Council is required to monitor Resource Consents issued to ensure compliance with conditions of Consent. Conditions are designed to protect the environment and the community from any adverse effects resulting from activities that require approval under the District Plan.
Monitoring Resource Consents may involve:
- Routine chargeable inspections by the Monitoring Officer or planners (to be introduced in 2015).
- The Consent holder providing monitoring information to us as part of their Consent conditions.
Each Resource Consent calls for different monitoring techniques. For example, a subdivision consent will typically involve two specific monitoring stages:
- Land development stage for the subdivision such as infrastructure.
- Completion of works when checking will occur to make sure the subdivision is in accordance with what was approved.
It pays to comply
If a Resource Consent condition has been breached, a monitoring officer will liaise with the landowner, developer or contractor to address the effects of the breach. If co-operation cannot be gained, then enforcement action may be taken. This may include an application for retrospective Resource Consent or the issuing of an Abatement Notice, requiring certain actions to cease within a specified timeframe.
The penalty for non-compliance with an Abatement Notice may result in an Infringement Notice being served. Where disputes cannot be resolved, they may proceed to the Environment Court.
We also reserve the right to immediately prosecute under the Resource Management Act for more serious matters or repeat offenders. This may involve reinstatement of a site or building to its original state.
Works on site should be planned in accordance with the Resource Consent conditions from the outset, as both the contractors and the clients can be liable if the conditions are breached. Any queries should be directed to the Monitoring Officer or planners.
Generally, inspections are carried out on a standard basis at the commencement of works, during works and at completion. Further inspections will occur where it is reported that breaches have occurred, where the project is of large scale or where the effects of the development require intervention. Council reserves the right to charge for monitoring inspections as per the Council’s Fees and Charges document, and applied consent conditions.
