Why do we need to review the District Plan?
Broad timeline for review

The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) requires that district plans be reviewed within ten years of becoming operative. The South Waikato District Plan was first notified in 1993 and it became operative in 1998.  This plan is currently under review, and it is anticipated that the revised version will be notified for formal submissions in September 2011.  There is only allowed to be one operative district plan at any time within the district.

Council has branded our District Plan Review as Shaping South Waikato.

The RMA requires that a review of the district plan considers all sections of the plan, regardless of when those parts became operative.  In the South Waikato district the Rural Residential zone and Heritage parts of the plan only became operative in March 2009.  Therefore, while they are to be reviewed, it is not proposed to make any significant changes to these parts of the plan.

Why do we need to review the District Plan?

A review of the district plan allows communities to reassess environmental outcomes and priorities, and to redefine their vision for the future of the district.  This reflects the fact that we live in a changing environment with changing issues and levels of knowledge.
Some of the land-uses and practices that were considered normal and acceptable ten years ago may now be unacceptable due to cumulative adverse effects on the environment.  For instance, the effects of global warming and climate change need to be considered now to avoid future unsustainable land-use situations.

This review process has some guiding principles.

• We aim for a workable district plan following the ABC rule – accessible, basic and concise.
• We aim for a district plan that is South Waikato responsive.
• We want to identify and, where possible, resolve issues prior to the formal notification process.  This will be done by issuing a draft District Plan for informal comment, prior to the RMA process commencing.
• We aim for a district plan that encourages environmentally sustainable economic development.
• We aim for a district plan focused on planning issues and with a strong link between policies and rules.

These principles will guide the entire review process.

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Broad Timeline for Review Process:

• February - May 2009: Vision workshops and meetings with Council groupings, and initiate contact with key stakeholders to gauge issues and assist with determining the focus of the review process.
• May - July 2009: Undertake a series of plan topic reviews, collating the outcomes of the above work, establishing the issues, priorities and options for the review.
• July 2009 - September 2010: Prepare issues papers on the key issues for the District.
• August 2010 - February 2011: Assemble a draft District Plan for stakeholder and public comment.
• April - May 2011: Consultation period on draft district Plan.
• May 2011: Review feedback received, undertake revisions as needed and present to Council for endorsement to enable public notification as a Proposed District Plan.
• September 2011: Publicly notify the Proposed District Plan and call for public submissions pursuant to the statutory Resource Management Act process.
• November 2011 - December 2011: Summarise public submissions received and notify the summary calling for further submissions, pursuant to the Resource Management Act process.
• February 2012 to October 2012: Work through issues raised in submissions, identify if any further background study needed to fill information gaps, and prepare the hearing report.

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