Commonly asked planning questions

In Ōmokoroa and Te Puke, the new Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) now apply. For more information please see our projects page and the info sheet.

Planning requirements

A minor dwelling (which by definition includes a tiny house whether classed as a vehicle or not) is a small house, no bigger than 60m2. In addition to this it may also have a garage of 18m2 but the garage cannot be used for living accommodation. The garage can have a laundry in it.

Minor dwellings/tiny houses will require a resource consent from Council (unless it is the only dwelling on the title).

In the Rural, Rural Residential, Future Urban and Lifestyle Zones one minor dwelling in addition to the main dwelling is acceptable on each title subject to:

• The general requirements such as height of the minor dwelling / tiny house and setback distances between the minor dwelling / tiny house to the boundaries.
• The specific minor dwelling / tiny house requirements including:
  - needing to be within 20m of the main dwelling on the title
  - sharing the same driveway access as the main dwelling
  - if an attached or detached garage or carport is to be built, it must be no larger than 18m2
  - payment of financial contributions for the extra pressure put on Council services. These are set at 50% of the standard contributions in recognition of the size of the dwelling.

There are other requirements in the District Plan that your proposal may need to address, for example: natural hazards, landscape and ecological features.

In the Residential Zone the rules are the same, except you may be allowed more than one minor dwelling / tiny house if you have enough land and minor dwellings do not need to be within 20m of the main dwelling.

Refer to the following sections of the District Plan for more information on minor dwelling Rules:

Residential: 13.3.2, 13.4 and 13.4.1 (h)
Future Urban: 15.3.2, 15.4, 15.4.1(f)
Rural Residential: 16.3.2, 16.4 and 16.4.1(g)
Lifestyle: 17.3.2, 17.3.5, 17.4, 17.4.1 (f)
Rural: 18.3.2, 18.3.5, 18.3.6, 18.4, 18.4.1(i)

Building requirements

When building consent is not needed:

If a tiny house is built on wheels it is classed as a vehicle and must comply with the Land Transport Act 1998 (with registration and a warrant of fitness). As a vehicle, it will not need a building consent at the time it is built so long as the tiny house:

• possesses wheels, chassis, axles, brakes, lights, drawbar and trailer hitch; and
• the trailer has, and maintains at all times, a valid registration and WOF; and
• the tiny house is incapable of being fixed (i.e. the “superstructure” can’t be removed from the trailer); and
• the tiny house is self-contained in terms of all services (like a campervan); and
• the design of the tiny house enables relocation with relative ease.

However, a building consent will be needed if the tiny house is:

• immovable and you intend to occupy the home on a permanent basis; or
• connected to plumbing and/or drainage services; or
• closer than its own height to a boundary and/or adjacent building.

If any of these apply, then a building consent is needed and it will no longer be considered a vehicle.

Planning requirements

In our District Plan ‘Yards’ refers to the distance that a building must be set back from a boundary. In our Plan a house is referred to as a dwelling.

The rural setback requirements help to maintain the amenity and character of the rural environment.

In the rural zone the minimum setback for dwellings (as well as minor dwellings and other accommodation) is 30m. This means any of these buildings need to be located at least 30m from the boundary.

Setbacks may however be reduced to as close as 10m from the boundary in the following circumstances:

Front boundary:

If there is an existing dwelling, you can extend it provided that you are not building closer to the road or increasing the size by 20% or more.

Side and rear boundaries:

• if the title existed prior to 30 January 2010 (or was created after this, but subdivision consent was approved prior to 30 January 2010) and is no larger than 1ha.
• if the title has an approved building platform through a subdivision consent and being within the 30m setback was allowed for
• if you are creating an addition to a dwelling, minor dwelling or other accommodation which is already within the 30m setback but you won’t be going any closer to the boundary
• If you are building a new dwelling, minor dwelling, or other accommodation and you can maintain the required separation distances from your neighbour’s buildings (60m from a dwelling, minor dwelling or other accommodation and 35m from sheds and garages).

Other setbacks:

If your property adjoins a strategic road, designation or railway corridor, the building will need to be setback 30m from the relevant boundary.

Building closer along private boundaries:

If you are building along a private boundary (e.g. with a neighbour) you will be able to build closer than the District Plan allows if you get written approval from the affected neighbour/s and if you apply to Council for a ‘deemed permitted boundary activity’. This is something provided for in the Resource Management Act to avoid the need for resource consent when the neighbour is happy with what you’re proposing. For clarity, the same opportunity does not apply to public boundaries e.g. roads or reserves.

Planning requirements

In our District Plan ‘Yards’ refers to the distance that a building must be set back from a boundary. In our Plan a house is referred to as a dwelling.

