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An Orange heavy rain warning has been issued for Nelson this Thurs 3 April. Prepare for heavy rainfall and the possibility of rapidly rising rivers, streams and surface flooding. Please clear gutters and roadside grates to keep storm drains clear. We will share updates here and on our Facebook page.

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How to Find Out if A Resource Consent is Required?

A consent is required if you “breach” a specific rule in one of Nelson City Council’s Plans. The key documents are the Nelson Regional Management Plan (NRMP), and the Nelson Air Quality Plan (NAQP).

Common examples of activities that often need consent are:

  • Subdivisions
  • Building a second residential unit (house, apartment, granny flat – either a new stand-alone building or renovating existing building)
  • Building a second residential unit on rural land
  • Building or renovation in residential areas close to neighbours, or where it might create shading on neighbours
  • Taking, using, diverting, damming water
  • Earthworks of certain sizes or depth of cuts
  • Works in or alongside rivers
  • Discharging wastewater, stormwater, or contaminants to land or water
  • Discharging contaminants to air
  • Activities in the Coastal Marine Area
  • Doing an activity that does not match the zoning (e.g. residential in industrial zone, commercial in residential zone)
  • Holiday accommodation in residential zones
  • Installing or replacing a woodburner

This list highlights only a few examples of common activities which require resource consent. Please see the rules within relevant planning documents for a full scope of the activities which require resource consent. The NRMP rules are categorised into different Zones, and there are several Appendices at the end (including Freshwater, Heritage, Access standards, Signs etc.). Information on how to determine the zoning of your property is available in the FAQs below.

FAQs

Council holds general data about properties in our region.

You can order a property file for most properties and you will receive a General Property Information Report (GPI) . This includes a summary of all resource and building consents known for that property, any specific property conditions and some information on hazards. The GPI information is free and usually takes a couple of working days to provide. For an additional fee you can also request and get sent downloaded electronic copies of the building consents and resource consents.

More information on requesting a property file.

Or you can order a full Land Information Memorandum (LIM). This has a cost and can take up to 10 working days.

More information on how to order a LIM here

All properties are Zoned (eg rural, residential, industrial) and these zones often determine what you can do at a particular site.

Go to the NRMP Maps on ePlan

Go the Council’s online NRMP ePlan. Click on the search icon and type in the address. Under Map Tools you will see Map Layers. You can turn on the layers you need. The ‘NRMP Zones’ layer shows the different zone classifications (e.g. yellow = residential). You can scroll in and out.

How to use the eplan

The following fact sheets provide information about some of the key rules in specific zones:

One of Council’s responsibilities is to manage risk from natural hazards. Council is required to investigate natural hazards and to make available the relevant research.

Some hazards are currently incorporated in the NRMP some are not.

To find hazards included in the NRMP go the Council’s online NRMP ePlan. Click on the search icon and type in the address. Under Map Tools you will see Map Layers. You can turn on the layers you need. The ‘NRMP Hazards’ and ‘NRMP General Overlays’ layer shows the different layers that are currently in the NRMP (e.g. inundation overlay). You can scroll in and out.

Go to the NRMP Maps on ePlan

For those hazards that Council has assessed and mapped, where the information is public, but is not currently in the NRMP (e.g. slope instability, fault, liquefaction, flooding).

The Council’s Nelson Air Quality Plan contains three different Air Quality Airsheds, A, B1, B2, and C. Each Airshed has different rules about whether you are allowed to install or replace a woodburner or not. There is also a list of approved woodburners for different Airsheds. Remember to check whether you require a building consent as well.

More information on the Air Quality plan rules in relation to woodburners can be found here:

During a Civil Defence “State of Emergency” (e.g. a significant weather event with flooding) directions from the Controller for works that require immediate action can occur without the need to obtain prior resource consent, if they are directed by Civil Defence. The Civil Defence Group Recovery Manager can continue to direct urgent works to occur during the Recovery phase prior to obtaining resource consent, under s330B of the Resource Management Act (RMA).

The August 2022 weather event switched from a State of Emergency to the Recovery phase on 31 August 2022 and then the Civil Defence Recovery period officially ended on 28 October 2022. Works are no longer able to be completed under the ‘urgent’ category, and waivers of consent fees have now ceased. Fees were only waived for the very urgent activities.

If you need a consent for works that are a direct result of the August 2022 weather event (e.g. slip remediation) please indicate this in your consent application. We recognise that it has been a stressful experience and will try and prioritise these consents as much as we can.

It will depend on the nature of the remediation work. If the work on your property includes earthworks (cut or fill) and adding any structure, then you may need a resource consent to comply with the NRMP general earthworks rule (REr.61). Depending on the location of your property, for example if it is in the Tāhunanui slump zone or in an area with specific land management zones, other rules may also apply. Contact Council’s duty planner service if you wish to discuss.

If you need a consent for slip remediation that is a direct result of the August 2022 weather event, please indicate this within the description of the activity and provide a report from the geotechnical expert with your completed resource consent application form.

Residential zone earthworks rule (REr.61)

Flood debris including litter, vegetation, and trees can be removed without the need to obtain resource consent. Replanting along the margins of streams is allowed without resource consent as long as no pest plants are planted and no willow is planted within 5m of the waterbody.

Please note: earthworks of any height or depth within 10m of the river or stream bank will require resource consent.

Works in the stream bed/banks or channel to mitigate flooding risk to properties may require resource consent. Experts will need to be engaged to report on what needs to occur to protect property and the stream habitat or stream dynamics. Council may be able to approve temporary measures until the permanent solution is designed and consented. Please contact the duty planner service if you need to discuss your situation.

If you are providing holiday accommodation at a property in the residential zone, it may require resource consent and/or building consent. This ensures both the safety of the occupants and minimises impact on neighbours.

Planning rules under the Nelson Resource Management Plan (NRMP) allow for homeowners to offer accommodation as short-term rental without resource consent provided that owners:

  • live at the property for at least one month of the year and refer to the property as their home address, and
  • the property has capacity to accommodate up to four travellers only at any one time.

However, resource and building consents may be required if the rental facilities are self-contained or the above permitted standards are not met.

New Zealand’s building legislation recognises some building work does not require a building consent. Generally, this is work where no structure is changed or cosmetic work such as replacing or altering a dwelling’s internal wall, ceiling and floor finishes. For more information, go to canibuildit.govt.nz

Before you use a residential building for short-term accommodation, you need to consider if the use of the building is changing. If the building is changing its use, you must show Council that it will comply with the Building Act in its new use and obtain written acceptance of that. Go to building.govt.nz/change-of-use-and-alterations for more info.

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