Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Resource Management Act 1991

Designations and heritage orders - Designations

171: Recommendation by territorial authority

You could also call this:

“The local council looks at how a project might affect the area and suggests what to do about it.”

When you’re looking at a requirement for a designation and any submissions about it, you can’t think about trade competition or how it might affect trade competition.

You need to think about how allowing the requirement might affect the environment. You should pay special attention to important documents like national policy statements, coastal policy statements, regional policy statements, and plans.

You should check if other options for sites, routes, or ways of doing the work have been thought about properly. This is especially important if the authority asking for the designation doesn’t own the land or if the work might seriously harm the environment.

You need to decide if the work and designation are really needed for what the authority wants to do. You can also think about other things that seem important for making a recommendation.

When you’re thinking about the effects, you can include good things that might balance out or make up for any bad effects on the environment. These good effects need to come from ideas suggested or agreed to by the authority asking for the designation.

You can suggest to the authority that they confirm, change, or withdraw their requirement. You can also suggest adding conditions, but you can’t suggest a financial contribution if it’s the Minister of Education or the Minister of Defence asking.

You have to explain why you’re making your suggestion.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM236241.

Topics:
Environment and resources > Conservation
Environment and resources > Climate and energy
Environment and resources > Town planning
Government and voting > Local councils
Previous

170: Discretion to include requirement in proposed plan, or

“The council can add a requirement to a plan if they get permission from the person who asked for it.”

Next

172: Decision of requiring authority, or

“A group decides if they agree with suggestions about their plans and explains why”

Part 8 Designations and heritage orders
Designations

171Recommendation by territorial authority

  1. When considering a requirement and any submissions received, a territorial authority must not have regard to trade competition or the effects of trade competition.

  2. When considering a requirement and any submissions received, a territorial authority must, subject to Part 2, consider the effects on the environment of allowing the requirement, having particular regard to—

  3. any relevant provisions of—
    1. a national policy statement:
      1. a New Zealand coastal policy statement:
        1. a regional policy statement or proposed regional policy statement:
          1. a plan or proposed plan; and
          2. whether adequate consideration has been given to alternative sites, routes, or methods of undertaking the work if—
            1. the requiring authority does not have an interest in the land sufficient for undertaking the work; or
              1. it is likely that the work will have a significant adverse effect on the environment; and
              2. whether the work and designation are reasonably necessary for achieving the objectives of the requiring authority for which the designation is sought; and
                1. any other matter the territorial authority considers reasonably necessary in order to make a recommendation on the requirement.

                  1. The effects to be considered under subsection (1) may include any positive effects on the environment to offset or compensate for any adverse effects on the environment that will or may result from the activity enabled by the designation, as long as those effects result from measures proposed or agreed to by the requiring authority.

                  2. The territorial authority may recommend to the requiring authority that it—

                  3. confirm the requirement:
                    1. modify the requirement:
                      1. impose conditions:
                        1. withdraw the requirement.

                          1. However, if the requiring authority is the Minister of Education or the Minister of Defence, the territorial authority may not recommend imposing a condition requiring a financial contribution (as defined in section 108(9)).

                          2. The territorial authority must give reasons for its recommendation under subsection (2).

                          Notes
                          • Section 171: replaced, on , by section 63 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 23).
                          • Section 171(1A): inserted, on , by section 104 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).
                          • Section 171(1B): inserted, on , by section 159 of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 15).
                          • Section 171(2A): inserted, on , by section 58 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 30).