Development Contributions

Development Contributions Policy review

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.

The Policy ensures the cost of a new infrastructure is fairly shared between developers and ratepayers based on who causes the need for and who benefits from the investments. 

The Proposed Policy will see an increase in development contribution fees for most areas in the district while Baylys Beach fees will reduce. See page 4 of the Consultation Document for tables showing proposed fees for areas across the district.

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.

Key changes in the new Policy:  

• sets out the costs to be recovered through DC charges in different catchments
• removes the option for developers to postpone DC payments
• introduces new Household Equivalent Units (HUEs) for various activities and uses Gross Floor Area (GFA) to calculate the DCs
• clarifies when Council will consider entering into a Development Agreement with developer/s  
• provides an updated schedule of assets for past and future projects.  

Read the Consultation Document
Read the proposed Development Contributions Policy

Key dates

• 3 June through to 23 June 2025 - community consultation
• 3 July - hearings
• 23 July - deliberations
• TBC August/September - Council decision. 

How to get your feedback to us

Feedback is open Tuesday 3 June – 11.59pm, Monday 23 June.

There is an opportunity for you to speak to your submission, hearings are scheduled for July.

Development Contributions

Developers are required to pay a development contribution to the council when developing or requiring new services for a property. The Kaipara district is experiencing rapid growth in some areas and this growth can only be sustained if developers contribute to the cost of new or expanded infrastructure that supports that growth.

• Read the current Development Contributions Policy
• Read the previous Development Contributions Policy (2020) 

FAQs

What are development contributions and what is the money used for?

A Development Contribution (DC) is a levy on new developments. They are collected under the Local Government Act 2002 and are there to ensure the costs of extra demand on council infrastructure from the development are not imposed on the community. Contributions are used for providing new or expanded infrastructure. The contributions are not used for maintenance and are only used for the purpose for which they were taken. For example, a roading contribution will only be used for constructing new roads and intersection improvements.

Development Contributions are assessed on:

• roading and transport
• water supply
• wastewater
• stormwater
• community infrastructure
• parks and reserves

Who pays them? 

Development Contributions are usually paid for residential development (new houses), non-residential development (commercial, industrial or retail), subdivisions, new connections, and for certain changes of land use.

When do I pay?

Applications for resource consent, building consent or service connection trigger the requirement to pay development contributions. The due date for payment will be:

• For subdivision resource consents: prior to issue of the section 224c certificate.
• For other resource consents: prior to the commencement of consent.
• For building consents: prior to Code Compliance Certificate.
• For service connections: prior to connection.
• For certificates of acceptance:  prior to issue.    

If you want to avoid annual increases, you can always make payment earlier than the due date. 

I don't get water, wastewater or stormwater, so why should I pay any Development Contributions?

Your development will still use council roads and parks and reserves so you need to pay your share to develop these.

I have to put all the services into my development so why do I still have to pay council more money?

Development Contributions are for your share of the cost of the trunk services, treatment plants and roads that your development connects to.