Frequently Asked Planning Questions
What is a building envelope (platform)?
A building envelope or building platform is an area of land, usually on a rural property, where you are allowed to build a house. To build elsewhere you will need to get a resource consent.
When was the Resource Management Act introduced?
The Resource Management Act was approved on the 22nd July 1991.
What is sustainable management?
Section 5 (the Purpose) of the Resource Management Act identifies sustainable management as:
... sustainable management means managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural wellbeing and for their health and safety while—
(a) Sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources (excluding minerals) to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; and
(b) Safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil, and ecosystems; and
(c) Avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment.
Is a down turn a good time to do land development?
The advantages of a downturn is it gives you time to calmly and rationally consider all your options and plan for the future without the time constraints of beating the next quiet time.
The New Zealand population is growing at around 1.4% per year (2008) and the population is not projected to peak until at least 2050 or later. Also much of the population increase is from immigration to New Zealand, so the increase is not only through births (that will take 20 years to benefit from), but also an increase in adults. As a result a decline in land development could not be sustained over a long period of time before the natural pressures for more housing is required. This has already started to be seen in Auckland and has been reported by the Salvation Army.
The land development process can take a long time, with simple resource consent taking around 2 months to prepare, lodge and get approval from the Council. After this you then need to build or develop whatever you have you have approval to develop. You have the ability to stop and start at any stage of the project.
Taking note of the above, a down turn is a good time to consider the development options of a property and to seek resource consent. In the Queenstown-Lakes District is will often take at least a year to get the consent, then there is the construction time required after that, so you could be looking at 2 -3 years from beginning to completion. If you wish to rezone land, it could also take 2 - 3 years to get the rezoning through. By the time the zoning is completed you then still need to get resource consents.
Starting in a down time means you have the time to get started on the development, proceed to a point you can afford or a point that will not be economically disadvantaged. By starting the process, when you see the economic climate improve, a lot of the delays in developing will be behind you.
I want to make a complaint about a planner?
Depending on the nature of your complaint, the following courses of action are available for laying a complaint about a planner:
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Fees Dispute
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Unprofessional conduct
To avoid repeating information contained on other pages, I suggest seeing my section about making a complaint about a planner.
