Selwyn District Plan Review

Selwyn District Council is close to reaching the next stage of the review of the Operative Selwyn District Plan, with the hearings of submissions and further submissions on the Proposed District Plan about to start.

Hearings have been scheduled based on the topics they fall into. We have identified 30 separate topics, and hearings for each of these topics will occur between 9 August 2021 and June 2022.

The hearings will all be held at the Selwyn Health Hub on Norman Kirk Drive, Rolleston, which is opposite the Selwyn District Council offices, and will commence at 9am each day and generally conclude at 5pm.

The Council has appointed a hearings panel with six independent commissioners of which two are iwi commissioners, and four councillors:

• Rob van Voorthuysen (chair of the panel), Gary Rae (co-chair), Lindsay Daysh, Andrew Willis, Yvette Couch-Lewis, Raewyn Solomon
• Councillors Malcolm Lyall, Nicole Reid, Debra Hasson, Mark Alexander.

The first three scheduled hearings, which cover strategic topics, will be heard by the full hearings panel. The rest will be heard by one of two separate panels, chaired by either the chair or the co-chair.

More information on the hearings related information is available on Council’s website at www.selwyn.govt.nz/dprhearings.

Affected parties have an opportunity to comment in support of or opposition to those original submissions on the notified Proposed Selwyn District Plan which were omitted or incorrectly summarised (errata submission) when the Summary of Submissions was notified on 19 April 2021.

The Council has corrected affected submission points and they can be found in the Errata table. Further submissions are limited to matters in support of or in opposition to a submission point contained in the Errata table.

The closing date for further submissions is 5pm on Monday 14 June 2021.

Thank you to everyone who made a further submission on our Proposed District Plan. The further submission period that started on 19 April 2021 is now closed. The Council will now consider all the submissions received in detail and produce a series of Officer Reports with recommendations regarding the submission points made. A Hearings Panel will then consider all submissions, Officer Report recommendations and any supporting evidence.

The Selwyn District Council has extended the further submission consultation period from Monday 3 May to 5pm Friday 7 May 2021. This follows the discovery of an issue with the Excel document, which was provided as an alternative, downloadable option to the Council’s online database ‘Summit Up’, to view the summary of submissions. People should continue to refer to the full Summary of Submissions in ‘Summit Up’ and the original submissions when preparing their further submission.

While the Excel version of the summary of submissions was removed from the website as soon as we were aware of the issue, some people have already downloaded it and worked on their further submission. To recognise the short consultation period and the inconvenience we might have caused, we are extending the submission period to 5pm Friday 7 May 2021.

A chance for affected people to have their say on changes requested to Selwyn’s district rulebook opens today (Monday 19 April).

The further submission period for the Proposed District Plan is open until 5pm Monday 3 May. It is an opportunity for those affected, certain interested parties and the Council to respond to an original submission or submission point.

A total of 470 submissions were made on the Proposed District Plan, covering around 7,700 individual submission points. Of these, 62% of submission points were fully or partially supportive of the Proposed District Plan.

Submissions were received on all chapters of the Proposed District Plan. Topics attracting most attention included rezoning land from rural to residential, indigenous biodiversity and ecosystems protection, flooding hazard areas and commercial activities in residential areas.

Other topics generating multiple submission points include the proposed changes to minor residential units (‘family flats’), noise standards, residential density controls and high vehicle trip-generating activities.

Council’s Environmental and Regulatory Services Manager, Tim Harris, says it’s been good to see the way people have got behind the plan and taken an interest in the way the rules will affect them and the district as a whole.

“It’s a great milestone after years of hard work to have got here and to see the positive reaction from the public and the support that they have given the plan.”

Further submissions can be made by a person with an interest greater than the public in general (for example if they own property that someone submitted to have rezoned), someone representing a public interest group, or the local authority itself.

A summary of the submissions, along with the original submissions, can be found at Summit Up - our online summary of submissions database. This information can also be viewed online at all the Council libraries and service centres.

The Council has also developed a submission map tool to help people find properties affected by submissions on rezoning, or other map-related changes.

[Note: The District Plan is the district’s 10-year ‘rule book’ which sets out rules and policies to define what activities are allowed on properties as of right (permitted activities) and what activities require a resource consent. It is a separate process from the Long-Term Plan, which is also currently open for consultation, until 30 April.]

Consultation on the Proposed Selwyn District Plan has now closed. The Council received around 500 submissions on the plan, which was open for the public to have their say for 10 weeks.

The Proposed Plan will now go through the further submissions, hearings, decisions and appeal stages. This process normally takes around two years and we’re hoping to have decisions on the new plan by the end of 2022. The full completion of the final plan will depend on any appeals that follow Council’s decision.

The Council will now prepare a summary of the submissions, which will be made available to the public early in 2021. The further submission period allows people the opportunity to comment on matters raised in the submissions.

All submissions will then be presented to a hearing panel made up of councillors and independent hearing commissioners and public hearings held for those who wish to be heard, before a final recommendation is presented to the Council.

