new consent - porirua city · the proposal beyond the scope of what was previously applied for, we...

11 February 2019

Jenny Grimmett

Consultant Planner

Porirua City Council

PO Box 50219

Porirua 5240

By e-mail: [email protected]

Dear Jenny,

Re: Resource Consent Application for Subdivision and Construction of Houses - 25 James Street

We write in relation to the resource consent application for the residential development at the above

property (Lot 1 DP 489799). Resource consent was sought to subdivide the site to create residential

allotments and a balance title. The consent was being processed under Porirua City Council (PCC) consent

number RC7456.

New Consent

As you are aware a section 92 letter has been issued in respect to consent RC7456. Information required

in the s92 letter included a requirement to provide an assessment of environmental effects addressing

effects resulting from construction of houses in the proposed allotments; the allotments were originally

proposed to be vacant development sites. To address this matter the houses are now proposed as part

of the resource consent application.

You have advised that because an application for land use consent for construction of the houses takes

the proposal beyond the scope of what was previously applied for, we need to make a fresh application

to Council.

Please find attached an amended resource consent application for a subdivision and land use consent

for the proposed development. This application will replace the one that was being processed under

RC7456.

In addition to preparing the ‘fresh’ resource consent application items raised in the s92 letter have also

been addressed. I provide below a summary of our response to each matter raised in your letter.

Summary of Changes to Resource Consent Application

The main changes to the proposal are as follows:

� One of the proposed residential allotments has been removed. The allotment has been removed

to increase the stormwater storage capacity of the flood storage area;

� A consequential change resulting from removal of the allotment is a requirement to renumber

the proposed lots. Proposed Lot 1 will now contain the existing Jennian display office. Lots 2-11

will be residential lots and Lot 12 will contain the flood storage area;

� Land use consent is sought for the houses that are proposed to be constructed in Lots 2-11;

� A shared slip-road access is proposed to provide access to Lots 2-11;

� Retaining walls are proposed near the corner of proposed Lot 11 and adjacent to the boundary

of proposed Lot 2 to support land where there is not sufficient space to batter the fill;

Section 92 response letter – James St 2

� Indicative building design information is provided to show how a house could be constructed

within Lot 12 (land containing flood storage area) in accordance with the District Plan and other

requirements; and

� Consent Notices to manage development within the proposed lots to ensure the flood risk

associated with the land is not exacerbated by future development.

Items Raised in Section 92 Letter

We address each item raised in your section 92 letter as follows.

1. Scope of Proposal

Subdivision and Land Use Consent – The amended resource consent application changes the

proposal from a subdivision and earthworks consent application to a combined land use and

subdivision consent application for construction of the Jennian Homes houses, as well as for the fee

simple subdivision and earthworks.

Consent Notice – We agree with you that it is necessary to cancel the original Consent Notice

condition imposed on RC6884-SB0020/15. The amended consent notice approved under RC7336 has

not been registered on the Computer Freehold Register (see Sections 3.2 and 6 of the resource

consent application).

Approval is sought to cancel Consent Notice condition 10166436.1 pursuant to section 221 of the

RMA.

Works within the Designations – Consultation has been undertaken with NZTA on the matter of the

proposal to undertake earthworks in the Designation (James St - K0412), to achieve access from a

designated road, and to develop land near SH1 that is known to flood. That consultation has resulted

in NZTA providing written approval to the proposal (Appendix K of application).

2. Confirmation of Extent of Site Work

The extent of the proposed earthworks, including earthworks that will encroach beyond the site

boundaries, are confirmed in the attached resource consent application. See Orogen earthworks

plans, which show the extent of earthworks (cut and fill) beyond the boundaries, in St Andrew Road

(SH1) and James Street (See Figure 1 below). The application documents have been altered to an

application for consent affecting private property (Lot 1 DP 489799) as well as the adjacent sections

of legal road.

