About PC2

Plan Change 2 (PC2) to the Operative Kapiti Coast District Plan 2021 (District Plan) responded to Government requirements to change the District Plan to accommodate more residents, businesses and community services in Kāpiti. It is also a significant step towards implementing our Growth Strategy, Te Tupu Pai – Growing Well.

Minister’s decision

On 4 October 2023, the Minister for the Environment made their decision on the recommendation of the Independent Hearing Panel (IHP) that was rejected by Council decision on 10 August 2023.

The Minister for the Environment accepted the IHP’s recommendation to allow the rezoning of an 18-hectare site in Otaihanga from Rural Lifestyle Zone to General Residential Zone.

The Minister set out his reasons for this decision in this letter [PDF 349 KB]. This map [PDF 676 KB] highlights the area of land subject to the Minister’s decision. The Minister's decision is final and cannot be appealed.

The Minister's decision was publicly notified on 25 October 2023. The operative date for this part of PC2 is 1 November 2023.

Council decisions on Plan Change 2

Council made decisions on Plan Change 2 at its meeting on 10 August 2023, and publicly notified those decisions on 19 August 2023. The public notice confirmed Plan Change 2 is operative from 1 September 2023.

The Council accepted all of the formal recommendations listed in paragraph 13 of the IHP’s Report to Council, except a recommendation relating to a submitter’s request to rezone an 18-hectare site in Otaihanga from Rural Lifestyle Zone to General Residential Zone, which Council rejected. The rejected recommendation was referred to the Minister for the Environment for a decision by letter [PDF 369 KB] on 15 September 2023.

IHP Report to Council

The Independent Hearing Panel (IHP) has delivered its report [PDF 2.16 MB] to the Council on Plan Change 2. The Panel’s formal recommendations to Council can be found on pages 10–11 of its report (paragraph 13).

About this plan change

In summary, this plan change:

• incorporates the Government’s Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) into our District Plan, allowing the construction of up to three three-storey residential units on most sites in the General Residential Zone as a permitted activity where all the MDRS are complied with
• enables increased levels of development in and around Kāpiti’s centres and around the train stations at Paekākāriki, Paraparaumu and Waikanae
• rezones some areas to General Residential Zone
• proposes new design guides to encourage high-quality design of residential and mixed use development
• replaces all references to the Council’s Subdivision and Development Principles and Requirements 2012 document with references to the Land Development Minimum Requirements April 2022 document
• provides for qualifying matter areas where development is less enabled, including areas already identified in the District Plan, plus new areas including a Coastal Qualifying Matter Precinct, Whakarongotai and Ōtaki Takiwā Precincts, and Kārewarewa Urupā in Waikanae Beach.

Plan Change 2 also:

• provided for tangata whenua to develop papakāinga housing developments
• made improvements to the District Plan’s financial contributions provisions.

Summary of Plan Change 2 by area

If you want to understand what Plan Change 2 means in your area, see our Ward by Ward Summary of Plan Change 2 – Intensification [PDF 244 KB].

Note: This summary contains general information about PC2. It's not comprehensive and may not describe every aspect of the plan change relevant to you.

Timeline

Maps showing submitter requested rezoning

Several submitters requested that PC2 rezone additional areas of land. Maps [PDF 5 MB] were created showing the locations of these rezoning requests.

Notes and disclaimers:

1. These maps were intended to illustrate the location and extent of rezoning requested by submitters through their submissions on notified PC2. This map did not supersede the relief sought through submissions.
2. These maps only showed rezonings requested by submitters where the spatial extent can be clearly understood or reasonably inferred from the submission.
3. In relation to submissions on areas to be rezoned as part of notified PC2, the maps only illustrated submissions that request changes to the spatial extent of these areas. These maps did not illustrate submissions that supported or oppose notified rezonings, but did not request a change in extent.
4. These maps did not illustrate submissions that request changes to the spatial extent of precincts (except where this was requested as part of the rezoning).
5. These maps did not constitute a recommendation or determination on whether submissions are in scope.
6. These maps did not show the rezoning of the General Residential Zone to Medium and High Density Zone sought by Kāinga Ora [S122]. Refer to the maps contained in Appendix 4 to submission S122 for the extent of rezoning sought by this submission.

Government requirement for this change

The Government passed the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 in December 2021. This law required the Council to change the District Plan to:

• incorporate the Government’s MDRS into the District Plan
• give effect to policies 3 and 4 of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020 (NPS-UD).

Under this law, Council could also have made the following changes to the District Plan:

• changes to enable papakāinga housing
• changes to financial contributions provisions
• other changes that support or are consequential on incorporating the MDRS or giving effect to policies 3 and 4 of the NPS-UD.

The plan change was not allowed to include anything else.

The Ministry for the Environment has published guidance for the public on this legislation in Understanding the RMA (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021: General Overview (Ministry for the Environment).

Legal advice on scope of Plan Change 2

Council decided to release an additional document, Advice letter – implementing the Enabling Housing Amendment Act [PDF 437 KB], which provides legal advice on the scope of the proposed plan change. This advice informed the Section 32 Evaluation Report, which assesses how the provisions of Plan Change 2 meets the objectives of the RMA.

You can read more about this in our media release at Council extends deadline for intensification plan change submissions (15 Sept 2022).

Increased development in and around our centres and train stations

Policy 3 of the NPS-UD requires our District Plan to enable:

• in metropolitan centre zones, that building heights and density of urban form reflect demand for housing and business use in those locations, and in all cases building heights of at least six storeys
• building heights of at least six storeys in at least a walkable catchment of:
  • existing and planned rapid transit stops
  • the edge of metropolitan centre zones
• within and adjacent to neighbourhood centre zones, local centre zones, and town centre zones, that building heights and densities of urban form are commensurate with the level of commercial activity and community services.

This means the District Plan is required to enable increased building heights within the:

• Metropolitan Centre Zone at Paraparaumu
• Town Centre Zones at Ōtaki, Waikanae, Paraparaumu Beach and Raumati Beach
• Local Centre Zones at Waikanae Beach, Kena Kena, Mazengarb Road, Meadows, Raumati South and Paekākāriki.

We’re also required to enable increased building heights within walkable catchments (or walkable distances) of these zones, and the train stations at Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Paekākāriki (rapid transit stops). This is explained further in section 5.2.4 of the Council’s Section 32 Evaluation Report [PDF 2.82 MB].

Consents for development

There are many instances where you may still need a resource consent from the Kāpiti Coast District Council or the Greater Wellington Regional Council before undertaking development. For more information, see our Resource consents section.

New development is also likely to require a building consent from Council before any work can be started.

Previous consultation

Previous consultations included:

• In April 2022, we sought public feedback on a draft version of this plan change. We received feedback from over 200 individuals and organisations, and this led to some useful improvements to the “proposed” version of the plan change that’s now being publicly notified. You can read a summary of that feedback and responses in Section 32 Evaluation Report: Appendix B – Summary of Public Feedback on Draft PC2 [PDF 1.15 MB].
• In 2021 Council also consulted widely during development of our Growth Strategy, Te Tupu Pai – Growing Well. Among other things, this consultation covered a proposed approach to intensification across the General Residential Zone, in and around the District’s centres and around the train stations at Paekākāriki, Paraparaumu and Waikanae. The Growth Strategy was adopted by Council in February 2022. You can read more at Growth Strategy, Te Tupu Pai – Growing Well.

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