Updates on the proposed Housing and Business Choice Plan Change.

Update: 18 September 2024

The Council has accepted the recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel (IHP) on part of the City Centre Zone, associated provisions, and some qualifying matters. IHP recommendations accepted by the Council will be treated as operative from today (18 September 2024). 

A further decision will follow in December 2024 on the balance of Plan Change 14. Additional work is required – including rewriting the Residential chapter of the District Plan, as requested by the IHP – before further decisions can be made to accept or reject the remaining IHP recommendations.   

The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform has granted an extension until 20 December 2024, by which time the Council must complete all decisions on Plan Change 14 to implement policies 3 and 4 of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development. Decisions beyond these two policies do not need to be made by the Council until December 2025. 

The IHP recommendations accepted by the Council today are now automatically in legal effect and the District Plan(external link) will be updated in the coming days to reflect the new provisions. 

Read today’s Council report on Plan Change 14(external link). 

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Council decisions 18 September 2024 

The Council decided to accept the Independent Hearings Panel’s (IHP) recommendations for part of the City Centre Zone, excluding certain areas (map)(external link). Key recommendations that were accepted include: 

  • A building heights framework that means all complying buildings less than 28m high do not require resource consent.  
  • Buildings between 28m and 45m in height require a resource consent, and the building design is subject to controls, but the Council cannot decline it if the building meets specific design requirements.  
  • For buildings over 45m in height, resource consent is required and, again, the building is subject to design matters, but the Council can decline resource consent.     

It also decided to accept the IHP recommendations on other provisions required to be updated due to changes to the City Centre Zone: subdivision rules, earthwork rules, transport rules, noise rules, light spill rules and light spill standard by zone table, and sign rules.    

The Council decided to accept the IHP recommendations on the following qualifying matters relevant to the City Centre Zone:   

  • Avon River Precinct (Te Papa Ōtākaro) Zone and Open Space Community Parks   
  • Waterbody setbacks (all provisions)   
  • Heritage items and settings (mapping only)   
  • Significant trees (all provisions) as they relate to the City Centre Zone.   

The Council decided to accept the IHP recommendations on some Heritage items and settings:   

  • To change the location of the listing for the Citizens’ War Memorial within Cathedral Square   
  • To remove the following heritage items and settings from protection in the District Plan:   
  • 471 Ferry Road   
  • 137 Cambridge Terrace – Harley Chambers 
  • 40 Norwich Quay (demolished)   
  • 136 Barbadoes Street – Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (demolished)   
  • 32 Armagh Street – Blue Cottage   
  • 65 Riccarton Road – St James’ Church.

Council has sought to make further minor amendments and consequential changes to Chapter 15 under the First Schedule of the Resource Management Act, as authorised by the Head of Planning and Consents. Please see the memo dated 23 September 2024. [PDF, 22 MB]

Council’s Right of Reply

In accordance with the direction of the Independent Hearings Panel (IHP), the Council issued its Council reply following the close of hearings on Plan Change 14. This represents the final Council recommendation to the IHP based on the evidence presented following the s42A reports and during the rebuttal and the hearing.

Visit the IHP's website for all Council Reply documents: chch2023.ihp.govt.nz/hearings/(external link)

See the following link for Council Reply planning mapping: arcg.is/inHjv0(external link)

Independent Hearings Panel

The Independent Hearings Panel (IHP) appointed to hear Plan Change 14 has a separate website – chch2023.ihp.govt.nz(external link) – where you can find the minutes of the IHP, memos and evidence filed by the Council and other parties.

You can also find memos filed by the Council and minutes of the IHP below, under Council memos to IHP and IHP minutes(external link).

Further updates and information from the IHP will be posted on its website.

Planning maps for s42A recommendations and walking catchments

Updated mapping reflecting the Council’s s42A Recommendations mapping(external link) – 26 October 2023.

Mapping has also been made available detailing walking catchments used to consider intensification(external link) around commercial centres. This map was updated on 22 March 2024 to show the as-recommended walking catchment for the Belfast-Northwood commercial centre at 400m, rather than the 600m walking catchment shown when the map was originally released.

A summary of decisions sought in submissions on Plan Changes 13 and 14 can be found in the link below, together with the submissions and further submissions.

Search and download submissions.(external link) If you wish for your contact details to be redacted from the PDF, please let us know.

Submitters contact details are redacted. If you require contact details for a submitter to serve any correspondence to, please contact Council.

Correspondence with the Minister on Plan Change 14 timeframes

Minister Chris Bishop has advised the Council that the Government will grant an extension for decisions on those parts of Plan Change 14 that do not implement policies 3 and 4 of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) until December 2025, but it still expects the remainder of the plan change to complete the implementation of the NPS-UD by 20 December this year.