The councils GIS shows part of the site (Lot 1 DP 489799) as being contained in the two adjacent NZTA

designations (K0401 and K0412). However, the designation boundaries appear to have been

incorrectly drafted in the GIS, as there is nothing in the historic title information and gazette notices

to suggest that the designations should be over private land. This is discussed in more detail in section

4.1.1 of the attached resource consent application.

While the title documents indicate that the designations do not extend into private land (Lot 1 DP

489799) the proposed earthworks do go beyond the private property boundary into legal road. The

extent of earthworks beyond the property boundaries is shown on the extract from the Orogen

earthworks plan below. Resource consent is sought for these earthworks, as well as for the works

that are contained within private property (Lot 1 DP 489799):


Figure 1: Earthworks outside Lot 1 DP 489799

3. Consultation Results

See above re consultation with NZTA. NZTA noted in bullet point 4 on page 1 of its s176 letter that

part of the site is within the Agency’s designations, this is notwithstanding the evidence indicating

that Lot 1 DP 489799 was never intended to be included in the designations. The acknowledgement

of the earthworks outside the site and within the adjacent designations confirms that NZTA has

considered and signed off on this aspect of the proposal.

We have contacted Geoff Marshall, PCC Roading Engineer and met with him at the meeting you

attended on 6 November 2017. Mr Marshall did not raise any concerns in relation to the proposal to

undertake earthworks that affect a small part of legal road (James St).

4. Consultation with GWRC and WWL

A significant amount of consultation was undertaken with GWRC in relation to the proposal to

develop flood prone land. We provided GWRC with plans and reports to address questions they

raised about this aspect of the proposal. Some of those questions were paraphrased in Item 4 of your

s92 letter. These matters are addressed in the Awa Environmental Addendum Reports (Appendix D

in attached application).

The information provided was deemed sufficient by GWRC to enable them to grant consent. A copy

of their decision report is provided in appendix J of the resource consent application.

In its written approval NZTA confirms that it has considered the fact that the site is a flood prone area

(bullet point 3 on page 1). Written approval was provided on the basis that the mitigation proposed

as part of the resource consent application, including the proposed consent notice conditions, would

be implemented and are sufficient to mitigate adverse effects.

We understand that Wellington Water Limited has reviewed the flood model methodology adopted

by Awa and accepts the method used and the conclusions that were reached.

Area of earthworks beyond boundary

Area of

earthwork

s beyond

boundary


In regard to the future use of the site containing the flood storage area (proposed Lot 12), the

proposed consent notice conditions include requirements to ensure that the land is not developed

in a manner that would compromise the flood storage capacity so as to render the conclusions and

recommendations by Awa invalid. The wording of the conditions was drafted in consultation with

Awa.

5. Land Use Consent for Houses

Land use consent for the proposed houses is sought within the attached resource consent

application. The assessment of effects within this application addresses environmental effects

associated with aspects of the design that do not comply with the District Plan standards. Consent

Notice conditions do not need to be imposed with respect to the design of the houses, as the consent

will be limited to an approval for construction of the houses shown on the attached drawings.

6. Earthworks in Rural Zone ‘

The new resource consent application includes an application for consent for earthworks in the Rural

Zone. See activity table attached to resource consent application (Appendix E) outlining areas of non-

compliance with permitted standards.

The attached Orogen plans show the correct area and volume of the proposed earthworks, both

inside and outside the site (Lot 1 DP 489799).

7. Consultation with Iwi

Ngāti Toa was contacted by GWRC in relation to the resource consent application for the bulk

earthworks (WGN180051). There feedback is included as part of the revised resource consent

application (Appendix G).

Note that the matters considered, and the feedback provided cover the matters identified in your

letter (effects from earthworks and contamination).

8. District Plan Building Controls

The aspects of the proposed development that require resource consent are identified and quantified

in the attached resource consent application, associated plans and AEE.

The resource consent application provides answers to the questions raised in Item 8 of the s92 letter.

9. Effects on Adjoining Neighbours

The attached amended resource consent application includes an amended AEE that addresses the

matters and concerns raised in Item 9.

