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Planning Bill

Planning consents - Miscellaneous - Processes relating to activities that do not require planning consent

177: Consent authority may treat certain activities as permitted activities

You could also call this:

"Consent authority can allow some activities without extra permission"

Illustration for Planning Bill

The government is proposing a new rule that lets a consent authority decide if an activity is allowed without needing extra permission. You can do an activity without getting extra permission if it would normally be allowed, except for a small or temporary issue with the rules. The activity must not cause any significant problems for people or the environment, and the consent authority must agree to let you do it. If you apply for permission to do an activity, the consent authority might tell you that you do not need permission after all. They can do this after you apply, or they might decide on their own to let you know that you do not need permission. When they tell you this, they must put it in writing and explain why they think the activity is allowed. If the consent authority says an activity is allowed, they do not need to process your application for permission anymore. They will give your application back to you, and you can go ahead with the activity. However, if you do not start the activity within five years, the consent authority's decision will no longer be valid.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1534330.

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Topics:
Environment and resources > Town planningHousing and property > Land use
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Part 4Planning consents
Miscellaneous: Processes relating to activities that do not require planning consent

177Consent authority may treat certain activities as permitted activities

  1. An activity is a permitted activity if—

  2. the activity would be a permitted activity except for a marginal or temporary non-compliance with requirements, conditions, and permissions specified in this Act, regulations, a land use plan, or a proposed land use plan; and
    1. any adverse effects of the activity on the built environment are no different in character, intensity, or scale than they would be in the absence of the marginal or temporary non-compliance referred to in paragraph (a); and
      1. any adverse effects of the activity on a person are minor or less than minor; and
        1. the consent authority, in its discretion, decides to notify the person proposing to undertake the activity that the activity is a permitted activity.

          1. A consent authority may give a notice under subsection (1)(d)—

          2. after receiving an application for a planning consent for the activity; or
            1. on its own initiative.

              1. The notice must be in writing and must include—

              2. a description of the activity; and
                1. details of the site at which the activity is to occur; and
                  1. the consent authority’s reasons for considering that the activity meets the criteria in subsection (1)(a) to (c), and the information relied on by the consent authority in making that decision.

                    1. If a person has submitted an application for a planning consent for an activity that is a permitted activity under this section, the application need not be further processed, considered, or decided and must be returned to the applicant.

                    2. A notice given under subsection (1)(d) lapses 5 years after the date of the notice unless the activity permitted by the notice is given effect to.