being modified and no submissions have been made.
When recommending a condition, the council must have regard to the potential effect of the condition on the designation’s future operation.
Case law on consent conditions is generally applicable to designations. A recommended condition must:
- Be for a resource management purpose
- Be fairly and reasonably related to the proposed work; and
- Not be so unreasonable that a reasonable council could not have recommended it.
See the Conditions of a Resource Consent Guidance Note for more guidance on drafting conditions. ‘A Guide to Designations under the Resource Management Act 1991’ provides detail of case law related to conditions on designations.
Conditions on designations can be extensive, and fully listing conditions in a plan schedule can quickly make it unwieldy. However, if a plan schedule is to cross reference to conditions, it is very important that clear cross references to where the full conditions can be found are provided in the schedule. It is important to note that designations have the effect of rules in a district plan so cross referencing (e.g. to conditions held elsewhere) must be clear as it will have legal effect (clause 30 of the 1st Schedule of the RMA).
Increasingly, management plans are being proposed as conditions of a requirement or designation, either by the requiring authority or by the council. This is particularly the case for larger scale projects, such as new roads, where their development is being tendered on a “design-build” basis, where most of the details of the project are not finalised at the time that the designation is sought. Using a management plan approach generally involves imposing conditions that:
- Require management plans to be submitted for approval; and
- Provide an exemption to the need for an outline plan of works for any aspect of the project that is subject to an approved management plan.
Where agreement on a management plan can not be reached, a council can subsequently still choose to require an outline plan of works to be submitted under s176A of the RMA.
If a council recommends that conditions be imposed or modifications made to a rolled-over designation or a new requirement, it should set out full reasons in the recommendation. The recommendation should be clear and transparent, as it may reduce the risk of the requiring authority rejecting the recommendation, and any subsequent appeals by the council. The council may want to consider meeting with the requiring authority after its recommendation is released to further discuss any recommended changes.
For examples of the use of conditions on designations, see the proposed Dunedin City District Plan and Queenstown Lakes District Council best practice examples.
Recommendations and decisions
The matters that those considering requirements and designations need to take into account are the same as for new requirements under Part VIII of the RMA, specifically sections 168A and 171. See A Guide to Designations under the Resource Management Act 1991 for more information.
There is a key difference in process between the notices of requirement received from the council itself, and the notices of requirement received from other requiring authorities:
- The council is required to make a decision on each notice of requirement that the council itself has lodged.
- The council can only make a recommendation on each notice of requirement from a requiring authority to confirm the requirement, modify the requirement, impose conditions or withdraw the requirement.
1. Council decisions on their own requirements:
Once the council has issued its decision, it is required to notify the public of those decisions. The council must serve a copy of the decision on any submitter, and serve notice on any directly affected landowners or occupiers. The notice to directly affected landowners and occupiers must clearly state that they cannot appeal the decision if they did not make a submission.
2. Council recommendations on requirements from requiring authorities:
The council must provide the requiring authority reasons with its recommendation. The council is not required to notify submitters of its recommendation to the requiring authority. These recommendations may be made by the council when it makes other decisions on the proposed district plan.
Within 30 working days of receiving the council’s recommendation, the requiring authority advises the council of its decision to accept the recommendation, accept it in part or reject it. A requiring authority may modify a requirement if, and only if, that modification is recommended by the council or is not inconsistent with the requirement as notified (s172(2) of the RMA). Where a requiring authority rejects the recommendation in whole or in part, or modifies the requirement, it must give reasons for its decision.
The council then has 15 working days to notify the decision to submitters and directly affected landowners and occupiers. The council must also make any necessary alterations to the proposed district plan to reflect the requiring authority’s decision. Any person who made a submission may appeal the decision, including the council.
It is useful to develop a timeline for notification of decisions on all designations that allows for the time lapse while the requiring authority makes its decision. The requiring authority should be notified of the council's recommendation as soon as practicable, so that if possible the requiring authority decisions and the council decisions can be issued at the same time.
Rolled-over designations
If a rolled over designation is included in the proposed plan without modification and no submissions are received, the council cannot make a recommendation or decision. The council must simply include the rolled over designation in the proposed district plan.
Including designations in district plans
After the council has made decisions on the plan as a whole, the proposed plan is typically updated and reprinted. Although the 1st Schedule of the RMA requires that requiring authorities must notify a council of their decision whether it accepts or rejects its recommendations in whole of in part within 30 working days following notification, most council’s have experienced significant delays.
The timing of the requiring authority decision-making processes often creates difficulties. It may not be possible to include all the decisions on designations when the plan is first updated and reprinted with decisions. However, given that decisions on plan appeals will most likely require further updates to the plan, decisions on requirements will be able to included in further reprints.
Councils should discuss timeframes and processes with requiring authorities so they are aware of how their decision fits in with the rest of the plan process, and they have a clear understanding about printing deadlines.
The council may produce an updated schedule and maps of all designations that the council and other requiring authorities have decided upon. Designations that have been appealed to the Environment Court still need to be updated in the proposed plan.
