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177: Land subject to existing designation or heritage order
or “Rules for when a piece of land already has a special purpose and someone wants to use it for something else”
You could also call this:

“Temporary rules to protect planned projects from being blocked while they're being approved”

When someone wants to designate land for a public work, project, or other purpose, there’s a period where the land is protected. This period starts when the authority in charge gives notice about the designation. During this time, you can’t do anything that might get in the way of the planned work unless you get written permission from the authority.

The protection period begins in different ways depending on who’s making the designation and how they’re doing it. It could start when they tell the Environmental Protection Authority, when they notify the local council, or when the council decides to include it in their district plan.

The protection period ends when one of these things happens: the designation request is taken back, it’s cancelled, or it’s officially included in the district plan.

If you do something that interferes with the planned work during this time, you might be breaking the law. But you won’t be in trouble if you didn’t know about the designation and couldn’t reasonably have been expected to know.

This rule doesn’t stop other authorities from doing things that are allowed under earlier designations or heritage orders they’re responsible for.

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Next up: 179: Appeals relating to sections 176 to 178

or “This explains how you can challenge decisions about using land for special purposes if you disagree with them.”
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Part 8 Designations and heritage orders
Designations

178Interim effect of requirements for designations

  1. This section applies when—

  2. a requiring authority gives notice of a requirement for a designation to the EPA under section 145:
    1. a requiring authority gives notice of a requirement for a designation to a territorial authority under section 168:
      1. a territorial authority decides to issue a notice of requirement for a designation within its own district under section 168A:
        1. a requiring authority gives notice of a requirement for a modified designation under clause 4 of Schedule 1:
          1. a territorial authority decides to include a requirement for a designation in its proposed district plan under clause 4 of Schedule 1.

            1. In the period that starts as described in subsection (3) and ends as described in subsection (4), no person may do anything that would prevent or hinder the public work, project, or work to which the designation relates unless the person has the prior written consent of the requiring authority.

            2. The period starts,—

            3. for the purposes of subsection (1)(a), on the day on which the requiring authority gives notice under section 145:
              1. for the purposes of subsection (1)(b), on the day on which the requiring authority gives notice of the requirement under section 168:
                1. for the purposes of subsection (1)(c), on the day on which the territorial authority decides whether to notify the notice of requirement under section 168A:
                  1. for the purposes of subsection (1)(d), on the day on which the requiring authority gives notice of the requirement for the modified designation under clause 4 of Schedule 1:
                    1. for the purposes of subsection (1)(e), on the day on which the territorial authority decides to include a requirement for a designation in its proposed district plan under clause 4 of Schedule 1.

                      1. The period ends on the earliest of the following days:

                      2. the day on which the requirement is withdrawn:
                        1. the day on which the requirement is cancelled:
                          1. the day on which the designation is included in the district plan.

                            1. A person who contravenes subsection (2) does not commit an offence against this Act unless the person knew, or could reasonably be expected to have known, of the existence of the requirement.

                            2. This section does not prevent an authority responsible for an earlier designation or heritage order from doing anything that is in accordance with the earlier designation or order.

                            Notes
                            • Section 178: replaced, on , by section 109 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).