An assessment of the effectiveness of the private plan change process

Abstract

This research assesses the effectiveness of the private plan change mechanism, being a new tool introduced into the planning legislation under the Resource Management Act 1991. Prior to this legislation there was no formal opportunity for individuals to prepare their own changes to a plan and the only way a change could be initiated was by a council themselves to initiate it. The private plan change mechanism was introduced to allow flexibility for individuals and groups to undertake plan changes to facilitate rezoning and other development proposals, and to allow alterations to plans sought by government and non-governmental agencies. The private plan change mechanism is generally used for larger scale developments which are often non-complying activities within the planning documents and would not meet the criteria for granting of consent under the Resource Management Act. The tool is gaining momentum in its use around New Zealand, particularly in areas where transitional plans are still in place and the provisions are rather outdated. The use of the private plan change process is also likely to increase once the new plans have moved from their proposed to operative stage as changes to plans will be sought sooner than the ten year review period provided for plans under the Resource Management Act. The information sources for this research comprised interviews with council staff, consultants and Ministry for the Environment staff; collecting records on 50 private plan changes across six local authorities; and reviewing background literature and case law on the private plan change process. The research found that although the costs of using the private plan change process are high are the time taken to get through the process is usually lengthy, the benefits which can accrue from the process are also high. The results of the research showed that there is room for improving the effectiveness of the private plan change process, specifically in the areas of information requirements, processing of the private plan changes by councils, and education about the process itself. Overall the private plan change mechanism is considered to be providing great flexibility for individuals, developers and other groups to achieve the changes they wish to make to planning documents as intended by the enabling provisions of the Resource Management Act.