For further information see Interim effect of a notice of requirement in A Guide to Designations under the Resource Management Act 1991. Also see Bungalo Holdings Ltd v North Shore City Council [2001] A052/01 and Beadle, Shayron Lee v Minister of Corrections [2002] A074/02.
Appeals
The council or any submitter can appeal the requiring authority’s decision to the Environment Court within 30 working days.
Mapping and scheduling requirements
Designations in a proposed plan are usually included in a schedule, with the designated area also shown on the planning maps. Clear formatting and layout is essential to aid understanding by the public. See Horarata Concerned Citizens v Canterbury Gliding Club Inc [2004] c185/04.
An important consideration in including designations in district plans generally is the drafting and referencing. Clarity and easy linking is important as the information is often separated by volume. A designations schedule should clearly identify the map reference and the location of any relevant text, such as conditions, associated with a designation.
When including a designation in a district plan and depicting it on the relevant planning maps it is important to indicate the provisions that would apply to the designated land in the event that:
- all or part of the designation is uplifted; or
- an activity is proposed (subject to the requiring authority’s agreement) which is not associated with the purpose of the designation.
This is often referred to as the ‘underlying zoning’ (usually consistent with the surrounding area). For certainty, it is important to be explicit when more than one underlying zoning could be interpreted to apply (e.g. where different zones abut a road designation the district plan may state the underlying zoning extends to the road centerline). Techniques such as overlays indicating designations and other limitations are useful to depict this.
Schedules
As good practice, a schedule of designations should include the following information in a proposed plan in respect of each designation or notice of requirement as a minimum:
- The name of the requiring authority
- The purpose of the designation or proposed designation (sometimes known as the notation)
- The name, address and legal description of the site
- A cross-reference to the relevant map.
To improve understanding by the public and for ease of plan administration, councils should consider adding to the schedule of designations:
- A cross reference to any conditions (usually included in an appendix)
- The lapse period of the designation (default of 5 years but this may be extended when the designation is sought).
Maps
Designation maps must be very precise. The requiring authority and the council should provide adequate and compatible mapping systems.
Large scale district plan maps can make it difficult to determine the extent of designations in relation to property boundaries which can result in errors when interpreting the plan. This is particularly important when the designation only applies to part of a site.
Councils should work with requiring authorities at an early stage to ensure accurate, high quality detail and maps are provided with notices of requirement.
The council should decide what the required size, scope, and standard of precision is required for the planning maps. Large-scale designations (such as those in the rural area) and complex designations such as airport approach paths often require specific maps and explanations.
For best practice examples, see the following schedules of designation:
The designation section of Queenstown Lakes District Council’s partially operative district plan provides a useful best practice example of including lapse periods for new designations.
Wellington City Council’s District Plan provides a best practice example of including large scale designation maps.
Changes to designations after notification
Many requiring authorities regularly alter their designations. State highway realignments and alterations, for example, regularly create the need for Transit New Zealand to alter its designations. An alteration can either be processed through a new notice of requirement process or through a 'non-notification' procedure under s181 of the RMA if specific criteria are met.
Best practice examples
Calling for roll over designations
Tauranga City Council has prepared a letter calling for any existing designations to be rolled over. The letter clearly states when the Council intends to notify the reviewed district plan. It provides a weblink and reference to the Schedule of Designations within the operative district plan to enable the requiring authorities to check their designations. The letter provides clear timeframes, steps in the process and requirements for the requiring authorities.
Designations - Tauranga District Council (PDF 70 KB)
Masterton District Council has also prepared a letter calling for any existing designations to be rolled over. The letter provides a clear time frame when notice of requirements must be submitted by and specifies under clause 4(4) of the first Schedule of the RMA that no provision for the designation will be made in the plan if the requiring authority fails to notify the requiring authority within the specified time.
Designations - Masterton District Council (PDF 1 MB)
Designation schedules
The Wellington City District Plan has a well-formatted and easy-to-understand schedule of designations. The designation title (of varying degrees of detail) and requiring authority is included, along with all other site information. Appendices to the schedule contain legal description and gazette notice details, terms and conditions where appropriate. Schedule Appendices are clearly cross referenced.
The New Plymouth District Plan has a comprehensive schedule, listing a reference number, the requiring authority name, item, location, legal description and designated purpose. The Schedules also contain details of the status of the designation (‘carry forward’, ‘carry forward amended 2001’ ‘new designation’ ‘designation reinstated’ etc) the underlying environmental area, and reference to the map number.
The Dunedin City District Plan also has a comprehensive schedule of designations. It notes all the relevant information. A definition of terms is set out at the front of the schedule. It also identifies whether the schedule is existing, modified or new.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council Partially Operative District Plan specifies the lapse period for any new designations as part of the Designations section of the Plan.
Maps
The Wellington City District Plan has specific designation plans at a scale which make it easy to determine the extent of the designation.
