District Planning

What is a District Plan?

The Resource Management Act requires all district and city councils to have a district plan, which must be reviewed every ten years. District plans are important documents, designed to promote the sustainable management of the natural and physical resources in our districts and cities. Further information on the purpose and nature of district plans, including the national and regional framework they must consider and reflect can be found here.

Operative Kaipara District Plan 2013

The current Kaipara District Plan became Operative on 1 November 2013. There are two ways you can view our Operative District Plan on this webpage. You can view the ePlan version, which is a searchable digital version of the District Plan, or you can view pdf versions of the individual chapters, maps and appendices here.

District Plan Review

We started the review of the District Plan in 2020, follow the link to our District Plan Review page for more information and how to be kept informed.

Plan Changes

A Plan Change is an amendment to an operative district plan. There are several reasons for doing a Plan Change, including meeting emerging community needs or meeting new legislative requirements. How Plan Changes proceed is governed by the Resource Management Act 1991.

Plan Changes can be initiated by Council or members of the public. Plan Changes always require community consultation as part of the process.

Follow the link here or at the top of this page for more information.

Spatial Planning

In 2019 Council started work to develop a spatial plan for the District. This work was finalised in December 2020 when the Kaipara District Spatial Plan – Nga Wawata – Our Aspirations was adopted by Council. Follow the link above for more information and the final suite of spatial planning documents.

Engineering Standards

Council's Engineering Standards are a reference document to the Kaipara District Plan. The District Plan is one of the main 'triggers' for when the Engineering Standards must be complied with. Follow the link to our Engineering Standards page

Efficiency and Effectiveness Report

Councils are required to report on the efficiency and effectiveness of their district plans every five years. These reports can assist in district plan reviews or plan change matters. Council’s report on the Operative District Plan 2013 was finalised in June 2020 and can be found here.