Research and practice that informed the development of standards International context: England and Australia Both England and Australia have national- or state-level definitions as part of their planning systems. : State of national level definitions in other countries State/country # of definition Comment Queensland 123 N/A Victoria 119 N/A New South Wales 84 These are general definitions in the ‘State and Regional Development and Exempt and Complying Development Codes’, with further definitions contained in each of the 35 other state environment planning provisions. England 82 Other definitions are contained in separate topic planning practice guidance. The Australian state planning templates primarily relate to issues also covered in New Zealand district plans. Queensland has 77 councils and Victoria has 79 within their state borders; both of these are similar to New Zealand’s 78 district and city councils. Like New Zealand, Queensland and Victoria each have one large city (Brisbane and Melbourne) and large coastlines with smaller inland councils. From looking at the contents of their plans it can be seen that the range of issues addressed is similar to those addressed in our district plans. Based on the overseas practices, it could be suggested that the National Planning Standards in New Zealand could expect to have between 80 to 120 defined terms. The Ministry for the Environment’s research into the Australian planning system also revealed there is a high level of public interest in definitions. Submissions on definitions made up an estimated 40 per cent of total submissions to the Queensland Planning Provisions version 3.0 in 2012 and version 4.0 in 2015.
Costs Benefits Option 2: definitions to the most controversial ones that are regularly debated and appealed (this would likely produce the smallest number of definitions of all of the options). Councils Amending plans to take into account the definitions will take significant time and resource for councils. Councils and plan users loss of any case law on specific definitions once the terms are re-defined increase in appeals on new definitions and how they are used in opportunity cost of not including a wider range of definitions that could assist with the implementation of regional plans. Ministry for the Environment, and central government resourcing costs are incurred in the development and testing of definitions determining which definitions are controversial would involve considerable resourcing and is likely to be subjective. General public Minimal costs to general public as they are likely to interact with only one plan. Councils Could remove some of the challenges around the definitions that are often debated and appealed (although often provisions and definition are appealed together). Plan users a clear understanding of controversial terms that will not be able to be challenged locally or amended any interpretation by the Environment Court or higher courts through declarations and appeals would apply across the country and provide greater certainty over time; although the benefits of this would be less with this option than the other options considered. Effectiveness and efficiency Effectiveness The option is not the most efficient. Some terms that are not controversial would be linked to the controversial terms. The linked terms should be defined to assist councils to share best practice approaches and make the plans easier to use for plan users that work across multiple plans. Without considering any of the linked terms in plans this approach could create unintended consequences through the definition work. Efficiency This option will not provide the as great a level of consistency across plans as the other options. May make the harder to use as more ways are developed to work around the smaller set of defined controversial terms. Overall evaluation This option is not considered to be the preferred approach because: it involve fewer costs for councils but could also open up council approaches to more risk and fewer benefits having only the controversial covered by the planning standards may have the effect of people having to focus their appeals on any related terms as people look for ways to work around the set definitions. it would be difficult for the Ministry for the Environment to resource this option as the determination around whether a particular definition is controversial (and not the related provisions) would be resource intensive (does not meet Objective 4)
Table A1: Assessment against the criteria for inclusion of the term in the definitions standard Term Criteria 1: Highly used Criteria 2: Common to both district and regional plans Criteria 3: Relevant to infrastructure Criteria 4: High-level land use categories Criteria 5: Linkages with definitions Synonym used in standard Criteria 6: Exclusions Criteria 6A: Reality exclusions Defined in a statute, regulation or technical standard? Term meets two or more criteria? Should define Abrasive blasting X X Dry abrasive blasting, wet abrasive blasting NES– Electricity Transmission 3 Y Abstraction 0 N Accelerated erosion X 1 N Access X X X 3 Y Access lot Access strip, access way 1 N Access strip X Access lot, access way , site coverage and recession plane RMA 2 Y Access way X Access lot, access strip, site coverage, recession plane 2 Y Accessory building X X X Building, minor dwelling 4 Y Act /the Act X X Yes (plainly understood) An abbreviation 2 N Addition X Repairs and maintenance, alterations 2 Y Adjoining X Adjacent 2 Y
Appendix 2: Explanation of each individual term Table A2.1: Explanation of terms included in the planning standards Term Proposed definition Explanation abrasive blasting means the cleaning, smoothing, roughening, cutting or removal of part of the surface of any article by the use, as an abrasive, of a jet of sand, metal, shot or grit or other material propelled by a blast of compressed air or steam or water or by a wheel . Abrasive blasting is commonly used to maintain infrastructure and can be used for other structures. The research identified that there was only minor variation in how the term was defined. It is noted that ‘abrasive blasting’, ‘dry abrasive blasting’, and ‘wet abrasive blasting’ are defined in the NES for Electricity Transmission Activities (NESETA). The definition in the NESETA captures the methodology used on the national grid infrastructure but this definition potentially includes other techniques used in abrasive blasting and is therefore considered more appropriate for the planning standards. It is recognised that there are different effects depending on whether it is a dry or wet abrasive blasting technique that is being used and therefore a definition