By Kay Keam - 30 Sep 2013
The Auckland Unitary Plan will be notified today. This will
trigger the formal submissions phase with submissions closing on 28
February 2014. The Plan will not be fully operative until
completion of the submissions and appeals process. If you own
property in Auckland or do business in Auckland the time to take
action is now.
The Plan will be available online at www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/unitaryplan.
So what's in it?
The Plan will set out new planning rules. Being online, it
will enable you to generate a map for your property (or a property
that you are interested in) showing zones, heritage controls,
designations and other planning limitations.
The Plan will eventually replace 14 of Auckland's existing
district and regional plans. Many of these existing plans are
already more than 10 years old. The Plan will be the key
planning document for the Auckland region.
So why should I bother to check it?
The restrictions imposed by the Plan, such as height
restrictions to preserve sightlines for the volcanic cones, could
restrict the ability to redevelop or carry out activities on your
property and negatively impact on the value of your
property. The restrictions may also have been incorrectly
imposed on your property.
The new zones, such as the mixed housing zone and the terraced
housing zone, may impose lesser (or greater) controls on
subdivision than the current rules. You might be delighted at
the prospect of subdividing land that wasn't previously
subdivisible or horrified by the prospect that your neighbour can
now do this.
If you are considering developing your property in the future
then there may be an opportunity to rezone the property now without
going through the process of a plan change.
Where any existing resource consents are due to expire within
the next five years, you should check how the changes to the Plan
affect the renewal of those consents.
If you would like to discuss how the Plan affects your property
please give us a call.
Contacts
Elise
Markwick