The Wairarapa community will soon be asked to make submissions on a raft of proposed changes affecting rural and urban planning in the region.
Yesterday the Wairarapa Combined District Plan Joint Committee agreed to approve the proposed Wairarapa Combined District Plan for public notification and submissions.
The plan includes provisions related to rural subdivisions [including a new rural lifestyle zone in the Masterton area] and rezoning of land for more intensive development in urban areas to meet future demand for housing. It also covers new flood and fault rupture hazards, protection of buildings and items of historic heritage, and provision for better identification and protection of sites and areas of significance to Māori.
The period for making submissions starts next week, on 11 October, and will run until 19 December. Hearings are expected to take place in the second half of next year.
Committee chair David McMahon said it was a “red letter day” that represented the culmination of years of work by the committee and team involved.
The plan has taken more than three years to develop, and this version was developed after formal consultation on an earlier draft.
Ra Smith, on behalf of tangata whenua, thanked those involved and commended the plan.
“I would like to recommend this combined district plan to the people of Wairarapa, to our families in terms of our Māori whānau, but also to all the whānau. I think it’s an excellent job and something that should be taken note of and care of.”
About 200 submissions were received on the draft district plan last year from individuals, community groups, businesses, and government entities. The committee considered all written feedback received and took it into account in developing the current proposed plan.
A report presented to the committee on Thursday said the review of the district plan was done under the Resource Management Act [RMA], which required local authorities to review their plans at least every 10 years.
The committee noted the Environment Court has granted an order that rules relating to subdivision and associated land use activities in the general rural zone and rural lifestyle zone will have legal effect from the date the proposed district plan is publicly notified next week.
Another key impact of the plan being notified is other, more general, proposed rules also become effective immediately under the RMA. These include matters relating to the protection of water, air, or soil, areas of significant indigenous vegetation, areas of significant habitats of indigenous fauna, and historic heritage.
The three Wairarapa district councils – Carterton, Masterton and South Wairarapa – were the first councils to have cooperatively prepared a combined district plan under the RMA.
The three councils agreed to review their district plans in 2020, and a joint committee was formed to lead the review and prepare a new plan.
The committee comprises two councillors or representatives from each of the three Councils, representatives from Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa and Rangitāne o Wairarapa, and an independent chairperson.
-NZLDR
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