10. Amended AEE

The AEE contained within the attached resource consent application addresses and responds to

issues raised in the s92 letter, as well as changes that have been made to the proposal since the s92

letter was prepared.

We trust that the above letter and attached resource consent application satisfactorily addresses the

items in your s92 letter, as well as other matters identified in subsequent discussions.


If you have any question or if you require further clarification, please do not hesitate to call or email.

Kind Regards,

Laurence Beckett

Senior Planning and Policy Consultant

4Sight Consulting Ltd

11 February 2019

Jenny Grimmett

Consultant Planner


PO Box 50219

Porirua 5240


Dear Jenny,





number RC7456.

New Consent








to Council.



RC7456.

















requirements; and















RMA.











of legal road.





































Area of

earthwork

s beyond

boundary






Awa.


























10. Amended AEE








Kind Regards,

Laurence Beckett



11 February 2019

Jenny Grimmett

Consultant Planner


PO Box 50219

Porirua 5240


Dear Jenny,





number RC7456.

New Consent








to Council.



RC7456.

















requirements; and















RMA.











of legal road.





































Area of

earthwork

s beyond

boundary






Awa.


























10. Amended AEE








Kind Regards,

Laurence Beckett



RESOURCE CONSENT APPLICATION FOR LAND

USE AND SUBDIVISION CONSENT

Twelve-Lot Fee Simple Subdivision 25 James Street, Plimmerton

Subdivision and Land Use Consent Application Assessment of Environmental Effects

February 2019

REPORT INFORMATION AND QUALITY CONTROL

Prepared for: NBC Projects Limited

Simon Barber

Author: Laurence Beckett


Reviewer: Mark Ashby

Principal Planner (Office Manager)

Approved for

Release:

Mark Ashby


Document Name Subdivision and land use consent_James St_AEE_August 2017

Version History: V1.0 11 February 2019

James St – subdivision i

i

CONTENTS Page

1 INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................. 1

2 THE PROPOSAL ...................................................................................................................... 1

2.1 Proposed Houses ................................................................................................................... 1

2.2 Proposed Subdivision ............................................................................................................. 2

2.3 Staging .................................................................................................................................... 2

2.4 Earthworks and Flood Mitigation .......................................................................................... 3

2.5 Services .................................................................................................................................. 4

2.6 Mitigation Measures .............................................................................................................. 4

3 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................... 4

3.1 Consultation ........................................................................................................................... 5

3.2 Any Other Activities That are Part of the Proposal ................................................................ 6

3.3 Other Consent Requirements ................................................................................................ 6

4 THE SITE & SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................ 6

4.1 The Site .................................................................................................................................. 6

4.2 Surrounding Environment .................................................................................................... 10

5 REASONS FOR THE APPLICATION.......................................................................................... 10

5.1 District Plan .......................................................................................................................... 10

5.2 Overall Status of the Application ......................................................................................... 11

6 CANCELLATION OF CONSENT NOTICE CONDITION................................................................. 11

7 SCHEDULE 4 RMA – ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS .......................................... 12

7.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 12

7.2 Housing Supply and Quality ................................................................................................. 13

7.3 Amenity Effects .................................................................................................................... 14

7.4 Environmental Effects Assessment Summary ..................................................................... 32

8 STATUTORY ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................... 32

8.1 Section 104(1)(a) of the Act ................................................................................................. 32

8.2 Section 104(1)(b) of the Act ................................................................................................. 33

8.3 National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity .............................................. 33

8.4 Wellington Regional Policy Statement ................................................................................ 34

8.5 Regional Plan Freshwater Plan ............................................................................................ 37

8.6 Porirua District Plan ............................................................................................................. 38

8.7 Section 104 (1)(c) of the Act ................................................................................................ 40