Front boundary setback minimum:

• residential dwellings (not including the garage) 4m
• other buildings/structures including all garages 5m (whether attached or stand-a-lone)

Not meeting the front boundary setback requirements will require a resource consent. Council will review the effect on the transport network as well as the impact on the street environment.

Rear and side boundary setback minimum:

All buildings/structures 1.5m

Other setbacks:

If your property adjoins a strategic road, designation or railway corridor, the building will need to be setback 10m from the relevant boundary.

If you are unable to meet the rear and side boundary setback minimum requirements you may seek the written approval of the affected neighbour to avoid a resource consent.

Please also refer to the FAQ on daylighting as this may also influence how close you can build to a boundary (especially if you are looking at building two stories).

Planning requirements

Front boundary:

Any solid fences or walls on, or within, the front boundary have a maximum height limit of 1.2m.

Fences or walls can however exceed 1.2m, up to a maximum of 2m, if the extra height has a visual permeability (see through) of at least 60%. This could be achieved with the use of swimming pool type fences or trellis - as an example.

Side and rear boundaries:

Any fence or wall on the side and/or rear boundary can only be up to 2m high. However, if you bring your fence in from the boundary you may be able to go higher, provided you meet the daylighting rules. Refer to the FAQ on daylighting below for an explanation on this.

If your property shares a boundary with a public reserve, your fence or wall must remain at 1.2m in height unless you can meet the permeability rules as described above.

Planning requirements

Under the District Plan a retaining wall is considered a building/structure if it exceeds 1.5m in wall height (whether above or below ground level). If deemed to be a building/structure, it will need to comply with the height, setback and daylighting rules for the relevant zone.

Building requirements

For building consent requirements, refer to Schedule 1 Building Act 2004 Exemption 13, page 190 or ask our duty building officer at Council for more information.

See https://www.building.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/projec...

Planning requirements

There are some options for subdividing in the Rural Zone. The purpose of the rural subdivision rules is to only allow subdivision if productive land sizes can be maintained, or a significant feature can be protected.

General farming lots

If you have general farming land, e.g. suitable for grazing and forestry, you will need at least 80ha in order to subdivide (minimum lot size 40ha).

Production Lots (horticultural)

If you have productive land, e.g. suitable for growing kiwifruit and avocado, you may be able to subdivide if you have at least 12ha. You must prove that you are currently harvesting enough productive crop or you have enough suitable land to establish a productive crop in the future. This has to be certified by a horticultural expert. Refer to 18.4.2(c) for more information.

Protection Lots

In addition to any existing ability you may have to subdivide, you can also have extra titles created on your property (two if you are on an unsealed road, or five if the road is sealed) by protecting one or more of the following:

• ecological features such as native bush, wetlands and riparian margins along streams and rivers these features must already exist (or be created to exist) and must be of a certain size and quality at the time of subdivision in order to qualify
• outstanding view shafts (listed in appendix 2 of the District Plan)
• significant cultural heritage features (as listed in appendix 3 of the District Plan) or other features demonstrated to be of similar importance
• provision of land (to Council) for community benefit which includes esplanade reserves or strips shown on Council planning maps, extension to an existing reserve or creation of a new reserve, access to reserves and other land for public purposes e.g. road or carpark.

If you protect a feature(s) that are of such a size that you qualify for more than five onsite titles, you can transfer these to people living in the Lifestyle Zone to allow them to subdivide. 18.4.2(h).

Additional Dwelling Lots

If you have two lawfully established dwellings of more than 60m2 on the same title you may be able to subdivide (to put these on their own titles) subject to meeting the requirements outlined in Rule 18.4.2(f). This does not include minor dwellings.

Planning requirements

In areas identified as being subject to flooding (from rainfall) and/or coastal inundation (flooding from the sea), Council requires a minimum floor level for habitable buildings to keep them protected from these natural hazards. Sheds/garages are not required to have minimum floor levels in some situations.

Minimum floor levels are a combination of the flood / coastal inundation level plus an additional height known as freeboard. This additional height helps to ensure buildings will be above flooding levels if an event occurs.

Minimum floor level heights (above the identified flood/coastal inundation level):

• Habitable buildings = 500mm
• Sheds/garages = 200mm
• Commercial buildings = 300mm

If your land is identified as being subject to flooding and/or coastal inundation you will need to talk to the duty planner to find out what minimum floor levels you will need to build to in that location, as these vary across the District. You can view Council’s online natural hazard maps here.

You will need to provide the following information to the duty planner

• The address of the property
• Your proposal. Is it a new dwelling and/or shed? Is it an addition to an existing dwelling and/or shed? Where on the title are you proposing to do this?