View Minister Bishop's first letter [PDF, 60 KB].

View Minister Bishop's second letter. [PDF, 58 KB]

View Mayor Mauger's letter to the Minister - 22 August 2024 [PDF, 634 KB].

View Minister Bishop’s third letter - 10 September 2024. [PDF, 543 KB]

Council's evidence

Please check the Independent Hearings Panel webpage chch2023.ihp.govt.nz(external link) for Council evidence.

Proposed provisions

Change register

Maps

Search our interactive map to find out how the plan changes affect your property.(external link)

Alternatively, below are downloadable and printable PDF maps.  These planning maps are proposed to be updated.  The numbers correspond to the grid used in the operative District Plan(external link).

 

Section 32 reports

Tree canopy cover and financial contributions calculator

Use our online tree canopy and financial contributions calculator(external link) to work out what tree canopy cover or financial contribution is required for your site.

Proposed Plan Change 14 (PC14) – Housing and Business Choice, introduces a new requirement to provide a 20% tree canopy cover on residential development sites.

It additionally requires a 15% canopy cover to be planted in new road corridors created in greenfield or brownfield residential subdivisions. The rules, contained in the proposed new Chapter 6.10A of PC14 [PDF, 679 KB], provide an option of paying financial contributions in lieu of tree planting. The contributions will be used for off-site tree planting by the Council.

Webinar recordings and supplementary information

District Plan Change update webinar (Thursday 16 February 2023)

Housing and Business Choice Plan Change 14 (Wednesday 14 December 2022)

Vacuum sewer and other limiting infrastructure (Wednesday 20 April 2022)

Residential intensification (Monday 2 May 2022)

Commercial intensification (Tuesday 3 May 2022)

Public notices

Council memos to IHP and IHP minutes

Please check the Independent Hearings Panel (IHP) webpage(external link) for Council memos to the IHP and IHP minutes.

Council submission

PC14 Council Submission [PDF, 150 KB]

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Tsunami Management Area zoning error

A number of properties within the Tsunami Management Area were wrongly zoned on some of the planning maps notified for Plan Change 14. As a result, you may have received a letter from Christchurch City Council about this. 

Properties were mistakenly zoned as either Medium Density Residential Zone (MRZ) or High Density Residential Zone (HRZ). However, there should be no MRZ or HRZ within the Tsunami Management Area – only Residential Suburban Zone or Residential Suburban Density Transition Zone. 

The Council has made its own submission on Plan Change 14 (available on this webpage) and part of that submission corrects this mistake. It proposes to only allow development in the Tsunami Management Area in line with rules for the Residential Suburban Zone, which allows for one house per lot, and Residential Suburban Density Transition Zone, which allows for multi-unit development subject to standards (e.g. height limit, setbacks).

Check whether your property sits within the Tsunami Management Area by using our interactive map(external link). 

Or learn more about Plan Change 14’s proposed changes to the Residential Suburban Zone and Residential Suburban Density Transition Zone in the District Plan text amendments document(external link) (also available on this webpage). 

If your property is affected by this zoning error (and therefore the Council’s submission on Plan Change 14), use the form to make a further submission(external link).

Submissions
  1. Submitters 1 - 50 [PDF, 6 MB]
  2. Submitters 51 - 100 [PDF, 8.7 MB]
  3. Submitters 101 - 150 [PDF, 11 MB]
  4. Submitters 151 - 200 [PDF, 35 MB]
  5. Submitters 201 - 250 [PDF, 14 MB]
  6. Submitters 251 - 300 [PDF, 6.2 MB]
  7. Submitters 301 - 350 [PDF, 3.4 MB]
  8. Submitters 351 - 400 [PDF, 5.7 MB]
  9. Submitters 401 - 450 [PDF, 3.1 MB]
  10. Submitters 451 - 500 [PDF, 2.7 MB]
  11. Submitters 501 - 550 [PDF, 10 MB]
  12. Submitters 551 - 600 [PDF, 46 MB]
  13. Submitters 601 - 650 [PDF, 5.4 MB]
  14. Submitters 651 - 700 [PDF, 10 MB]
  15. Submitters 701 - 750 [PDF, 51 MB]
  16. Submitters 751 - 800 [PDF, 33 MB]
  17. Submitters 801 - 850 [PDF, 27 MB]
  18. Submitters 851 - 900 [PDF, 51 MB]
  19. Submitters 901 - 918 [PDF, 14 MB]
  20. Submitters 1001 - 1050 [PDF, 5.7 MB]
  21. Submitters 1051 - 1092 [PDF, 17 MB]
  22. Submitters 2003 - 2050 [PDF, 26 MB]
  23. Submitters 2051 - 2100 [PDF, 13 MB]
  24. Submitters 2101 - 2111 [PDF, 3.6 MB]