A District Plan is a legal document prepared by the District Council as required by the Resource Management Act 1991. All District Councils are required to have a District Plan. The Plan sets out the basis on which land may be used or developed. It covers all properties in the district. It contains:

• Limits on use of land.
• Standards for use or development of land.
• The requirements of the District Council and other agencies for servicing the land.
• Particular characteristics of land of which you should be mindful, eg flooding, heritage items, protected trees, high quality soils.

The Current District Plan

The current Plan is made up of the old District Schemes of the Councils which were amalgamated in 1989 to form the Waimakariri District Council. There are six sections to what is called the Waimakariri District Transitional District Plan.

• Rangiora District (operative 1 August 1980)
• Rangiora Borough (operative 15 August 1975)
• Kaiapoi Borough (operative 10 June 1986)
• Hurunui District (part) (operative 1 June 1990)
• Oxford County (operative 18 November 1986)
• Eyre County (operative 1 June 1983)

The Council's Transitional District Plan can be viewed at the Council's office in Rangiora and at the Service Centres in Kaiapoi and Oxford.

How is the District Plan Set Out?

District Plans follow a similar format of four parts. From the front to the rear of the Plan these are:

• The Policy Statement section containing:

(a)  General information and data.

(b)  Objectives (goals) which are to be achieved.

(c)  Policies used to guide decisions on consents and plan changes. They also help interpret the zone rules.

• The rules/ordinances section containing:

(a)  Lists of activities which are permitted and those which require Council consent.

(b)  Standards for carrying out those activities including subdivision.

Some rules are organised zone by zone, and some are set out as general rules for themes such as parking, signs, subdivision, land use. Be careful to look at both types of rules.

• The Appendices section containing:

(a)  Specific details of some restrictions on land use (eg flooding, protected tree lists, set backs from drains).

(b)  Outline plans or concept drawings showing how some land may be developed.

(c)  Roading hierarchy, road works, widenings.

• The Planning Maps section contains maps which identify roads, natural features like rivers, individual properties, the boundaries to zones and symbols highlighting some of the restrictions on properties (eg Building Line Restrictions, designations, road widening, heritage items, protected trees).

How Do I Use the District Plan?

• Go to the Planning Maps at the back of the District Plan and locate your property. The zone boundary is shown by heavy black lines. The zoning is shown by a summary annotation such as R/1, RB, Res or similar.
• Go to the Rules/Ordinances part of the Plan. Check the rules for your zone, as well as the General rules part. You may need to check the definitions section of the Plan.
• Go to the Appendices part of the Plan for any further explanation of the restrictions in your zone.
• For a statement of the reasons why there are restrictions in your zone, study the Policy Statement part of the Plan.

Changes to the District Plan

A District Plan Section can be changed. It is important that the copy of the Plan you look at is current and up-to-date. Some of the Plan sections are quite old but they are the current plan until replaced by the new District Plan presently being prepared.

Need to Know More?

This publication is a guide only. For more specific information speak to the Council's planning staff.  Copies of the six District Plan Sections are available for viewing at the Council's offices listed.