Key draft changes for the future District Plan

The Council’s District Plan Committee has endorsed the following draft changes for further development, which we’re now consulting on:

• Update existing performance standards such as:

1. instead of per project-based standards, consider limits based on a site area or frequency of activity.
2. review the earthworks volume thresholds for all zones and replace them with a revised set of thresholds which could relate to one or more of volume, area, depth, frequency or slope face gradient.
3. lower the current upper limit in residential and commercial areas, to reflect the potential adverse effects that earthworks could have on the surrounding environment.
4. change rules for remediating land to acknowledge that for some types of earthworks, such as storage ponds and earth bunds, land cannot be remediated with current remediation options.
5. introduce limits on stockpile heights in the Rural Zone from sensitive activities for earthworks, to protect the surrounding environment, in particular nearby property boundaries, from being visually impacted.

• Earthworks activities that don’t meet the permitted standards would be assessed as restricted discretionary activities (rather than current discretionary) and would be subject to discretionary matters relating to adverse dust, visual and land stability effects, as well as the effects on cultural values and the adoption of accidental discovery protocols.
• Replace rules relating to earthworks and contaminated land with a cross-reference to the NESCS.
• Preparation of land for subdivision would no longer require a separate resource consent.
• Introduce rules that directly refer to the mauri and life-supporting capacity of soils in the district which can be adversely affected by earthworks.