This section reports on:
- checking applications are complete
- formal receipt of applications
- resource consent applications processed within statutory time limits
- notified limited and non-notified resource consent applications processed within time limits
- median time taken to process consents
- use of section 37 to extend time limits.
The timeframes used in this survey to define whether an application was processed within time are described in sections 88B, 95, 97, 101 and 115 of the Resource Management Act. If one part of the consent process falls outside the statutory time for that phase, but the entire consent is processed within the overall upper time limit, for the purposes of this survey it is considered as processed within time.
Checking applications are complete
In 2003/2004, 76% (65) local authorities checked applications for completeness within one working day of the application arriving at the local authority's office, compared to 72% local authorities in 2001/2002 and 76% in 1999/2000. The local authorities adopting this good practice are listed in Appendix 4.
Checking for completeness should involve a scan of the application to determine if all the information required to process the application is included. It does not involve checking the information provided for accuracy or assessing whether further information is required. It is good practice for local authorities to check resource consent applications are complete within one working day of the application arriving at the local authority office.
If an application is not actually complete then it would not technically be an application for the purposes of section 88 of the Act. Local authorities should return these to the applicants, and if the application is lodged again it should be treated as a new application. The Resource Management Amendment Act (2003) states that a local authority can return deficient applications to the applicant within five working days of receiving them (see section 88(3) of the Act).
Formal receipt of applications
Local authorities were asked whether they formally receive [The time limit clock begins as soon as the application isreceived. The Resource Management Amendment Act 2003 clarifies that the processing clock starts on the date the application is first lodged with the local authority (i.e. when it physically arrives at the counter).] (i.e. start the time limit clock) resource consent applications within one working day. 84% (72) local authorities advised that they did, compared to 88% (76) local authorities in 2001/2002, 80% in 1999/2000, and 62% in 1997/1998. The local authorities adopting this good practice procedure are identified in Appendix 4.
Resource consent applications processed within statutory time limits
In 2003/2004, 77% of all resource consents were processed within statutory time limits compared to 82% in 2001/2002, 1999/2000 and 1998/99 and 78% in 1997/98. This includes resource consents where the time limits were formally extended by councils under section 37 of the RMA.
Table 11 presents a time-series of each consent type processed within statutory time limits. Compared to the previous survey, discharge consents increased in the proportion processed within time. The other categories, subdivision, land, coastal and water - all decreased in the proportion of time taken. The percentage of coastal permits being processed within time increased significantly in 2001/2002 following the introduction of the aquaculture moratorium.
Table 11: Percentage of consents processed within statutory time limits by consent type
| Survey period | Subdivision | Land use | Coastal | Water | Discharge | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003/2004 | 74 | 78 | 82 | 60 | 79 | 77 |
| 2001/2002 | 79 | 85 | 86 | 63 | 75 | 82 |
| 1999/2000 | 79 | 87 | 62 | 67 | 73 | 82 |
| 1997/1998 | 77 | 81 | 84 | 61 | 66 | 78 |
Source: RMA survey of local authorities 2003/2004 and 2001/2002; RMA annual survey of local authorities 1999/2000 and 1997/1998.
Notified, limited-notified, and non-notified resource consents processed within time limits
Over 2003/2004 regional councils processed 84% of resource consents within statutory time limits compared to 76% territorial authorities and 61% unitary authorities.
Limited notification is the colloquial name for a new notification process introduced in the Resource Management Amendment Act in August 2003. It differs from full notification in that copies of the application are only passed on to affected parties and are not open for wider public submission. It is used where the effects of an activity are considered minor and the written approvals of all persons affected by that activity have not been obtained. Activities that have effects which are more than minor require the full public notification process to be followed.
Table 12: Percentage of consents processed within statutory time limits by local authority type, 2003/2004
| Local authority type | % processed within time limits | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full notification % | Limited notification % | Non-notified % | Total % | |
| Regional councils | 67 | 78 | 85 | 84 |
| Territorial authorities | 56 | 73 | 77 | 76 |
| Unitary authorities | 38 | 82 | 66 | 61 |
| Total | 56 | 74 | 78 | 77 |
Source: RMA survey of local authorities 2003/2004.
Appendix 3 provides a full summary of the percentage of notified, limited and non-notified consents processed by individual local authorities within time. The percentages for resource consents processed within time limits should be interpreted with caution where a local authority processes a small number of consents. A consent application may be processed outside of the time limit at the request of the applicant and in this situation does not reflect any inefficiency on the part of the local authority.
Median time taken to process consents
Local authorities were asked to provide the median number of working days taken to process resource consents. This is the second time this information has been collected the first being in the 2001/2002 survey. Eighty three councils responded to this section of the 2003/2004 survey. The results of median time taken are not provided in this report as there are concerns over the accuracy and quality of data captured from councils.
Use of section 37 to extend time limits
In 2003/2004, section 37 was used to extend statutory time limits for 12.6% of the total consents processed, compared to 6% in 2001/2002 and 1999/2000.
The RMA provides for the extension of statutory time limits:
- Section 37A(2)(a) provides for the time limit specified in the Resource Management Act to be exceeded but not by more than twice the maximum specified in the Act
- Section 37A(2)(b) allows a local authority to extend a time limit by more than twice the maximum time period specified in the Act if the applicant agrees or requests.
It is considered good practice to use sections 37 and 37A to extend timeframes rather than allow them to run overtime without any clear guidance being given to the applicant or other interested parties as to when new timeframes have been set.
Note, however, that extensions of time should only be used where there are good reasons and the delay in processing the application is beyond the control of the consent authority. It is good practice to keep the number of extensions to timeframes to a bare minimum so that sections 37-37A use does not just become a matter of course for no reason.
It may be appropriate and good practice to seek time extensions when undertaking further consultation, negotiating consent conditions, to allow a committee of commission time to consider complex applications, or to accept late submissions which add value to the process.
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Time
March 2005
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