Proposed plan a chance to shape the Far North

Yesterday, the council notified the Proposed District Plan. When the completed District Plan is adopted, it will help us shape the district by providing clear guidance on what can and can’t be done on land in the Far North. It will set out what activities are permitted and what will require a resource consent. It will help us decide where we should see more housing, commercial or industrial developments. It will provide rules on whether you can subdivide, what you can build and how high. It will provide protections to help preserve places of historic or natural value, and give communities, businesses and property owners certainty about what they can do and where. 

The current, or Operative District Plan, does much of that already but the Resource Management Act requires that we review the District Plan every 10 years. The Operative District Plan was notified in 2000, with most provisions coming into force in 2007. Since then, our district has changed, and the plan is out of date. We need to ensure the new plan reflects community aspirations for the next 10 years, and that new national and regional planning guidelines are included.

Staff have been developing the new plan now for several years and many of you will already be familiar with some of the key issues. Last year, we contacted 8000 landowners about ways to protect unique indigenous species and habitats on their land. Public feedback on Significant Natural Areas and the mapping used to identify them was swift and very clear. As a result, SNA maps have been removed from the Proposed District Plan. We also contacted property owners about proposed changes to areas protected due to their historic importance. We received strong feedback on heritage areas and the proposed plan reflects that.

With the plan notified, everyone – landowners, tangata whenua, and the whole the community – is invited to make a formal submission on it. You may support parts of what the council has proposed but oppose other sections. Whatever your view, I encourage you to review the plan to see what changes are proposed for land of interest to you. Whatever your view, make a submission. You have until 21 October to do so.

One key difference with this plan is that it is entirely online. National Planning Standards require us to provide the plan as an interactive ePlan. This allows you to easily explore maps, find a property report and make online submissions. Not everyone will want to use the online version, so we will provide printed copies to view along with map books at council service centres in Kerikeri, Kaikohe and Kaitāia. These offices can also provide you with a paper submission form that you can scan and email back, post, or drop off at any council office or library.

This is not the end of the process. Further submissions can be made on decisions made by council and anyone who made a submission can also appeal council decisions to the Environment Court.