Example of conditions on designations
Most designations in the proposed Dunedin City District Plan have conditions of some type. The schedule states that the conditions may be inspected at the Council offices. The Plan does not include an appendix with designation conditions. This is significant as the designation conditions form part of the District Plan, and requires physical inspection of documents at Council offices in order to obtain a complete version of the District Plan (inconvenient for out of town users). The designations generally include conditions that help define when an outline plan under s176A of the RMA will be waived (for example, minor additions to many existing structures don't require outline plans). This type of condition can aid plan administration over subsequent years.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council Partially Operative District Plan includes detailed conditions for a range of designations.
RMA provisions
Part VIII - Designations and Heritage Orders
Section 166 – Meaning of “designation”, “network utility operator” and “requiring authority”
Section 168 – Notice of requirement to territorial authority
Section 168A - Notice of requirement by territorial authority
Section 169 - Further information, public notification, submissions and hearing
Section 170 - Discretion to include requirement in proposed plan
Section 171 - Recommendation by territorial authority
Section 172 - Decision by requiring authority
Section 173 - Notification of decision on designation
Section 175 - Designation to be provided for in district plan
Section 178 - Interim effect of requirement
Section 179 - Appeals relating to sections 176 – 178
Section 184 - Lapsing of designations which have not been given effect to
Section 184A - Lapsing of designations of territorial authority in its own district
Schedule 1 – Preparation and change of policy statements and plans by local authorities
Clause 4 - Requirements to be inserted prior to notification of proposed district plans
Clause 5 - Public notice and provision of document to public bodies
Clause 9 - Recommendations and decisions on requirements
Clause 13 - Decision of requiring authority or heritage protection authority
Clause 14 - Appeals to Environment Court
Relevant Case Law
The following cases contain discussion on designation matters which are applicable to including designations in proposed district plans:
Ngataringa Bay 2000 Inc v Minister of Defence No3 [1992] A158/92 - held that the designated purpose needs to be described with sufficient clarity for the potential uses of the land to be interpreted unambiguously.
Waimarie County Council v Hogan [1978] 2 NZLR 587, Olsen v Minister of Social Welfare [1995] WO32/95 -clarified the required level of precision and certainty for the designated purpose
Estate of PA Moran v Transit NZ w55/99 and Quay Property Management Ltd v Transit NZ [2000] W28/00 - provides important clarification about the required content of a notice of requirement, and its importance as the ‘building block’ on which the remainder of the process is based.
Bungalo Holdings Ltd v North Shore City Council [2001] A052/01 and Beadle, Shayron Lee v Minister of Corrections [2002] A074/02 - clearly set out the matters that Council’s must have regard to in making a recommendation (or decision in the case of Council’s own notice of requirement).
Horarata Concerned Citizens v Canterbury Gliding Club Inc [2004] c185/04 - determined that it was not fatal not to show a designation on a planning map, if identified in a schedule but this constituted an error in the Plan that should be amended.
Related Guidance Notes
The following guidance notes are related:
Submissions on a Plan
Use of Commissioners
Notifying Proposed Plans
Making Decisions on a Plan
Relevant Publications
A Guide to Designations under the Resource Management Act 1991
Published by Ministry for the Environment – September 2003
This document provides guidance on how to use the designation provisions of the Resource Management Act. It provides answers to frequently asked questions, step-by-step guides for territorial authorities on commonly used processes, and guidance on topics such as notices of requirement and outline plans.
The Designation Process
Published by Ministry for the Environment – June 2006
This guide is part of the Everyday Guide to the Resource Management Act series. It provides information for people whose land may be affected by a designation and want to know how they can be involved in the process.
Keeping it fair: A Guide to the Conduct of Hearings under the Resource Management Act
Published by Ministry for the Environment – July 2001
Outlines various issues associated with hearings and discusses order of proceedings, speaking rights and techniques for asking questions and listening to answers.
Effective and Enforceable Consent Conditions
Published by Ministry for the Environment – June 2001
This guide provides information for drafting conditions under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Current challenges in practice
Rectifying procedural errors
Procedural errors can occur through inaccurate notification of the notices of requirement, omitting notification to 'directly affected' people, errors in mapping and scheduling, omitting notifying relevant requiring authorities (including Ministers and the Council itself) before the proposed plan is notified, or a combination of all of these.
Recovery from procedural errors must focus on:
- Maintaining the integrity of the proposed plan process
- Maintaining the robustness of the process of including notices of requirement
- Ensuring that RMA requirements have been met, and particularly that public participation has not been compromised.
Fixing these errors will usually require some parts of the process being repeated. Early and regular communication with the requiring authority is essential.
Acknowledgements and editorial comments
This guidance note was prepared by Matthew McCallum-Clark of Incite and updated by Nick Wright of Brookfields Lawyers, Bryce Julyan of Beca, Justine Bray of Opus and Andy Ralph of Tauranga City Council.
The Ministry for the Environment would like to acknowledge the input of Gen Hewett of MWH New Zealand Ltd and Gina Sweetman of Sweetman Planning Services Ltd.
This guidance note was initially prepared in July 2003, and updated in October 2008.
