District Plans Presently Undergoing Review or Changes

Wellington | Tauranga

This web-page has been created to provide news and information on amateur radio aerial and antenna installations and the Resource Management planning activities relating to those installations. It provides links to other pages containing information relating to these activities, and in particular to plan reviews and changes.

The purpose of the Resource Management Act (RMA) & Regulations is to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources. It is the legislation empowering local authorities to make rules for the use of land.

Compulsory Reading: In 1983 the Town & Country Planning Tribunal (the predecessor to the Environment Court) gave a decision in favour ot two radio amateurs in an appeal against the Napier City Council's district scheme. Although the RMA is now the determining Act in regard to planning rules, the decision is likely to have some weight in planning law. This decision is compulsory reading for radio amateurs.

Antenna Erection Planning Guide

This Guide is to give general guidelines for radio amateurs who wish to erect poles, masts, towers and other support structures for radio antennas...

Antenna Erection Planning Guide

From the Resource Management Act 1991 as amended at 1 October 2009;
Part 1,
Interpretation and application
2 Interpretation

1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,the word -use,-

(a) in sections 9, 10, 10A, 10B, 81(2), 176(1)(b)(i), and 193(a), means-

• alter, demolish, erect, extend, place, reconstruct, remove, or use a structure or part of a structure in, on, under, or over land:
• drill, excavate, or tunnel land or disturb land in a similar way:
• damage, destroy, or disturb the habitats of plants or animals in, on, or under land:
• deposit a substance in, on, or under land:
• any other use of land; and....

All aerial and antenna installations, other than those which are not structures or parts of structures, are subject to the provisions of the RMA, and so can be regulated by rules contained in the local authorities District Plans.

Regrettably, many of the rules in District Plans are overly restrictive to aerial and antenna installations and unduly harsh. District Plan reviews (generally occuring at 10-yearly maximum intervals), and District Plan Changes provide the only opportunity to redress these restrictive rules.

Proposed District Plans (ie, reviewed plans) and Proposed Changes to District Plans are notified to the public by advertisement notices published in local newspapers, and can be inspected at Council Offices and usually at council premises such as service centres and public libraries.

District Plans Presently Undergoing Review or Changes

Click NAME to goto current information for:
  Wellington | Tauranga

Any reviews or changes missing from this page should be advised to NZART Local Government Liaison Officer, Mike Newman, mnewman@nzart.org.nz

Wellington City

A Plan Change currently proceeding throught the statutory process is Plan Change 74 to the Wellington City District Plan
http://wellington.govt.nz/plans/district/planchanges/pdfs/change74/change74-planchangedoc.pdf
under which amateur radio aerial and antenna installations will be regulated as under the utilities rules, and not under the zoning rules.

• Links to the Wellington Amateurs submission to Wellington City District Plan Change 74 and a summary are:
  • Document 1-181 kB is the submission of John Andrews on behalf of Wellington Amateurs
  • Document 2-182 kB is NZART Self Assessment Guide for NZS 2272 this is accessible via the link on the NZART web-page
  • Document 3-366 kB is Antenna Height and Communications Effectiveness -- a Guide for City Planners and Amateur Radio Operators
  • Document 4-69 kB GCmap 1
  • Document 5-61 kB is GCmap 2
• NZART submission to Wellington City District Plan Change 74
  • Document 6-42 kB is NZART submission to Wgtn City

Summary of submissions received by Wellington City Council

http://wellington.govt.nz/plans/district/planchanges/pdfs/change74/change74-summarysubs.pdf

All amateurs NZART members or otherwise are encouraged to submit a further submission, and can either use the pro-forma submission or write their own submission.

Further submitters using the proforma submission should add the full name, full address, email, phone, fax and date information. Signature is not required for e-mailed submissions. Remember ---- Further Submissions close at 4pm on Thursday 4 December 2009.

Tauranga City - Submissions to proposed Tauranga City Plan
The Tauranga City Plan (previously known, and in District Council areas still is known, as a District Plan) review has been notified and submissions closed on 15 December 2009. When writing the draft the staff stated that the Network Utilities Section Chapter 10 would not cover Amateur Radio Aerials. see page 3 of section 32 report. It was proposed that they should be covered by the relevant residential Zones. Unfortunately aerials were omitted in the Zone rules; so aerials would be restricted to the standard zone rules and limited to 9 m, if the rules were not amended.
NZART and Tauranga amateurs have worked together to prepare submissions. The submissions are available on this web-page. Tauranga Emergency Communication Group (Inc) Branch 88 wrote a 53 page submission justifying a proposed set of rules to be included in the rewrite. 2009 Proposed-Rules by TECG.pdf -43 kB PDF
2009 Submissions by TECG Branch 88 to proposed Tauranga City Plan-PDF 3.2 MB
Tauranga CC called for further submissions on the initial 1024 submissions. Closing date was 1st April 2010. We now await the schedule of dates of the Hearings Committee.

NZART Local Government Liaison Officer 2006

North Shore City Council (NSCC) Verbal Proposals November 2007 pdf format

Hearing Commissioners Meeting North Shore City Council PDF format 2 MB November 2006