He Wāhi Noho mō te Katoa – Te Panonihanga o te Whakaritenga 9 | Housing for Everyone - Plan Change 9

Council's decisions on Plan Change 9 are now available.

Te Whakamāramatanga o te Panonihanga | About this Change

Housing for Everyone – Plan Change 9 is a District Plan change that will encourage greater development and housing choice, and it forms part of a series of actions the Government has developed to address housing in New Zealand. Specifically, Housing for Everyone – Plan Change 9 better supports intensification through enabling medium density living across most of our urban area, and high density living close to and in the city centre and in our commercial centres.

On 14 February 2024, Elected

Council's decisions on Plan Change 9 are now available.

Te Whakamāramatanga o te Panonihanga | About this Change

Housing for Everyone – Plan Change 9 is a District Plan change that will encourage greater development and housing choice, and it forms part of a series of actions the Government has developed to address housing in New Zealand. Specifically, Housing for Everyone – Plan Change 9 better supports intensification through enabling medium density living across most of our urban area, and high density living close to and in the city centre and in our commercial centres.

On 14 February 2024, Elected Members through the Community and District Development Committee agreed to accept the recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and adopt Plan Change 9.

Read more about Council’s decision – Plan Change 9 adoption enables greater housing choice for Rotorua

About Plan Change 9

Plan Change 9 presentation - the basics


Medium Density Zone

The Government’s Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) are no in effect in Rotorua and apply to Residential 1 and 2 zones. The rules enable landowners to build up to three homes of up to three storeys each on most residential sites without requiring a resource consent. View the new rules - Medium Density Residential Standards.

High Density Zone

Council was also required to amend the District Plan across all urban zones so that heights and densities of development enabled by the plan are consistent with the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (2020). This requires heights and densities enabled to reflect how close the area is to services and the demand in that location. The adopted Plan Change 9 introduces a High Density Residential Zone aligned to the most accessible areas within Rotorua. This will enable more people to live in areas that can access amenities and employment through active and public transport modes.

City Centre and Commercial Zones

The Plan Change has further considered how to enable increased development density in the Commercial and City Centre Zones, due to their accessible location relative to amenity. The primary method of doing so is by enabling a greater height in these locations to accommodate for a wider range of activities that are supported by a greater density

Supporting Changes

Other changes adopted as part of Plan Change 9:

• Set the standards for papakāinga development throughout the district

• Manage flooding and geothermal hazards

• Protect heritage structures

• Set financial contributions from development for reserves


  • The further submission and Plan Change Process

    CLOSED: The submission period has concluded.

    Make a further submission

    The further submissions period is open from 5 November to 18 November 2022.

    Who can make a further submission?

    The people who can make a further submissions are limited to:

    • any person representing a relevant aspect of the public interest;
    • any person that has an interest in the proposed plan change greater than the interest that the general public has; and
    • the local authority itself.

    Further submissions must be received by Council by 18 November 2022.

    What can a further submission address?

    A further submission must be limited to a matter in support of, or in opposition to, an initial submission.

    About the further submission process

    If you are unsure whether you can make a further submission, talk to council staff first as they may be able to provide some guidance. If you are still unsure, or have questions about the advice from council staff then you need to talk to a lawyer or resource management specialist.

    A copy of your further submission must be provided to the original submitter within 5 working days of the submission being lodged with Council. You must email/post a copy of this further submission to the person / organisation that you are commenting on - contact details can be obtained by emailing policy.planning@rotorualc.nz.

    For more information on the process and guidance on making a further submission, try the Ministry for the Environment website.

    Things to consider when making a submission

    The following tips are useful when making submissions:

    • Make clear and easy-to-read points
    • Include your contact details
    • Identify whether you wish to speak at the hearing or not
    • State the submission reference of the original submission that you are commenting on
    • State who made the submission that you are commenting on.
    • Clearly indicate which parts of the original submission you are commenting on.
    • Identify if you support or oppose the point in the original submission.
    • Provide reasons for your views and clarify whether you seek that the whole part or part of the submission is to be allowed/disallowed.

    Council has included a further submission template which can be downloaded (Form 6 - Clause 8 of First Schedule Resource Management Act 1991) to assist in making your submission.

    Your submission should not include any issues not relevant to the plan change, as these will not be able to be considered by Council when making its decision. Please note, your submission, including your personal information, will be publicly available as part of the decision-making process.

    If you have made a submission on other housing or plan change matters in the past, these can’t be used for reference on the Housing for Everyone – Plan Change 9. You need to make a new submission.

    Where to send your submission

    Submissions must be lodged in typing/writing and either:

    • submitted via Let’s Talk | Kōrero mai
    • emailed to policy.planning@rotorualc.nz
    • delivered to council customer services at 1061 Haupapa Street, Rotorua, 3010
    • posted to the address below:

    Manager, Planning & Development Solutions
    Rotorua Lakes Council
    Freepost Authority Number 370
    Private Bag 3029
    Rotorua Mail Centre
    Rotorua 3046
    New Zealand

    Contacts

    If you have any questions about the further submissions process, please contact customer services at policy.planning@rotorualc.nz.

    Friend of Submitter

    The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) has provided funding to appoint an independent ‘Friend of Submitter’ to help people have their say. Belinda Messenger has been appointed to this role. Belinda is a qualified, fully independent planner, who was not involved in developing Rotorua’s Housing for Everyone - Plan Change 9.

    Belinda can advise people who don’t have professional assistance on the process for lodging submissions, how they can present their views, and the steps after a submission is lodged. However, please note, it is not the role of the Friend of Submitter to advise on the merits of the plan changes, or to write a submission.

    The FOS Service is a free service that is available Monday to Friday 9am - 4pm

    Friend of submitter contact details:

    Name: Belinda Messenger

    Email: planchange9@resourceplanning.nz

Page last updated: 07 Mar 2024, 09:43 AM