The Council will give notice of its decision on the Proposed District Plan (and matters raised in submissions, including its reasons for accepting or rejecting submissions). Submitters have the right to appeal this decision to the Environment Court. The plan will then be adopted, except any areas that have been appealed and these will be added according to the outcome of the appeal.

Thank you to everyone who made a submission on our Proposed District Plan. The submission period is now closed and we are working through all of the submissions we received to create a summary of the decisions requested by submitters. We will make this summary publicly available in early 2021. Following that, we will call for further submissions, which gives people the opportunity to comment on matters raised in the submissions we received.

There’s less than two weeks left to have your say on the Proposed Selwyn District Plan.

The Proposed Plan is basically a ‘rule book’ for what you can or can’t do in the district and what may require a resource consent from the Council.

The plan takes account of the rapid and continuing growth we’ve seen in Selwyn in the last decade and sets rules and policies for where that growth should occur. It aims to help ensure the district continues to grow in a way that meets your needs and those of people moving to join in the great lifestyle and opportunities Selwyn offers.

The Proposed Plan provides a framework for growth and unlocks the economic potential of our district in a sustainable way over the next 10 to 15 years. It provides direction for how townships should grow, and where and what kind of businesses and industries are encouraged.

It also simplifies the zones that help guide what you can and can’t build, maps the risk from natural hazards such as flooding and liquefaction, identifies our heritage sites, buildings and trees and proposes rules to protect our landscape and night sky, Council Environmental and Regulatory Services Planning Manager Ben Rhodes says.

“These are key decisions about where we’re going and what life will look like in the district, so we really want to hear from you.”

“So far we’ve seen a lot of interest in our drop-in sessions and community events, with hundreds of you talking to our planners and asking questions, and we’ve also received 35 submissions. Key areas of interest to date include queries about rezoning or subdividing land, designations, flooding hazard and family flats.”

You can find out more and make a submission on the plan until 5pm Friday 11 December.

The Proposed District Plan includes some new proposed rules that may affect people starting a new business from home.

Under the proposed plan running a business from home continues to be a permitted activity in both rural and residential areas, but some rules around when you may need a resource consent are proposed to change.

The main change is around the size your business premises can be before you need to apply for a resource consent. New home businesses will not need a resource consent if there are no more than two staff who live off-site and the maximum floor area used for the business is under 100m2 in a rural zone, or 40m2 if you’re in a residential zone.

In residentially-zoned areas, the proposed rules would mean business activity involving customer visits and/or deliveries, could only occur between 7.30am–7pm and all business goods would need to be stored indoors. In the current District Plan business activity involving visits by customers and clients, is limited to between 7am–10pm on any day.

In rurally-zoned areas, business activity involving customer visits and/or deliveries, could occur between 7am–7pm. In the current District Plan there are no limits on hours of the operation in the Rural Zone.

The changes being proposed are aimed at ensuring that home businesses don’t potentially adversely affect the look and feel of residential or rural areas. The changes are also aimed at striking a better balance between making it easy to set up a home business and encouraging bigger businesses to locate in the district’s commercial and business centres.

It is important to note that these changes would only apply to those starting a new home business and will not have effect until the proposed plan is operational, which is expected to happen by the end of 2022. If you currently run a business from home, you will not be affected by the proposed change of rules.

Anyone interested in finding out more about how the proposed changes to starting a new home business affect them please contact the Council by calling 0800 SELWYN (735 996) or emailing contactus@selwyn.govt.nz. You can make a submission until 5pm Friday 11 December.

Selwyn has experienced several waves of settlement by Māori and Europeans over many decades. As a result there are sites, buildings and structures in our district which are of cultural or historic value to individuals, families, iwi, rūnanga and communities.

It’s important we look after all the things and places that are part of our history and identity, and preserve them for current and future generations to enjoy and learn from.

The Proposed District Plan updates the list of heritage buildings and notable trees as well as identifying and including new rules to recognise and protect sites and areas of significance to Māori. Key proposed changes – historic and cultural heritage:

• Updated schedule of listed heritage buildings, structures and items
• A heritage item’s setting will now also be part of the listing, which means erecting buildings and structures, and some earthworks within the setting, will be managed
• Updated schedule of listed notable trees
• Updated criteria to help identify notable trees for listing in the District Plan
• Overall the rules for listed heritage items and notable trees aren’t proposed to change much, other than the requirement to manage some activities in the setting of a heritage item
• The sites and areas of significance to Māori identified in the Proposed District Plan largely reflect those that are identified in the operative District Plan. However, one change is the inclusion of a Ngā Turanga Tūpuna area – covering Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere, its margins and associated wetlands, along with the coastal area between the Rakaia River and Taumutu
• New rules to recognise and protect sites and areas of significance to Māori. These rules manage a number of activities, eg erecting new buildings or structures, whereas the current District Plan only manages earthworks.

For more about how the Proposed District Plan plans to protect heritage items view the Proposed ePlan. Submissions are open till 5pm Friday 11 December. You can make your submission here.