of each is being provided. Each of these terms are also listed separately in the Definitions standard This approach was adopted to enable local authorities to control the two types separately if they wish to. access strip has the same meaning as in section 2 of the RMA (as set out in box below) RMA definition accessory building means a detached , the use of which is ancillary to the use of the principal , buildings or activity on the same , but does not include any ‘Accessory building’ is a term defined in almost all of the district plans assessed in our research (24 out of 25 plans). Accessory buildings are a common physical feature across both rural and urban areas. Most existing definitions of ‘accessory building’ assessed in our research didn’t limit the definition to a particular zone or location but instead the definitions were applicable to “any site”. Accessory buildings are generally permitted activities provided they comply with certain performance standards such as height, site coverage, setbacks etc.
community facility means a non-profit facility primarily for recreational, sporting, cultural, safety and welfare, religious or similar community purposes This definition is intended to include activities that provide for the social and cultural needs of the community. Again definitions of this kind were often a list of activities that were included and excluded. These are recognised as not being activities where one of the primary purposes is to create a profit or livelihood for the operator of the facility. The term ‘primarily’ has been used to recognise that there are often ancillary activities that are used to help fund the primary purpose of the facility, such as a bar attached to a club room. Umbrella terms have been used wherever possible to reduce the specificity of the terms used and the number of specific activities listed. It is considered that councils are likely to add further definitions or standards related to some of the activities listed, such as places of assembly. As a result of pilot council feedback, we have removed the term ‘place of assembly’ from planning standards because they were quite similar and they overlapped. ‘Place of assembly’ could be applied to both commercial activities and community facilities if required. A few of the councils found the use of the words ‘non-profit’ problematic. The purpose of a community facility is for clubs/groups and even some businesses (such as yoga or dance teachers) to use them. The hiring out of the facility would be ‘fundraising’ for the non-profit facility and again this is why the primary use is what is captured by the definition. It is recognised that not-for-profit organisations need to fundraise to achieve their primary purpose. coastal marine area has the same meaning as in section 2 of the RMA (as set out in the box below) RMA definition coastal water has the same meaning as in section 2 of the RMA (as set out in the box below) RMA definition contaminant has the same meaning as in section 2 of the RMA (as set out in the box RMA definition
The recent High Court case Wellington City Council v Aitchison [2016] NZHC1264 was reviewed when assessing how the issue of retaining structures on the boundary should determine the ground level. We think that the definition is consistent with the findings of that case, but diagrams could be helpful to explain the different scenarios around a sloping and vertical retaining wall and its relation to the boundary, and therefore where the ground level should be taken from. groundwater means water occupying openings, cavities, or spaces in soils or rocks under the surface of the Provided to enable the potential effects of activities and discharges on groundwater to be managed. habitable room means any room in a , , , or healthcare facility used for the purposes of teaching, respite care or used as a living room, dining room, sitting room, bedroom, or similarly occupied room It is considered that this definition accurately provides the ability to manage the effects on and from habitable rooms for those parts of a building that the occupants are most likely to frequent for extended periods of time or otherwise use to seek solace in. It is considered that the definition captures the main living spaces of dwellings and potential noise-sensitive activities (which is generally what this definition is generally related to). Habitable room has been chosen over a habitable building on the basis that it provides for a greater level of refinement in a rule. If a habitable building needs to be captured by the rules this can be achieved by a definition similar to ‘a building that contains one or more habitable rooms’. As a result of feedback, the definition specifies what the primary use of the room should be (living, dining, sitting, bedroom, teaching, respite) and so specified the relevant activities instead of a list of excluded room/space types. hazardous substance has the same meaning as in section 2 of the RMA (as set out in the box below) RMA definition height [in relation to a district plan] means the vertical distance between at any point and the highest part of the immediately above that point Of the 26 the definition. One not be de facto for chimneys) on
wetland has the same meaning as in section 2 of the RMA (as set out in the box below) RMA definition wet abrasive blasting means to which water has been added It was considered that this is just a form of abrasive blasting that uses water. We have kept it as a separate term so councils can control wet and dry abrasive blasting separately. Table A2.2: Definitions removed/excluded during the drafting and testing phase Key: Black text shows some of the initial work and thinking before it was decided not to proceed with the term Green Text explains the rationale for why the term was not included in the planning standards. Term Proposed definition Explanation Access means the area of land over which lawful vehicular or pedestrian access is obtained to a legal road. Policy decision to not include. Leave to council to define for the specific use, due to feedback received on the vastly different contexts in which it is used. Access way Policy decision to remove. Access and access way are related and are used in vastly different ways. The decision was made to leave it to councils to define for their particular purpose if they require it. Some of the feedback received also identified that there was no need to define this term. Adjoining any land that is separated from other land only by a boundary, road, railway, or watercourse. Policy decision not to include. Mainly used for consent notification tests and not appropriate for this. Feedback said commonly understood.
