If a proposal needs resource consent it goes beyond what is 'permitted' under the Tasman Resource Mangement Plan (TRMP). People who may be adversely affected by it may get a chance to have a say on how the project may affect them. Those adverse effects aren't 'zero-based', and have to be at least minor for us to consider that person as affected.
For example, if you wished to build a house that's higher than the permitted level in the TRMP, then our consent planner may identify the owners or occupiers who lose views or sunshine as affected persons - if the effects are great enough.
As another example, if you wanted to discharge chemicals onto the ground, we may consider a person who has a water supply bore downstream as affected.
Our Council staff can advise you as an applicant, who they think will be ‘affected parties’. As the applicant, then it's up to you to talk to them and try and get their written approval. If you get a written approval, then we can't consider that person as 'affected' anymore.
Form for Written Approval of Affected Person.pdf (pdf 244 KB)
For some rules that control development close to boundaries, if you get the written approval of the owners of the sites with the boundaries affected by the infringement, then you may not even need a resource consent. If the boundary activities are the only rules infringed and you have the written approvals, you can ask us for a deemed permitted activity consent.
Application for Deemed Permitted Boundary Activity (pdf 2.6 MB)
Affected parties are often more than just the owners and occupiers of nearby properties. They may include:
We must consider if iwi, as statutory acknowledgment holders, are affected persons.
Much of the district is covered by statutory acknowledgment areas which were created by Treaty settlement legislation. By these, the Crown gave legal recognition to the particular cultural, spiritual, historical and traditional association of iwi with identified statutory areas and resources. For instance these include:
In many areas more than one iwi has an association with a particular area. If your proposal is within one of these areas, adjacent to it, or may affect the values recognised under the statutory acknowledgement, then it may affect the relevant iwi.
Link to details of the statutory acknowledgements including explanations and maps.
If you are making an application for resource consent and you would like your application processed without any notification, submissions or hearings, then we recommend you try to get the written approval of all the people or organisations who may be affected by your proposal.
It is a good idea for you to approach these people before you complete your final design and / or lodge your application. This is as they may ask for small changes before you have gone to the cost of finalising drawings and other information for your proposal. Your other option is to wait until we have assessed your application and have decided who we think is affected. You can then talk to those people.
If we consider any party is adversely affected, we will tell you who and why.
If you're identified as an affected person - or the applicant asks for your written approval - make sure you understand the proposal. This includes all of the potential impacts that the proposed activity could or will have on your interests - your property, your lifestyle, or your use of the same natural resource.
You can expect the applicant to provide you with a full details of the resource consent application. This includes their most current drawings and plans, and any further information or changes they might have given to us, if they had already lodged their consent application.
If you don't understand the information well enough, we recommend that you get further explanation from the applicant, or an independent professional, such as a resource management consultant or a lawyer.
The final decision is made by the Council. Our consent planners make a considered recommendation. They take into account the context provided by the Tasman Resource Mangement Plan. A simple example is that the aeshetic qualities you experience in a residential zone is very different from an industrial zone. Also aspects of the proposal may be permitted or the types of advere effects the consent planner may look at my be restricted by rules in the Plan.
The decision is then made by the consents manager or a team leader who look at all the application material, the applicant's assessment, and the consent planner's recommendation.
Our decision on notification is final, so if you disagree, you have to ask the High Court to judicially review it.
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