Assess resource consent application
Council staff check the application to make sure it includes all the information likely to be needed to assess the application. This will include assessing the Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE) to make sure it meets the requirements of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).
Your application will follow one of three notification processes:
- non-notified
- limited notified
- publicly notified.
When we review your application, we’ll be able to determine which of these processes is required.
Resource consent applications take 20 working days to process, provided all the necessary information is included and your proposed project does not need to be notified.
Steps
We'll assess your application following these steps:
- Council assesses application against requirements of the Kāpiti Coast District Plan and other relevant legislation.
- Council completes a site visit.
- Council requests any missing information
- Agent/Designer provides requested information
- Council may seek technical advice from specialists.
- Council assesses if application has more than minor adverse effects.
- Council decides if application needs to be notified.
- If the application does not need to be notified see Non-notified consents steps.
- If the application does need to be notified, see Notified consents steps.
Non-notified consents steps
If your application does not need to be notified, we'll then follow these steps:
- Council prepares the planning report.
- Council peer reviews planning report.
- Council finalises planning report.
- Council makes decision on resource consent, and notifies Agent/Owner.
Result: Assess non-notified consent process ends. Go to Update or Certify stage as needed.
Notified consents steps
If your application does need to be notified, we'll then follow these steps:
- Council informs Agent/Owner of decision to notify.
- Council invoices Agent/Owner.
- Council serves notice of the application.
- Submitters lodge submissions on application.
- Council receives submissions on the application.
- Council decides on mediation or pre-hearing meeting.
- Council holds mediation.
- Council holds pre-hearing meeting.
- Council provides outcome of mediation/pre-hearing meeting.
- Council appoints hearing panel/commissioner(s).
- Council invoices for costs of hearing.
- Council provides evidence to Agent/Owner and Submitter(s)l
- Council organises hearingl
- Council holds hearingl
- Council receives hearing reportl
- Council sends decision to Agent/Owner.
Result: Assess notified consent process ends. Go to Update or Certify stage as needed.
Non-notified resource consents
Sometimes, big housing projects don’t need to be publicly notified. If they’re in the right district plan zone, allows enough infrastructure, and controls things like noise and traffic, they might not be notified. Council checks if the project will have ‘more than minor adverse effects’, and then decides if it needs to be notified.
You can get consent for certain discretionary and non-complying activities without public notifications and hearings, if:
- all affected parties agree
- the effects will be minor.
Resource consents staff will need to consider the application first.
The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) allows any application to be notified under special circumstances.
If your application isn’t notified, resource consent staff will decide under their delegated authority whether to approve it. You can object to Council if either:
- your consent is refused
- you’re not happy with the conditions.
You can ask Council for more information about non-notified applications and objections.
Limited notified resource consents
If only certain people or groups are affected by your project, only they can give feedback. Check our website to see current limited notification resource consents.
You’ll need to talk to your neighbours or others who are directly affected. If they don’t agree with what you want to do, Council will consider their comments when making a decision.
Publicly notified resource consents
If your project affects the wider community or environment, it might need to be publicly notified. This often happens if your plans aren’t allowed in the district plan, or will cause ‘more than minor’ adverse environmental effects.
When publicly notified, anyone can give feedback. You’ll cover all the costs, like advertising for public feedback (through a public notice), and expert fees and hearings. Sometimes it’s smart to choose public notification for large projects, even if Council doesn’t require it. This will ensure the community is fully informed, and might identify and fix issues early, saving money in the long run.
Public notifications let the public submit feedback, which the Council will consider. Check our website for current publicly notified resource consents.
Our Resource Consents team checks if your project needs public notification based on RMA criteria. Usually, if your project fits the district plan zone, doesn’t infringe any boundaries, and provides appropriately for water, power, noise, and roads, it’s unlikely to be publicly notified.
Public notification is required if:
- you request it
- you refuse to give more you refuse to provide the further information needed, or the commissioning of a report, to assess the application
- a rule or National Environmental Standard (NES) requires it
- Council finds that the adverse effects are more than minor
- there are special circumstances.
Some applications can’t be publicly notified, such as if:
- a rule or NES says it can’t be
- it’s for a controlled activity, or a deemed permitted boundary activity.
When an application is publicly notified, a summary notice is published in the newspaper, and full details will be on the Council’s website. The public has 20 working days to submit feedback.
More than minor adverse events
To see if something has more than minor adverse effects (needing limited or full public notification), we look at:
- how effects add up over time
- how likely the effect is to happen
- temporary effects from construction
- the size and impact of the effect
- how long it will last, and how often it happens
- the area affected, like neighbours or a wider area (for example, a billboard)
- how sensitive nearby places are to the effect (for example, a dog care facility in a quiet area)
- if the new development will be sensitive to existing activities (for example, new houses near an existing airport); this is called ‘reverse sensitivity’
- if the effect can be reduced or avoided by any conditions suggested by the applicant or imposed by Council.