Proposed District Plan Change 8 - Recreation and Open Space Zone
Contents
Overview
The purpose of proposed Plan Change 8 is to create two specific new zones for the City’s public recreation and open space areas and, in doing so, to resolve two issues that have been identified with respect to the operative District Plan.
The first such issue is a concern that the District Plan creates unnecessary barriers to the maintenance and use of the City’s recreation areas and public open spaces. The current operative District Plan was not written with the specific requirements and values of public recreation areas and open spaces in mind. Consequently, activities and facilities that are fundamental to the provision, maintenance and use of public recreation areas and open spaces have regularly, and often unnecessarily, needed resource consent.
A further imperative for the review has related to resident concerns that the District Plan does not differentiate or distinguish between public recreation and open spaces areas and privately owned land, on which recreation or open space activities may only be a temporary use. This has created confusion as to status and potential future use of some privately owned open space areas within the city, such as the former Duck Creek Golf Course site.
To resolve these issues proposed Plan Change 8 introduces a series of proposed alterations to the operative Porirua City District Plan that are intended to ensure that:
- Publicly owned and managed recreation and open space areas are clearly identified and zoned for those purposes, and;
- The core functions of the City’s public recreation and open space areas are specifically recognised and provided for within the District Plan, and;
- Greater certainty is provided to adjoining landowners regarding the nature and scale of activities and their effects which may occur on public recreation and open space zone areas.
Amendments
These proposed alterations involve the introduction of the following provisions into the existing operative District Plan:
- A new objectives and policies chapter;
- A new Recreation Zone rules and standards chapter;
- A new Open Space Zone rules and standards chapter;
- Additions and amendments to the District Plan interpretation section;
- Changes to the noise rules in other zones, i.e. the existing City Centre, Industrial, Business Park, Suburban and Rural Zones ;
- Alterations to the District Plan Maps; and,
- Miscellaneous ancillary changes.
Proposed Plan Change 8 does not seek to rezone the former Duck Creek Golf Course site in Whitby.
Statutory process
Proposed Plan Change 8 – Recreation and Open Space and its supporting assessment under section 32 of the Resource Management Act 1991 was approved for notification by Council on 19 September 2007. The proposed Plan Change was publicly notified on 22 September 2007.
Public submissions on the plan change closed on Friday 14 December 2007. During this period 26 submissions were received by Council.
A Summary of Decisions Requested by the 26 submissions was publicly notified on the 3rd of February 2009. The further submission period closed on the 6th of March 2009 and three further submissions were received.
A hearing was held on the 29th and 30th of June 2009, during which a number of submitters were heard and a Council Officer's report was presented to the Proposed Plan Change 8 Hearing Subcommittee. The Officer's report is available for download below. The hearing subcommittee adjourned to make its decision on the 30th of June 2009.
The District Plan Review Subcommittee reported the recommended decisions on submissions and further submissions of the Proposed Plan Change 8 Hearing Subcommittee to the 28 October Council meeting. At the 28 October meeting Council adopted the recommended decisions, and these decisions were publicly notified on 3 November 2009.
A notice of the decisions and a copy of the decisions on submission and further submissions was sent to all submitters on 2 November 2009. The decisions on submissions and further submissions are available for download below. Any submitter can appeal the decisions on submissions and further submissions to the Environment Court under clause 14 of the first schedule to the Resource Management Act 1991 within 30 working days of the date that the decision was notified.
Documents
Copies of all documents relating to Proposed Plan Change 8 – Recreation and Open Space Zone, are available at:
- Porirua City Council, Administration Building, Cobham Court, Porirua City.
- Porirua Library, corner Norrie and Parumoana Streets, Porirua.
- All Suburban libraries within the Porirua City administrative area.
They are also available for download below in pdf format. Other documentation referred to above will also be posted to this site as it becomes available.
Decisions on submissions and further submissions
Hearing
Submissions
Plan change as proposed
Maps
The following maps are the plan change as proposed. Council Officer's have recommended some changes to the planning maps. These changes are shown in the Officer Report, available for download above under documents.
These maps are in pdf format and cover those parts of the city affected by the proposed plan change. Maps A1, A2, A5, A10, A13, A14, A19, A24, A28, A29 are not affected by proposed Plan Change 8 and have not been provided. Download and view and view the Grid Key map first, then look at the map of interest.
Please note that a minor error on Map A3 was corrected by clause 16(2) of the first schedule to the Resource Management Act on the 22nd of January 2009. The original Map A3 and the corrected Map A3 (a) are available for download below.
Grid Key Map
Contact Details
All enquiries regarding Proposed Plan Change 8 may be directed to Sam Price of Council's Environment and City Planning team.
Sam Price
Policy Analyst (Environment)
DDI: 04 237 3571
Fax: 04 237 1445
Email: sprice@pcc.govt.nz