Various Planning Definitions
An Enforcement Officer is someone given authority under section 38 of the Resource Management Act. This authority allows a person to find out if the Council requirements are being met, and the Act gives them the ability to enforce the requirements if they are not being met.
A common need for an enforcement officer is to make sure noise levels remain within the District Plan and Council requirements.
The Environment Court is the first line of appeal for a Resource consent, district plan, regional plan, Declaration or abatement notice.
Click here for more information on the Environment Court see my Environment Court section.
An Esplanade Strip is a type of easement over a property whose ownership will remain in private ownership. An esplanade strip works similar to a right of way easement, giving the public access rights to a stream, lake or the sea, but the land remains in private ownership. Under an esplanade strip agreement there are times of the year when the land owner may prohibit access, such as around lambing time each year.
A Foreshore and Seabed Reserve means a specified area of the public foreshore and seabed that has been identified as having a special relationship to a group of people. A foreshore and seabed reserve is administered by a board whose members are guardians of the reserve. A foreshore and seabed reserve was created by Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004.
Hazardous substance means any substance—
(a) With one or more of the following intrinsic properties:
(i) Explosiveness:
(ii) Flammability:
(iii) A capacity to oxidise:
(iv) Corrosiveness:
(v) Toxicity (including chronic toxicity):
(vi) Ecotoxicity, with or without bioaccumulation; or
(b) Which on contact with air or water (other than air or water where the temperature or pressure has been artificially increased or decreased) generates a substance with any one or more of the properties specified above.
An interim enforcement order is an order from the environment court requiring an activity or potential activity to stop. An interim enforcement order is done when urgent action is required and does not need the affected person present to make the order. However an affected person can apply to be heard after the interim enforcement order is made and either have the conditions altered or removed.
When an applicant Objects to a condition on their resource consent they are not appealing the decision, but are requesting one or more conditions be altered or deleted for some specific reason. A decision on an objection is usually made by a planning committee or commissioner, and usually requires a hearing to be had.
A permitted activity is an activity that does not require a resource consent. This is because either, the district or regional plan states that an activity can be done without consent if certain criteria are meet, or; an activity is not specifically mentioned in the plan and the activity meets all the District Plan rules and standards. Some examples of activities that are usually permitted are:
(1) Building a house in a residential area is usually permitted if all front and side yards are complied with and the height plane is not encroached.
(2) Digging a garden.
(3) A farm gravel pit. This depends on the quantities being extracted.
The Permitted Baseline is the identification of what can be done on a particular property. This is determined by what is permitted by the District or Regional Plan and what is permitted by a current resource consent. A permitted baseline test is usually done in an application for resource consent and by the Council planner when they are completing their assessment of the proposal. The permitted baseline test may note that a house could be built on the property, car parking is allowed, landscaping is permitted, or some other relevant information specific to the property and the proposal.
A Policy statement is a document, either at the national or regional levels, which states the issues, policies and objectives over a specific topic. Policy statements have been prepared for all regions as well as there being a New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS).
A Region is the area a Regional Council governs over. Regions generally follow water catchment areas.
A Regional Council is a local government organisation who is responsible for managing and controlling the use of water, soil and air resources within its boundaries.
