North Canterbury councils hope to get some clarity soon on whether they can make changes to fix issues in their district plans. 

Councils were left stunned during the Local Government New Zealand conference in July, when the Government halted changes to district and regional plans until new RMA legislation is in place in 2027.

It left several councils, including the Kaikōura District Council, in limbo as they look to fix out of date or unworkable plans. 

The recent passing of the Government’s second RMA Amendment Bill included last-minute clauses to clarify the grounds for an exemption. 

These included rectifying rules or conditions which have had unintended consequences, are ‘‘unworkable’’ or have caused "inefficient outcomes’’. 

Waimakariri District Council confirmed it would work through the exemptions to understand what may qualify. 

‘‘We are fortunate in that we were able to notify our District Plan in time to not be affected, but as with any full plan review process there were a number of ‘tidy up’ items we were considering," planning, regulation and environment manager Kelly LaValley said. 

An exemption would be welcomed across the sector as way to "tidy up" some rules with unintended consequences, she said. 

Waimakariri adopted its final District Plan in June, notifying it in July after nearly a decade of work. 

It opens up land for between 14,000 and 17,000 new houses to support growth in the district. 

Ms LaValley said she was pleased to see proposals removed, which would have restricted the ability of councils to hold hearings. 

‘‘This was a key concern of our submission on the Bill.’’ 

She said a new clause requiring energy infrastructure consents to be granted within 12 months could provide some much-needed guidance on solar farm projects and other renewable energy consents.

‘‘There are also a number of administrative changes to processing resource consents such as providing draft conditions to applicants.

‘‘We think this is a good idea and would fit with our existing practice.’’ 

The Kaikōura District Council was about to embark on a District Plan review, which has been thrown in jeopardy. 

Chief executive Will Doughty said the council has written to the Minister for RMA Reform to seek an exemption to fix aspects of the District Plan.

‘‘We are still awaiting a response but expect one now that more detail around exemptions has emerged." 

Staff will undertake a review of the District Plan to confirm areas which may no longer be fit for purpose and to help inform any formal exemption request, he said. 

Mr Doughty said his staff will take time to consider the new legislation and how it might impact on Kaikōura, including the new housing growth provisions. 

Mr Bishop said the new legislation will help drive economic growth and lay the groundwork for job creation. 

‘‘The RMA has been holding New Zealand back for decades. It has let successive governments and councils say ‘no’ to progress, ‘no’ to development, and ‘no’ to building the houses, infrastructure, clean energy and other important projects.’’ 

The new legislation grants the Minister the power to recommend changes or even remove of parts of councils’ plans and policy statements deemed to be holding back economic growth, development, or job creation. 

The Government plans to complete its RMA reform by introducing two new laws, which will ‘‘better reflect the importance of private property rights’’, to Parliament before the end of the year. 

-LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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