8.8 Section 104D Test for Non-Complying Activities ................................................................. 40

8.9 Section 106 – Certain Restrictions on Subdivisions ............................................................. 40

9 SECTION 108 OF THE ACT - RECOMMENDED CONDITIONS OF CONSENT ................................ 41

10 NOTIFICATION ASSESSMENT – SECTIONS 95A TO 95G OF THE ACT ........................................ 44

10.1 Public Notification Assessment ............................................................................................ 44

10.2 Limited Notification Assessment ......................................................................................... 47

10.3 Notification Assessment Conclusion .................................................................................... 49

11 PART 2 ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................... 49

12 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................... 50

James St – subdivision ii

ii

List of Tables

Table 1: Adjacent properties .................................................................................................................. 45

List of Figures

Figure 1: Existing site facing south from James St (Source: Photo by author dated 4/4/2017) .............. 7

Figure 2: Porirua City Council GIS aerial .................................................................................................. 8

Figure 3: plan showing earthworks (source: extract from Orogen Earthworks Plan W16039-CN302) ... 9

Figure 4: Adjacent properties (Source: Quickmap) ................................................................................ 46

List of Appendices

Appendix A Computer Freehold Register

Appendix B House Design Plans by Jennian Homes, Numbered JHV 16049

Appendix C Subdivision Proposal Plan by Orogen

Appendix D Hydraulic Modelling and Addendum Reports by Awa Consultants

Appendix E Activity Table

Appendix F Engineering Services Report

Appendix G Response from Ngati Toa

Appendix H Section 92 Request for Information Letter for RC7456

Appendix I Gazette Notice 7912720.2 and SO 351758

Appendix J Copy of Greater Wellington Regional Council Consent WGN180051

Appendix K Written Approval from NZTA


i

APPLICATION FOR RESOURCE CONSENT

SECTION 88, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT 1991

(Form 9 RMA Regulations)

TO: Porirua City Council (PCC)

APPLICANT: NBC Projects Limited

RESOURCE CONSENT APPLIED FOR:

� Twelve-lot fee simple subdivision and land use consent for construction of a row of 10 terraced houses.

LOCATION:

Address: Legally described as:

� James Street, Plimmerton � Lot 1 DP 489799 and legal road

OTHER ACTIVITIES

See sections 5 and 6 of this application.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE CONSENTS REQUIRED:

No additional consents are required.

ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS UNDER FOURTH SCHEDULE, PART 2, AND SECTIONS 104 AND 221 OF THE ACT:

I attach, in accordance with the Fourth Schedule, Part 2, and section 104 and 221 of the Resource

Management Act 1991 (the Act), an assessment of environmental effects in the detail that corresponds

with the scale and significance of the effects that the proposed activity may have on the environment.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

I attach the information required to be included in this application by the Porirua City District Plan, the

Wellington Regional Policy Statement, the Resource Management Act 1991, or any regulations made under

that Act.

DURATION AND LAPSING:

In accordance with section 125 of the Act, we seek the standard term of five years to give effect to this

consent. Being a land use consent, the duration is unlimited.

(Signature of applicant or person authorised to sign on behalf of applicant).

Dated in Wellington, August 2018.

ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: ADDRESS FOR INVOICING:

4Sight Consulting

PO Box 25356

Wellington 6146

Att: Laurence Beckett

Email: [email protected]

NBC Projects Limited C/0 Orogen Limited

1a/10 Surrey Street, Tawa

Att: Darcy Brittliff


James St – subdivision 1

1

1 INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

General

This application has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Resource

Management Act 1991 (“the Act”). In addition, Clause 4 of Schedule 4 of the Act sets out specific

information requirements for subdivision applications and the plans located at Appendix C have addressed

these matters.

2 THE PROPOSAL

2.1 Proposed Houses

It is proposed to construct 10 houses within a residential building that will be located on the northern part

of the site near James Street. The proposed houses will extend along the property frontage to the southeast

of an existing Jennian Homes display office (see house design plans on drawings titled Jennian Homes

Wellington Ltd job number JHV 16049, sheets 2/40 to 12/40 - Appendix B).

