Discretionary Activities (section 20.7 of District Plan)
Resource consent required – Council may grant or refuse consent,
and if consent is granted then may impose conditions.
Discretionary Activities are:
• Any activity listed as a Permitted Activity that is not
a Controlled Activity and does not conform to the
Performance Standards
◦◦ Multi-unit development
◦◦ Tourist accommodation including home stays for more
than eight persons
◦◦ Places of assembly and worship
◦◦ Residential institutions for more than eight persons
◦◦ Funeral parlours and chapels
◦◦ Community care housing for more than eight persons in
care
◦◦ Childcare facilities for more than eight children
◦◦ Marae developments
◦◦ Medical centres
◦◦ Licensed premises
◦◦ Indoor sporting facilities
◦◦ Shops and retailing
Non-complying Activities (section 20.8 of District Plan)
Resource consent required – Council may grant or refuse consent,
and if consent is granted then may impose conditions.
Activities that are not Permitted, Controlled or Discretionary
will be Non-complying, including:
• Non-residential storage and activity, and
• The storage of plant and materials in connection with a
business, craft, trade or profession carried out away from
the site.
How do I apply for resource
consent?
• Fill out a resource consent application form which is
available from Council offices and Council’s website.
• The application form has a checklist attached which details
everything required in order for Council to properly assess
the proposal.
• If the proposal will potentially affect adjoining properties
or beyond, please get those owners and occupiers to sign
Council’s standard affected parties consent form and site
and elevation plans for the proposal. Council will determine
who is affected once the application has been received.
• If you also apply for building consent a condition of
that consent will be that you will not be able to start
construction until the resource consent has been granted.
How long does it take to get
resource consent?
• Council has a statutory timeframe of 20 working days to
process your application and make its decision.
• Your application can however be placed on hold or rejected
if there is insufficient information to properly assess the
proposal.
• Council may in special circumstances extend the 20 working
day timeframe.
A basic guide to
Development in the
Residential
Zone
South
Waikato
District
Council
How do I find out more?
The South Waikato District Plan and associated planning
maps are available on Council’s website:
www.southwaikato.govt.nz
If you have any queries, please contact one of our Planners:
Tokoroa Office
A Duty Planner is available at the Tokoroa office from
8.00am - 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.
Phone (07) 885 0340
Putaruru Office
A Duty Planner is available at the Putaruru Office by
pre-arranged appointment only.
Phone (07) 885 0340
Or email:
info@southwaikato.govt.nz
The information contained in this pamphlet is a guide only. It has no legal status and
does not, in any way, replace the relevant statutory and regulatory provisions. South Waikato District Council accepts no liability for any loss or penalty incurred by
any person acting in reliance on any of the information contained in this pamphlet. Nor
will any person be immune from prosecution for a breach of any statutory or regulatory
provision because they acted in reliance on any such information.
‘Person’ includes a natural person, corporation sole, partnership, or any body of persons
whether corporate or unincorporated.
June 2011
Introduction
This brochure is designed to help you if you intend to
develop on your Residential property.
It is important that before you undertake any building work
or change the use of your land, you find out what resource
consents are required. If consent is required you must apply
for and be granted permission from Council before you
start work.
Each property is located in a specific zone and each
zone has separate rules determining the scale and use of
buildings and other structures.
If you are unsure what your property is zoned as, please
contact Council and we can tell you.
The following relates to resource consents and District
Plan requirements for building in the Residential zone. The
District Plan classifies activities into four types – Permitted,
Controlled, Discretionary and Non complying.
Unless the activity is listed as a Permitted Activity it will
require resource consent.
Please check with Council’s Building Department whether
building consent is also required.
Permitted Activities
(section 20.5 of District Plan)
The following activities are permitted in the Residential Zone
provided they conform to the Performance Standards.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Dwelling houses (maximum two per property)
Home occupations
Reserves
Community care housing for up to eight persons in care
Childcare facilities for up to eight children
Tourist accommodation including home stays for up to
eight persons
• Accessory buildings to a Permitted Activity in this zone
• Residential storage and activity
• Residential Institutions for up to eight persons
Note: If you are unsure what your proposal will be defined as,
refer to Volume One (iv) Definitions of the District Plan.
Note:
• No part of any building (including eaves) can extend
beyond the subject site or over a neighbouring property or
road boundary.
• Buildings are allowed a maximum eave overhang of 0.6m
within the yard requirement.
• Any building line restriction registered on the Certificate of
Title for the property must be complied with as well as the
above yard requirements.
Height (Refer to the diagram below)
Buildings must not exceed 8m in height. No part of the
building can protrude through a plane rising at an angle of
45o commencing at an elevation of 3m at the boundary.
Car parking and loading
Different types of activities have different car parking
requirements. Refer to section 18.4.2.4 of the District Plan for
car parking and loading requirements. Each dwelling house
must have at least one onsite car park.
Noise
The activity shall comply with the noise standards in section
14 of the District Plan.
Signage
Any signage shall comply with the rules in section 16 of the
District Plan (Refer to the ’Rules on Signage’ brochure).
Hazardous substances
There are specific rules regarding the use and storage of
hazardous substances. Refer to section 17 of the District Plan.
Performance Standards
(section 20.9 of District Plan)
The following performance standards must be met.
Yards (refer to the diagram below):
On properties that front onto a road, buildings must be at
least:
• 3m from the front boundary (any boundary that adjoins a
legal road).
• 1.5m from one side boundary and at least 2.5m from the
other side boundary.
• 1.5m from the rear boundary (if the property is on the
corner of two roads then the boundaries adjoining
the roads are front boundaries and the others are rear
boundaries).
• On properties that are on a rear site accessed by an access
leg or right-of-way, buildings must be at least 1.5m from
each boundary.
Council services
Each dwelling house must have separate connections to
Council’s services like water and sewerage. However, Council
may waive this requirement if no subdivision is proposed.
Coverage
Building coverage must not exceed 40% per Certificate of
Title.
Density
There can only be one dwelling house per 300m2 of net site
area.
Separation
Detached residential buildings must be at least 3m apart from
each other. (This is for fire protection purposes and to accord
with yard requirements in relation to any future subdivision).
Detached accessory buildings and residential buildings must
be at least 1.5m apart.
Open space
Private open space available for the exclusive use of each
dwelling house must be a minimum of 50m2 in area. The
minimum dimension of the open space must not be less than
2.5m and one part must be capable of containing a rectangle
of 4m x 6m not steeper than 1 in 4 and directly accessible
from the dwelling.
Note: Open space requirements differ with multi-unit
developments, refer to section 20.9 of the District Plan.
But what if my building will
not meet these requirements?
If your proposed development is not a Permitted Activity and/
or will not meet one or more of the Performance Standards
then resource consent is required. The development will fall
under one of the following categories:
Controlled Activities (section 20.6 of District Plan)
Resource consent required – Council must grant consent but may
impose conditions.
Controlled Activities are:
• Structures which do not meet the side and/or rear yard
requirements.
• Yards may be reduced as long as written consent is
provided by the adjoining property owner(s) and occupiers
sharing the relevant boundary. They must sign site and
elevation plans and Council’s standard affected parties
consent form.
• Structures which do not meet the height requirements.
◦◦ The maximum height may be increased to 11m with the
written consent of all adjoining property owners and
occupiers. They must sign site and elevation plans and
Council’s standard affected parties consent form.