Cross-referencing may take one of a number of styles such as:
In on-line or electronic plans, bookmarks and hyperlinks are commonly used to enable the reader to be taken directly to the provision being cross-referenced.
The RMA makes no mention of cross-referencing within plans, though Part 3 of Schedule 1 now includes clauses relating to the incorporation of external material into plans by reference. However good cross-referencing has become essential as plans are complex and plan users often need direction to assist them in finding their way around, or knowing what other provisions they need to refer to.
This method is commonly seen in statues and regulations, and most often in plans when only one or two provisions are being referred to. For example:
“Activities in the Erehwon valley must also comply with the standards relating to earthworks contained in rule 10.3.4.3”.
or
“In considering an application for a consent under rule 6.6.1.2 the council will have regard to the matters of assessment set out in Policies 6.6.8 and 6.6.9”.
The advantages of this approach are:
The disadvantages of this approach are:
The side note sees the side margins of the page used to display cross-references. Several variations of this see the cross-references either highlighted through techniques such as shading or italicised text, for example:
From the Waitakere District Plan:
The example above is taken from the Waitakere District Plan. It shows plan text divided up into two columns (differentiated by the righthand column having mid-grey shading). The left-hand column contains the plan provision number (in this case Rule 1.6.1) and the associated text of the provision. The right-hand column contains the cross reference information (in this case, references to policies 10.2 and 11.13).
From the Waitaki Water Allocation Regional Plan
The example above is taken from the Waitaki Water Allocation Regional Plan. It shows plan text divided up into two columns (separated by white space). The left-hand, narrower, column contains the provision number (in this case "Policy 3") and immediately below it is a cross reference to the objectives the provision relates to. The right-hand column contains the actual text of the plan provision (in this case a policy on setting environmental flow and level regimes).
The advantages of this approach are that it:
The disadvantages of this approach are that:
Another approach to cross-referencing is to have tables at the start or end of each chapter (or possibly at the start or end of the plan provisions) that summarise all the linkages between provisions. The Thames Coromandel District Council uses this technique for the policy chapters of its plan. Each issue has a set of provisions associated with it, and a table that demonstrates the links between those provisions.
| OBJECTIVE 216.3.1 | OBJECTIVE 216.3.2 | OBJECTIVE 216.3.3 | OBJECTIVE 216.3.4 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain and develop an efficient and safe road and air transportation network that meets the needs of the District's community | Protect critical areas of interfact between land and water that enable passenger and goods transport by sea. | Minimise the adverse effects of the transportation network on people and the environment. | Ensure activities do not adversely affect the safe and efficient operation of the transportation network. | |||||||||
| Given Effect to by Policies | ||||||||||||
216.4.1 216.4.2 216.4.3 216.4.4 216.4.5 216.4.6 216.4.7 216.4.12 216.4.13 |
216.4.8 216.4.9 216.4.11 |
216.4.1 216.4.6 216.4.7 216.4.8 216.4.9 216.4.10 216.4.12 216.4.13 |
216.4.1 216.4.2 216.4.3 216.4.4 216.4.5 216.4.11 |
|||||||||
| Evironmental Results Anticipated | ||||||||||||
| 216.7.1 | 216.7.1 | 216.7.2 | 216.7.3 216.7.4 |
|||||||||
| Policy | ||||||||||||
| 216.4.1 | 216.4.2 | 216.4.3 | 216.4.4 | 216.4.5 | 216.4.6 | 216.4.7 | 216.4.8 | 216.4.9 | 216.4.10 | 216.4.11 | 216.4.12 | 216.4.13 |
| Implemented by Methods | ||||||||||||
216.5.1 216.5.7 |
216.5.1 216.5.2 |
216.5.2 | 216.5.2 | 216.5.4 | 216.5.2 | 216.5.6 | 216.5.5 216.5.6 |
216.5.1 216.5.2 216.5.3 216.5.4 216.5.7 216.5.8 |
216.5.2 216.5.8 |
216.5.2 | 216.5.3 216.5.7 |
216.5.3 |
New Plymouth District Council (PDF 600KB) uses a check-box like matrix table to provide cross-references at the end of chapters in their plan. This derivation of the table approach is simple to operate in checking rules against policies, but is less able to show the flow through from objectives, or the environmental results expected
The New Plymouth District Council gets around this latter problem by setting out their policy chapters in a sequential Issue-objective-policy-method fashion for each issue so the policy becomes the key linkage mechanism.
The matrix above is taken from the "Residential Environment Area" chapter of the New Plymouth District Plan.
Policies relevant to the Residential Environment Area are arranged across the top of matrix as column headers. They are arranged in order of topic (topics in this instance being: amenity, hazardous substances, natural hazards, tangata whenua, transport, and works and services). Rules, to implement the policies, are arranged vertically down the side of the matrix. A bullet point is placed in the appropriate matrix cell to indicate when a particular rule is related to a particular policy. This allows those reading the plan to quickly read along rows to see the policies that should be referred to in relation to a rule, or, read down a column to see which rules (in the residential environment) implement a particular policy.
The advantages of the table approach are that it is:
The disadvantages of table approach are:
Lists are essentially similar to the side note approach to cross-referencing, through are often found at the end of a particular provision or chapter as part of the main text rather than in a margin. A typical example might be:
Rule 3.4.3.5
The taking, diversion, or use of water from the Waipuku River for agricultural and horticultural purposes shall meet the following standards:
Cross-ref:
| Objectives | 3.4, 3.5, and 3.7 |
| Policies | 3.4.1, 3.4.3, 3.4.4 |
| 3.5.2, 3.5.4 | |
| 3.7.3 | |
| Rule: | :2.5.3.3(general rules for diversions) |
| Other methods | 3.4.1 methods( i), (ii), and (iii) |
An approach very similar to this is used in the Matamata-Piako District plan while a derivative is also used in many Otago Regional Council regional plans.
The advantages of this approach are that it is:
The disadvantages of this approach are that:
A derivative of the listing approach is used in a number of regional plans and the Rotorua District Plan (see Linkage of Rules: Cross-referencing Rotorua District Plan, 13 May 2000. Section 4.0 (PDF 198KB). All provisions are placed in a table with the cross-references forming their own column next to the provisions (in a manner similar to the Side Note technique). This technique is very effective in terms of displaying the linkages, though does require an effort to ensure the linkages and lists remain accurate throughout the plan when plan changes or variations alter provisions or they way they relate to each other.
