Antennas and Planning

District Plans Presently Undergoing Review or Changes:

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Waipa District Plan | Wellington District Plan | Tauranga District Plan | Archive Infomation

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...
http://www.nzart.org.nz/council/policies/2002-antenna-erection/

Important Extraction From The Resource Management Act 1991

The full description of the Resource Management Act 1991 is as amended at 1 October 2009; Part 1, Interpretation and application and 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-

1. alter, demolish, erect, extend, place, reconstruct, remove, or use a structure or part of a structure in, on, under, or over land:
2. drill, excavate, or tunnel land or disturb land in a similar way:
3. damage, destroy, or disturb the habitats of plants or animals in, on, or under land:
4. deposit a substance in, on, or under land:
5. 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

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

Proposed Waipa District Plan 

Updated 30-OCT-2012

Waipa District Council is reviewing its district plan and NZART has made a submission to incorporate the gains made in Tauranga City into the Waipa plan.

If you wish to read the NZART submission, either go directly to http://www.waipadc.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/A005939D-5CEC-4D3A-AA88-48CB4B6A9386/83429/260NewZealandAssociationofRadioTransmittersIncorpo.pdf  or you can navigate your way through the Council's web-site – look for submission 260.

Waipa DC has called for further submissions. Here is a link to a pro forma document for further submission to the proposed Waipa District Plan: waipa_dc_proforma_further_submission.doc, or the same thing in .rtf format: waipa_dc_proforma_further_submission.rtf

 You can help by forwarding a further submission to the Council which could assist building the weight of argument to bear on the Council.  Further submissions can be posted or emailed to the Council.  Mail and email address are shown on the pro forma submission, Submissions must reach Waipa DC by 5pm on Wednesday 7 November 2012.  You need to enter your full name, address for service, and email address.

You don't have to use the proforma form, instead you may wish to enter your reasons for your submission in your own words.  In that case you can get the form from the Waipa DC web-site which is www.waipadc.govt.nz, or send an email request to zl1bnb@nzart.org.nz

You also need to forward a copy of your submission in support to zl1bnb@clear.net.nz, do this as a cc if you email your submission to the Council.  You don't need to sign a submission that you sent by email.

 For any further information, please email me, Mike Newman, zl1bnb@nzart.org.nz

 Let's send a strong message to Waipa DC.  Your submission will count.

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.

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

Updated 28-MAY-2012

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.

Details of the progress in this matter are in the Branch 88-1 reference to the right of this page.

Below are links to documents related to this matter:

2009 Proposed-Rules by TECG.pdf -43 kB PDF

2009 Submissions by TECG Branch 88 to proposed Tauranga City Plan-PDF 3.2 MB

2011 Joint TECG/NZART appeal - PDF 125kB

2012 TECG evidence-in-chief - PDF 8.5MB

2012 NZART evidence-in-chief - PDF 9.8MB

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

2011-02-28