Court criticises `crude' district plan

Whangarei's Mayor Pamela Peters has defended the council after it was sharply criticised by the Environment Court over its subdivision rules.
The Environment Court last week released an interim decision on the council's subdivision provisions for coastal and countryside environments in its District Plan.
The court upheld an appeal by the Department of Conservation and raised the minimum lot-size in coastal and countryside zones from 4ha and 6ha respectively to 20ha. The court found the council's subdivision rules in the two environments to be defective and said the interim 20ha minimum would protect the environment while the council rewrites the rulebook.
The judgment also said council's approach did not meet the purpose of the Resource Management Act "by a considerable margin."
The court said solutions offered by the council in a proposed variation of its district plan were "broadbrush, even crude".
The Environment Court judges criticised the council's analysis of Section 32 of the Resource Management Act, which says there has to be consideration of alternatives and environmental effects.
It also remarked on the lack of justification for the 4ha and 6ha subdivision requirements proposed by the council.
"While I understand the court's decision, I do not entirely agree with the ruling in this case. I recognise that the 4ha and 6ha was not a perfect lot size for all circumstances, but I do not believe that 20 hectares is the golden number, either," Mrs Peters said.
Some objectives and policies will be changed and certain provisions might have to be referred back to the appellants and the court for final decisions, she said. The council has also been instructed to revisit its Environmental Benefit Rules within 40 days as no clear accepted guidelines were presented to the court.
She said the court's decision came about because of appeals lodged on the council's District Plan provisions. The main players were the Director General of Conservation, on the one hand, private developers and the Ngatiwai Trust Board on the other.
"This is a complex court decision on which the council is yet to receive a formal report. Council has not had the opportunity to discuss the document and has therefore not made any decision on its reaction," Mrs Peters said.
"This decision does not affect the everyday life of householders, farmers or businesspeople in Whangarei. Rather it impacts on developers and those who wish to subdivide."
Council environmental services manager Ian McAlley said to subdivide in the coastal environment and the coastal country environment people will now need a minimum 20ha block to undertake a controlled activity subdivision that meets standards for a straightforward application.
Subdividing into smaller blocks will be discretionary and an assessment has to be made as to the potential effects of that subdivision, on a case-by-case basis.
"The effect of the decisions of the court, additional to the larger lot limits, is evident in the requirement that all new residential units in the coastal countryside environment will need resource consent," Mr McAlley said.