Landuse Consents

Common examples of why you may require a land use consent include:

  • Building work that falls outside the development standards in the Plan, such as a dwelling that encroaches on the front/side/rear yards;
  • An activity that is not normally permitted in a specific zone, such as consent to establish a packing store on rural zoned land, or a child care centre on residential zoned land;
  • Major trimming or removal of a scheduled tree.

If you are considering building extensions or a change in the use of your property (such as starting a business or home occupation), please contact the Duty Planner. They will be able to assist you, explaining the relevant rules, circumstances, and whether or not you will require a Landuse Consent.

How to Apply

Most Minor Landuse Consent applications can usually be handled by you (i.e. yard encroachment, second-hand building, second farmworkers dwelling). However for any larger scale activities that trigger multiple rules, you may need to engage a Planning Consultant to apply on your behalf. In some instances you may also need to consult experts on particular matters. 
The Duty Planner will:

  • explain the provisions of the Plan to you;
  • provide you with a copy of the application form(s);
  • advise you on the level of detail required to make an application;
  • advise who you need to consult with, for example, other staff, organisations, or affected parties;
  • and answer any other questions you have.

Monitoring

If a consent is approved Council is required to monitor compliance with the conditions of that consent. In some cases this may require one inspection (e.g. for a yard encroachment), or where continued compliance is a requirement of the consent, ongoing monitoring inspections may be required. Please be aware that the consent holder is responsible for all monitoring costs.

Charges

All Resource Consent applications are charged out at actual costs incurred and actual cost will vary.

Landuse deposit - $2000

Variation to landuse consent - $1000

Limited notified application deposit - $4000

Publicly notified application deposit - $6000

Certificate of compliance for a second dwelling deposit - $1000

Certificate of compliance (other) deposit - $1000

Peat Hazard landuse consent - including monitoring* - $0 (set fee)

Second hand building landuse consent - including 1 hour deposit of $161.50 for monitoring - $710 (set fee)

Yard encroachment landuse consent (only applies where written approval from the affected parties are submitted with the application and there are no other matters of non-compliance - includes 1 hour deposit of $161.50 for monitoring*) - $710 (set fee)

* Set fees for landuse consents only apply where all information is provided. 

Timing

As long as all information is supplied and the notification decision has either identified that there are no potentially affected parties or that all potentially affected parties have given written approval, an application, which is supported by Council, can usually be decided within 20 working days. However should circumstances arise beyond Council’s control, this time period can be extended in accordance with the Resource Management Act 1991.

Development Contributions

When doing any development on your land you may also be required to pay Development Contributions (DC's) 

How much DC's will cost depends on the type of development and the area that it is in. DC's are charged based on 'Household Equivalent Units (HEU's)' - in general terms this means that if a development that has the impact on infrastructure of one house it will pay DC's for one HEU. Larger developments will pay more HEU's depending on the size of the development (because they will have a greater impact on infrastructure).