The Whangarei District Council (WDC) is at it again… more rules, more restrictions, and more reasons why you will have to go cap and wallet in hand to council when you want to do something on your private property.

By now many landowners would have received a letter from the WDC about “Plan Change 114 Landscapes”. This is a serious plan change that if adopted will have very detrimental effects on property owners with outstanding landscape or outstanding feature designations on their property. Most rural and lifestyle blocks on the coast will be affected, as are large parts of the rural area, and those with the natural features identified (there are 58 listed, including volcanic cones).

Effectively Plan Change 114 is the sequel to the extensive mapping exercise undertaken by the Northland Regional Council in 2012. That exercise, among other things, drew lines on the maps to create various “environments”, including outstanding landscapes, and outstanding features. It also drew a line to define the coastal area, which includes inlets and estuaries.

That process in itself was fraught and motivated by environmental activists like DoC’s advocacy department and the Environmental Defense Society. It is likely these groups will now be active in their submissions to Plan Change 114, seeking even more restrictive rules than those proposed. That’s why affected landowners need to get energised – if you don’t the radicals will be the only voice being heard and will get their way (and why I am part of the Landowners Coalition Inc which represents private landowners on private property rights issues).

Here are some of the things the draft policy says you can and can’t do – but first some jargon and costs.
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