What is written approval?
Some activities are considered to have an effect on neighbouring or nearby properties (eg. building closer to a boundary or to a height than permitted). In such cases, the Council will identify the affected property(s) and the owners and occupiers of those properties are considered “affected parties”. There may be organisations (such as Iwi or the Department of Conservation) who are also considered “affected parties”.
The applicant for resource consent can either:
- Try to obtain written approval from the affected parties; or
- Ask the council to notify the affected parties and give them the opportunity to have their say on the application.
In order to ask for written approval, an applicant (or their agent) should provide you with - A written approval form; this needs to include:
- A full and clear description of the proposed activity
- The rules that aren’t being met
- An assessment of the effects of the activity
- Plans:
- Subdivision: a scheme plan that shows the dimensions and size of the proposed allotments
- Land Use: a site development plan that shows where buildings etc would be located, dimensions and setbacks from boundaries; and elevations – including heights, setbacks to boundaries and recession planes.
You can ask for more information about the activity to help you understand what is proposed and what the effects would be on you and your property.
Do I have to provide written approval?
No – whether you provide written approval or not is up to you.
If you are happy with what is proposed, you can complete the written approval form and sign the scheme plan or site development plans. If you provide written approval, the Council cannot consider any effects of the activity on your property in deciding whether to grant the consent or not.
If you choose not to provide written approval you do not need to explain why.
If I don’t provide written approval does that mean they can’t undertake the activity?
Not necessarily. If an applicant is unable to obtain written approval from any of the affected parties, they can still lodge the application with the Council and ask them to notify the affected parties.
The Council writes to those affected parties to tell them the application has been received and give them the opportunity to submit on the application is they so choose – to tell the Council about any concerns with the proposed activity that they may have. There are forms that set out what is required in a submission.
You do not have to submit on an application, but if you do not do so then the Council cannot take any effects of the activity on your property into account.
If you submit, the Council has to consider any matters you raise to the extent that they raise relevant matters under the District Plan.
You have the opportunity to state whether you want to be heard – that is, have your submission considered by the Council’s Environment and Hearings Committee and be able to talk to them about your concerns.
The Council will consider any matters raised in submissions and make a decision as to whether the consent should be granted or declined. If you have made a submission to a consent application you have the right (as does the applicant) to appeal the decision to the Environment Court.