Engagement on Proposed District Plan begins

The journey of the Proposed District Plan (PDP) for the Kāpiti Coast reaches a new milestone today when Council releases the Submitter Engagement Version of the PDP.

The District Plan needs to be updated and the PDP will be the foundation document for a new Plan, providing the framework for managing the effects of development on our land and environment.

Kāpiti has been following a process since 2008 to do so. As a result of community and submitters’ concerns, the PDP was put on hold in late 2013 while two independent panels reviewed it as a whole as well as its coastal erosion hazard assessments.

After adopting the reports of both panels, Council agreed to proceed with the PDP in the middle of 2014, but with changes in place.

Three provisions – coastal hazards, hazardous substances and priority areas for restoration – were withdrawn for further work.

Now, the rest of the PDP is coming back with every chapter redrafted in order to improve the PDP. It shows changes suggested by planners after months spent reviewing tens of thousands of submission points.

The Submitter Engagement Version will track every change being suggested by Council to the original PDP. Items being removed will be tracked and new material being introduced will be highlighted, so submitters are able to see exactly how the new document compares to the last.

Kāpiti Mayor Ross Church thanked submitters for their input. “It is the scope of their submissions that has helped Council staff deliver a better document. Many submitters will find their submission points have been satisfied by the new Draft.

“It is not a legally-binding document but will form the basis for discussion and workshops with submitters through to the end of March 2016. The aim is to encourage consensus and agreement wherever possible, prior to the next formal stage of the process,” Mayor Church said.

This will be the publishing of Planning Reports at the end of the engagement period followed by formal hearings (part of the legal process under the Resource Management Act). The hearings are scheduled to start in April 2016.