The retention and enhancement of the primary production potential of rural land within the Western Bay of Plenty District is largely the policy driver behind the review of existing rural zone provisions in the Western Bay of Plenty Proposed District Plan. This policy position responds to the fragmentation of productive rural land (used principally for pastoral farming or forestry) that has arisen from subdivision for “lifestyle” lots across the district.
While there is no argument that primary production contributes significantly to the local economy, some of the changes to the rural zone are worth mentioning as the implications may be far reaching for rural land owners.
The existing Rural G and H Zones will be replaced with new Rural Zones 1, 2 and 3. In brief, Rural 1 comprises pastoral land, Rural 2 highly productive land and Rural 3 land at Te Puke, Katikati and the Minden identified as suitable for “lifestyle” living.
Worthy of particular mention is the minimum lot size rules. For Rural 1 Zone the minimum lot size will be 40 hectares and for Rural 2, 10 hectares. This is quite a significant shift from rural zone provisions in the existing plan that at one end of the spectrum enables a controlled rural subdivision resulting in 2 hectares per dwelling.
Preserving rural land for primary production (and discouraging “lifestyle” subdivision anywhere except the Rural 3 “Lifestyle” Zone) gets even more emphasis through rules proposing that any subdivision not meeting activity performance standards will be treated as a non-complying activity (with the exception of boundary adjustments and protection lot subdivisions). A non-complying subdivision suggests that it will only be granted in limited circumstances. Put simply, many rural land owners have a development opportunity today which will not be there (or will be significantly more difficult to exercise) as the district plan review progresses.
While the ability for on-site protection lots and transferable protection lot credits remains intact they can only be used on-site in the Rural 1 and 2 zones up to a maximum of 5 additional lots and transferable protection lot credits can only be transferred into the Rural 3 “Lifestyle” Zone. The effect of limiting where protection lot credits can be transferred to is problematic given that development in the Lifestyle Zone cannot proceed until structure plans are in place. Given that transferable protection lot credits have a life of only 5 years there will be no market for them until development begins in the Lifestyle Zone and with development hamstrung until structure plans are in place there is a real risk that credits will expire in the meantime.
Submissions to the Western Bay of Plenty Proposed District Plan close Friday, 3 April 2009 at 4:00pm.
This article appeared in the Bay of Plenty Times on Tuesday 24th March 2009.