The duty planner can then confirm the minimum floor level and what consents you will need. This may take a couple of days for the information to be obtained and returned to you.

Planning requirement

A rural property can have one main dwelling as a permitted activity plus one minor dwelling subject to getting a resource consent. It can also have extra accommodation for four people or less as a permitted activity but the accommodation facility must not have a kitchen or otherwise not be self-contained.

Any additional dwellings or additional minor dwellings are unlikely to be supported unless they are essential for the productive management of land.

Refer to standards in Rule 18.4.1 (e) (accommodation facilities) for more information.

For more information on minor dwellings refer to question the FAQ on Minor Dwellings, or 18.4 of the District Plan.

Planning requirements

“Home Enterprise” means the use of a site for a home business. These can only be established if there is already a home on the site and at least one person living on site will be involved with the business.

Common examples of home enterprises include hairdressers, small offices and people making and selling goods.

They are a permitted activity (not needing a resource consent) subject to meeting certain standards which ensure that they are of a small scale.

The District Plan provides different standards depending on the Zone your home is located in.

Residential Zone - home enterprise criteria:

1. Shall be conducted within a building floor area not exceeding 25m2
2. Is carried out by a maximum of three persons
3. Can sell goods that are produced onsite as well as any other goods if related to the activity e.g. a hairdresser can sell shampoo that was brought in from off-site
4. One parking space must be provided for every 120m2 of site area that is dedicated to the use of the home enterprise
5. One sign is allowed stating occupant's name, occupation, or property name limited to a maximum area of 0.5m2.

Rural, Lifestyle, Future Urban and Rural-residential Zones - home enterprise criteria:

1. Shall be conducted within a building floor area not exceeding 120m2 or an outdoor area not exceeding 500m2
2. Does not have access within 30m of a state highway (or Omokoroa Road, or Te Puke Highway).
3. Is carried out by a maximum of three persons
4. Can sell goods that are produced on site as well as any other goods if related to the activity e.g. a hairdresser can sell shampoo that was bought off site. One parking space must be provided for every 120m2 of site area that is dedicated to the use of the home enterprise.
5. One sign is allowed stating occupant's name, occupation, or property name limited to a maximum area of 0.5m2
6. For the Lifestyle Zone only, there are two extra requirements: the home enterprise, including car parking or sale of goods, cannot be undertaken within 10m of the front boundary (except for stalls); Secondly bulk warehousing, product assembly, outside storage of materials and goods are not permitted
7. In the Rural and Lifestyle zones, any retailing must be within a floor area not exceeding 20m2.

Building requirements

Depending on the type of home enterprise involved, consideration may need to be given to the effect on on-site effluent treatment systems. If the home enterprise requires new plumbing fixtures or has an effect on waste water disposal i.e. dyes or contaminant discharge a building consent may be required. Please contact the duty building officer at Council for further information.

Planning requirements

The rules for sheds are different depending on the size of the property.

Larger properties

• Sheds can be of any size when on lots larger than 2ha (however they are required to be set back 30m from boundaries when 200m2 or larger instead of the normal 5m). There are some exceptions to this 30m setback requirement though. Refer to 18.4.1(q)

Smaller properties

• Sheds must be no larger than 200m2 when within a lot of 2ha or less. They must be set back at least 5m from all boundaries.

Building requirements

The Building Act (2004) identifies whether or not a shed will need building consent.

Refer to Schedule 1 Building Act 2004, pages 37-43 or ask our duty building officer at Council for more information. If the proposed shed cannot satisfy the exemption conditions, then a building consent will be required.

See https://www.building.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/projec...

Planning requirements

Accommodation facilities are forms of accommodation, for example: farm stays; bed 'n' Breakfast; boarding houses; hotels; motels; hostels; camping grounds and sleep-outs.

Residential Zone, Medium-Density Residential Zone, Future Urban Zone, Lifestyle Zone, Rural Zone, Rural- Residential Zone:

Accommodation facilities are permitted for a combined maximum of five persons (excluding staff) provided:

• The total area available for use is no larger than 60m2 (gross floor area)
• Must not contain a kitchen facility or otherwise be self-contained

Anything not complying with the above requires a resource consent.

In addition, the relevant performance standards will need to be met e.g. height, daylighting, setback distances from boundaries etc. Please check the relevant FAQ’s above for more information on these standards and the relevant rules of the District Plan:

Residential Zone - Rules in 13.4
Medium Density Residential Zone - Rules in 14.4
Future Urban Zone – Rules in 15.4
Rural-Residential Zone – Rules in 16.4
Lifestyle Zone – Rules in 17.4
Rural Zone – Rules in 18.4