District Plan Maps - Appeals Version
Guidance Note on implementation of the Proposed Thames-Coromandel District Plan Maps - Appeals Version
Our Council currently has two district plans - the Operative District Plan and the Proposed District Plan - Appeals Version.
RMA Requirements
The Resource Management Act 1991 requires all District Councils to have a District Plan for their district. District Plans describe the district's significant resource management issues and set out the objectives, polices and rules to address these issues.
Proposed District Plan
Our Council issued its' decisions on the Proposed District Plan on 29 April 2016. From this date all rules in the Plan have 'legal effect,' meaning that a rule must be considered when undertaking land use and subdivision activities.
The period for lodging an appeal to the Environment Court on the Council's decisions closed on 13 June 2016. Where an appeal has been lodged against an objective, policy or provision in the Plan, that part of the Plan continues to have legal effect but the 'weighting' afforded to it must be considered on a 'case by case' basis.
Those parts of the Proposed District Plan that are not subject to appeal can be 'treated as operative', and the corresponding objectives, policies and provisions in the Operative District Plan fall away.
Operative District Plan
The Operative District Plan continues to have legal effect to the extent that any corresponding objectives, policies and provisions in the Proposed District Plan have been appealed. As appeals are resolved these provisions will fall away and the Proposed District Plan will be relied on.
How do I know which parts of the plan are being appealed?
The provisions of the Plan (maps) which are subject to an Environment Court appeal have the appeal number written on the map ie Appeal 00.
Which Plan should I use?
While the Council still has both an Operative District Plan and a Proposed District Plan it is necessary to comply with both Plans, except where a rule is deemed to be able to be 'treated as operative' in the Proposed District Plan.
Any rules in the Proposed District Plan which cannot be 'treated as operative' still have legal effect and are afforded 'weighting' on a case by case basis, depending on the nature and extent of the appeal.