Kaipara District Council has reviewed its Development Contributions Policy and is seeking feedback on the proposed changes.

The Development Contributions Policy outlines fees charged to developers to help offset the impact of their development. Development contribution fees are spent on infrastructure including roading, wastewater and stormwater services in the district.

Kaipara District Council Mayor Craig Jepson noted that getting the Development Contribution Policy right is vital for the district.

“It’s important we regularly review our Development Contributions in balance with changing costs incurred by development. Kaipara is the place to be and we want to attract people to Kaipara without detrimentally impacting our current residents.

I want to acknowledge our staff who worked hard to pull together this Proposed Policy and look forward to hearing from our community.”

The proposed amendments to the Policy ensures that Council recovers an appropriate share of the costs of investment from new developments.

The Proposed Policy will see an increase in development contribution fees for most areas in the district while Baylys Beach fees will reduce. Costs to improve infrastructure or build new infrastructure to cater for the projected growth of each area was used to determine the new fees.

Development Contribution fees may be required when: a resource consent is granted under the RMA for subdivision and land use applications, a building consent or certificate of acceptance is granted under the Building Act or an authorisation for a service connection is granted. The new fees are only applicable to developments that lodge their applications after the new Policy is declared operative.

Consultation opens Tuesday 3 June and runs through to Tuesday 24 June. Visit kaipara.govt.nz/have-your-say to view the proposed policy and give feedback.

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