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2.3.1 Types of Consent
There are two types of resource consents which the District Council may require for an activity which does not comply with a provision of the District Plan, namely:-
(a) a land use consent, and
(b) a subdivision consent
Additional consents may be required by the Regional Council for activities involving the taking of water, the use of coastal resources, disturbance of the land surface and earthworks, or discharges into air, water or onto land. The West Coast Regional Council should be contacted for information regarding these types of consents and compliance with regional plans.
The Act requires that information accompanying each application be sufficient to enable it to be readily understood. The type of information and the level of detail required will depend on the category of activity for which the application is made and the scale and magnitude of environmental effects which the activity may generate. Activities requiring a resource consent will be determined by standards and criteria laid out in the Plan.
There are four categories of consent provided for in the Plan. These are:
(i) Permitted
(ii) Controlled
(iii) Discretionary
(iv) Non-complying
Permitted activities do not require a consent provided full compliance can be demonstrated with all rules in the Plan. On application the Council may issue a Certificate of Compliance for the activity. Resource consents can be obtained for controlled and discretionary activities in accordance with rules and criteria specified in the Plan. Applications for controlled activities must be granted by Council but can be subject to conditions on matters specified. Activities which contravene rules in the Plan or that do not meet discretionary criteria can apply for resource consent as a non-complying activity.
2.3.2 Existing Uses
Activities requiring resource consents under the Plan should be checked for existing use rights. (Section 10 of the Act). Under this provision certain existing uses of land which would normally require a resource consent are permitted to continue.
2.3.3 Information to be Supplied
The information to be supplied with an application for a land use or subdivision consent shall be to the extent specified on the prescribed form available from Council offices.
In accordance with section 92 of the Act, the Council can also require that further information be supplied by the applicant after receipt of the application. The Council may, where it considers it appropriate, commission a report on any matters relating to the application or on the information supplied on the application by the applicant.
2.3.4 Notification
The matter of whether a resource consent application will be notified will be determined in accordance with the provisions of Sections 93, 94 and 95 of the Act, notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan.
Subject to the provisions of the Act, an application for a resource consent is not required to be notified in accordance with Section 93 of the Act, if:
i) The application is for a subdivision consent which is a controlled activity.
ii) The application relates to a controlled activity, or a discretionary activity over which the Council has restricted the exercise of its discretion, and the Plan expressly permits consideration of the application without the need to obtain the written approval of affected persons.
iii) The application relates to a controlled activity and written approval has been obtained from every person who in the opinion of the Council may be adversely affected by the granting of the resource consent; unless in the Council's opinion it is unreasonable, in the circumstances, to require the obtaining of every such approval.
iv) The application relates to a discretionary activity or non-complying activity and the Council is satisfied that the adverse effect on the environment of the activity of which consent is sought will be minor; and
v) Written approval has been obtained from every person whom the Council is satisfied may be adversely affected by the granting of the resource consent, unless the Council considers it is unreasonable in the circumstances to require the obtaining of every such approval.
Notwithstanding i) to v) above, the Council may require any application to be notified even if this Plan expressly provides that it need not be notified, if the Council considers special circumstances exist in relation to the application.
2.3.5 Notification Procedure
The notification process is carried out in accordance with the requirements of Section 93 of the Act. This procedure involves preparing a notice in the forms set out in the Resource Management (Forms) Regulations 1991 (Form 6) and serving copies of it on the following people:
· Owners and occupiers of the site.
· Persons likely to be directly affected, including adjacent owners and occupiers of land.
· Local authority, iwi authorities and others as the Council considers appropriate. This category may include Heritage Protection Authorities, Ministers of the Crown, interest groups and community organisations. A list is held by Council for the purpose of notification.
This notice is also required to be fixed in a conspicuous place on the subject site and to be published in the newspaper.
The notice will give details of the application and give the closing date for submissions to be received by the Council. Submissions must be in writing and may be made by any person. They should be sent to the Council Office nominated in the notice and served on the applicant.
2.3.6 Submissions
Submissions on a resource consent application that is notified may be made by any person or body. The information required in a submission should include:
è the reasons for making the submission
è the decision the person making the submission wishes the Council to make
è whether or not the person making the submission wishes to be heard by the Council.
2.3.7 Hearings
A hearing will be held by the Council to consider the application for a resource consent unless there are no submissions or the parties involved do not wish to be heard. The Act provides for pre-hearing meetings to be held for the purposes of clarifying, mediating, or facilitating the resolution of any issues raised by submitters.
On completion of the hearing the Council makes its decision on the application which is circulated to the applicant and submitters. A right of appeal to the Planning Tribunal exists for all parties involved.
2.3.8 Exemptions to the Plan
If the limited exemption available under section 4(3) of the Resource Management Act 1991 is to be invoked by the Crown, the Council shall be notified of this intention and the nature of the work or activity. The notification should state the consistency of the proposed exemption with the relevant strategy or management plan and an assessment of its impact on adjoining land and resources so Council can check its consistency with section 4(3) of the Act.
2.3.9 Fees
The Council shall from time to time set any fees or schedule of fees, that it considers necessary in order to recover the reasonable costs of processing resource consent applications. The schedule will be available from Council offices. In addition the Council may charge resource consent holders for any monitoring of conditions on a resource consent as it deems appropriate.
