Plans, plans, plans: what exactly are they?
District and regional plans are one of the most important aspects of the RMA. The RMA says that councils have to prepare plans to help them manage the environment in their area. It is these plans that tell you what you can or cannot do as of right.
Regional policy statements set the basic direction for environmental management in the region. Regional plans tend to concentrate on particular parts of the environment, like the coast, soil, a river or the air. They set out how discharges or activities using these resources will be managed to stop the resources being degraded or polluted. District plans concern the use and development of land and contaminated land and set out the policies and rules a council will use to manage the use of land in its area. By looking at these plans you will be able to find out if you need to get a resource consent for the activity you want to do.
When central government wants to give local councils a bit of direction on environmental issues, it can issue national policy statements or set national environmental standards.
Plans - how can I tell them what I think?
We all have an opinion about what we like about living in an area or how the environment is being managed. 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.
You can make a submission on the plan
Everybody can make a submission on what is (or isn't and should be) in a policy statement, a proposed plan or plan change put out by a council. In this case, a submission is your written comments on what you think about the policy statement, plan or plan change. Most councils have submission forms available for people to use, or you can get them off the internet at: www.rma.govt.nz/ The council has to consider all the submissions it gets. 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. The plan only becomes fully operative when everybody's comments have been dealt with.
For more information see 'An Everyday Guide to the RMA' booklet 5.1 Making a Submission on a Proposed Plan or Plan Change.
Brian checks out the plan
Brian heard from a mate that the city council had notified its new 'proposed' city plan. Brian owns a house in town and a bach at the beach, and is interested in botany.
Brian wanted to see what the plan might mean for him. He checked out the plan down at the public library and the maps that came with it. Brian finds that his bach is in a "proposed coastal protection area". This means he won't be able to build the extension to his bach that he was thinking about, without getting a resource consent from the council first. He also notices that a particular stand of kahikatea hasn't been recognised as a significant natural area.
Did you know...
Most councils have prepared their first generation of plans under the RMA. But this doesn't mean you've missed the boat. Councils often decide to make changes to their plans and they do this by preparing a plan change (or 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 do a full review of its plans at least every 10 years. Members of the public can also initiate private plan changes.
Brian makes a submission
Brian fills out two submission forms and mails them to the council. On the first, he says that the small extension he was proposing won't harm the environment, either by dominating the neighbourhood or by putting too much pressure on the ability of his septic tank to process waste. Therefore, he doesn't think the coastal protection area should be over his property. His second submission asks the council to do something about protecting the kahikatea.
Brian has a chance to talk to the council about his submissions at a public hearing six months later.
The public hearing
Other submitters also turn up to the public hearing. The council decides to amend the rules in the plan to allow for extensions to buildings in the area without any requirement for consent, so long as it can be shown that the existing septic tanks will be able to cope. The council also decides to include the kahikatea in a list of Significant Natural Areas in the plan. This means that anybody wanting to cut the trees down will have to apply for a resource consent from the council. Brian was pretty happy about that. Brian managed to get the plan changed and save the kahikatea and all it took was to let the council know what his opinion was of the plan.
For more information see 'An Everyday Guide to the RMA' booklet 5.2 Appearing at a Council Plan or Plan Change Hearing.
Reality check
The council might have decided against Brian's submissions. If they did, Brian could choose to appeal the decision to the Environment Court.
