A discretionary activity is an activity that is required to have a resource consent in order to undertake it. The consent is required from the District, City or Regional Council, whichever has made the activity a discretionary activity under their plan.
Under the Resource Management Act 1991a discretionary activity is defined as -
Section 77B - Types of activities
(3) ...
(4) If an activity is described in this Act, regulations, or a plan or proposed plan as a discretionary activity,—
(a) a resource consent is required for the activity; and
(b) the consent authority may grant the resource consent with or without conditions or decline the resource consent; and
(c) the activity must comply with the standards, terms, or conditions, if any, specified in the plan or proposed plan.
What this means is that unlike a Controlled activity, the Council may turn down an application due to the effects of the proposal being considered too great and that there is no way of minimising the effects. From my experience there are usually things that can be done to minimise the effects, which may include downscaling the activity. However, in some cases the downscaling may require a new application to be made or a consent or be re-notified.
It is not uncommon for discretionary activity applicants to be required to seek affected person approvals.
Click here for more information on Discretionary Activities