refer to “obscuring, defacing or damaging”. These activities are also considered to be captured by any changes to a building’s “fabric” or “features”. Repainting has been explicitly excluded from the proposed definition of external alterations because it is not an activity that is captured by any existing definitions of ‘alteration’, except for the Hastings District Plan. If councils want specific rules to cover repainting, there is nothing stopping them from creating specific rules to address the issue. Factory farming See definition of intensive farming. Policy decision to define intensive farming instead. In their submission on the proposed Invercargill City District Plan, Federated Farmers petitioned for the phrase “factory farming” to be replaced with “intensive farming”. In their view, the phrase “factory farming” is emotionally charged and inflammatory. They also consider it to be synonymous with intensive farming. It is accepted that this is the case and have accordingly defined ‘intensive farming’. This will supersede existing definitions of ‘factory farming’. Farming See definition of Policy decision to define “primary production” instead. Consultation with members of our rural sector group highlighted the similarities between the terms “farming” and “primary production”, which they considered to be largely synonymous. Of the two, there was a preference for the planning standards to define “primary production”. We agreed, and believe that “primary production” provides greater scope for non-traditional forms of rural land use activities. Hazardous facility Means land or buildings where hazardous substances are used, stored, manufactured, handled or disposed of. This activity does not include the use and storage of hazardous substances for domestic uses. as defined in the Health and Safety at Work Act . Removed following feedback that this is covered through Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO) and WorkSafe legislation and regulation. Also recognise that the hazardous substances function was removed from the RMA in the 2017 amendments to the RMA. A hazardous substances definition has been included for those councils that want to manage land use integration issues around hazardous substances and hazardous facilities. Our research could not identify any easy reference to levels that could be used to determine appropriate limits for domestic use. There were also concerns around what it does capture; this definition would capture any store that sells chemicals and paint products.
Hazardous waste Removed. Defined in other legislation (HSNO) and not considered to be required. Councils can define if required using the hazardous substances definition Household Means a person or groups of persons related or unrelated who reside together and interact on a regular daily domestic basis. to maintain a self-contained housekeeping unit. Remove. Term has an ordinary understood meaning. This was looked at being defined to assist with the residential unit definition but attempting to define opened up the definition to varied interpretations in the feedback, and decision was made to rely an ordinary understood meaning rather than define it. Initial thinking with some of the tracked changes is shown in black below. The interpretation of our proposed definition of ‘residential unit’ is dependent on a definition of ‘household’. The purpose of this link is to provide a distinction between a house/dwelling and other types of accommodation such as hostels and boarding houses. It is that the Building Act 2004 contains a definition of ‘household unit’, but this definition is not considered suitable for a planning purpose. The intention here is that in addition to a family dwelling it should capture flatting situations other than where it is more like a boarding facility. We attempted to exclude situations where a building contains large communal bathrooms and kitchens and a room is leased out individually in situations like university hostels. Internal alteration (heritage) Means any change to the fabric or features of an existing building or structure which results in a change to its internal appearance. Consideration was given to defining internal and external alteration separately but decision was made that councils can define this if they need to do so, on the basis that this is not commonly required. Maintenance Removed – context important. Maintenance of Infrastructure Policy decision to not include. Met with the utilities and we agreed that specific utility provisions like support structure and minor utility structure should be removed from the planning standards. This is on the basis that they want to continue to work on model provisions and want any definitions to reflect the approach that they develop.