All about plans

There are several different types of plans. Some councils have these plans integrated into a single document.

• Regional policy statements set the basic direction for integrated environmental management in a region.
• Regional plans tend to focus on particular parts of the environment, like the coast, soil, a river or the air.
• District plans concern the use and development of land, including managing subdivision, noise, natural hazards and contaminated land.
• When central government wants to direct local councils on environmental issues, it can issue national policy statements, set national environmental standards or national planning standards, or pass regulations. To find more about this, see Understanding national direction.

Planning processes

The processes for councils to develop a plan are set under Schedule 1 of the RMA [New Zealand Legislation website].

• Standard plan-making process. This is the most common pathway, which involves:
  • notifying the new or amended plan (called a proposed plan)
  • allowing people to have a say on it (making submissions)
  • holding a public hearing
  • making a final decision on what the plan should say
  • allowing people to make appeals to the Environment Court.

There are also two alternative methods:

• Freshwater planning process. If a regional council or unitary authority develops a regional policy statement or regional plan that deals with freshwater, it must follow this process.
• Streamlined planning process. For plans that deal with any other matters (not freshwater), councils can request permission from the Minister for the Environment to use this option.

We all have an opinion on what we like about living in an area, how the environment is being managed or where we might like to see change in the future. The RMA encourages people to get involved and provides a number of opportunities for you to tell the council or resource consent applicants what you think.

Your council will have information about plans on its website, and whether it is reviewing or changing an existing plan, or developing a new one. These processes can take several years and involve a number of steps. So contact your council and let them know you are interested and would like to receive information about this.

Rates notices can also contain information about a council’s plans and when it might be seeking views from the public. Councils will often want to get a sense of how the community feels about issues in their district or region by holding workshops, drop-in sessions, information evenings or meetings. They may also use social media to seek comments, and some provide a draft plan for comments before seeking any formal submissions. Councils must provide a draft plan to iwi for comments.

All councils have plans in place already under the RMA. However, this does not mean you no longer have a say on a development in your neighbourhood, or areas of concern. Councils often decide to change a plan. They do this by preparing a change (or a variation if their first plan is not operative). These changes have to go through the same process outlined above, so you can still have your say. Also, every council has to review each provision of its plans at least every 10 years. Members of the public can also propose changes to a plan.

Making a submission

When the council is ready to invite submissions it will put a summary notice in the newspaper as well as information on its website. You can also check out a physical or digital copy of the proposed plan at the local public library, and copies are usually available on the council website.

In most planning processes, anyone can make a submission on what is (or isn’t and should be) in a policy statement, or a council’s proposed plan. This involves writing down what you think about the statement or plan. The council has to consider all the submissions it gets.

Submission forms:

If you want to make a submission, you need to use the appropriate form. The council can provide you with the right form to use.

Further submissions

In some cases, you also get the opportunity to comment on other people’s submissions by making a further submission. The council normally holds public hearings, so you can speak about your submission if you want to.

What happens next

The plan only comes into full effect once everybody’s comments have been dealt with. At this point, the plan is said to be ‘operative’.