It is proposed to construct a shared common ‘slip road’ access to the proposed houses. The entrance to the

shared driveway will be located in front of the eastern-most house. Vehicles will enter the driveway from

this point and will utilise the shared access to gain entry to internal garages (single garage) that will be

provided within each dwelling. A parking space will also be available on the driveway outside the garage.

The houses are all two storeys high. They are identified on the Jennian plans as ‘Lots 2-11’. The numbering

reflects the numbering of allotments being created out of a subdivision that is also proposed as part of this

application (see Section 2.2 below). The upper levels of the houses will contain three bedrooms, a study

nook a bathroom and an ensuite. The ground floor of each house will contain a kitchen, a shared dining /

living room and a toilet. The living rooms will have direct access out to outdoor areas at the front and rear

of the building.

Building design information is provided to show how proposed Lot 12 could be developed to contain a

house (drawing No. JHV 16049, sheets 2/30 to 5/30 - Appendix B). The house is a pole foundation building

which complies with the Consent Notice conditions proposed in Section 9 of this application, including a

requirement that the house be located in Area AH on Orogen Plan W16039-CN101, that the house have a

minimum floor level above RL 4.35 and that deck egress be provided to Lot 1.

While it is not proposed to construct the house (Lot 12) as part of this application, the applicant would like

to maintain flexibility in terms of the future use of the land. The indicative design information is provided

to show how the land could be practically developed in a way that does not compound the known flood

hazard.

Landscape planting is proposed as part of this application. See Jennian Landscape Plans (Jennian plans No.

JHV 16049 sheets 4/40 and 5/40) for detail. Landscaping is proposed within a landscape planting strip that

will be established along the driveway in front of the front fence for each house and within the road berm

of James Street. Four larger specimen trees are proposed in legal road.


2

2.2 Proposed Subdivision

It is proposed to subdivide the site by way of a twelve-lot fee simple subdivision creating ten allotments

that will be developed to contain the houses described above. Proposed Lot 1 will contain the existing

Jennian Homes display office and Lot 12 will be vacant, though the design information discussed above is

provided to show how the land could be developed.

The proposed subdivision layout is shown on Orogen plan titled Lots 1 to 12 Being a subdivision of Lot 1 DP

489799, numbered W16039-CN101, Issue 10 (Appendix C).

Proposed Lots 2-11 will be developed to contain the proposed houses. The shared common driveway will

be constructed within the front part of each proposed lot. Reciprocal right of way easements (shown as

Areas B-L on subdivision plan W16039-CN101) are proposed over the driveway. The easements will double

as services easements to protect the ability of the shared driveway to serve as a secondary (stormwater)

flow path. Easements will be created over the shared common party walls between the dwellings (Shown

as easement Areas O to AF on W16039-CN101). The proposed planting strip on the northern side of the

driveway will be held in landscape maintenance easements (Areas VA-VI on W16039-CN101).

Proposed easement Areas A will be in favour of Porirua City Council. The easement is intended to allow the

drainage channel, which runs inside the site near the southern property boundary to be taken over for

inclusion as part of the public drainage network. Easement A is 8m wide to contain the drain. It is also wide

enough to allow vehicle access to the edge of the waterway, as required by the Porirua City Council Code

of Land Development and Subdivision Engineering.

The proposed easements will be created on deposit of the land transfer plan. Consent Notices are proposed

protecting:

� retention of the existing building in Lot 1 (Area AG),

� limiting development within Lot 12 to an area where it will not result in adverse effects (house site

limited to Area AH),

� egress from a house built in Lot 12 in a high rainfall event (via Area PA),

� maintenance of the landscape planting strip (in Areas VA-VI).

Suggested wording for the Consent Notice conditions is provided in section 9 of this application.

The site coverage of the houses within proposed Lots 1-11 is shown on Jennian Site Plan 6/40. Site Plans

4/40 and 5/40 show proposed site areas and the area and location of two outdoor living spaces for each of

the proposed houses. Each house will encroach through the height recession planes and will be within the

prescribed yard setbacks (5m) along the proposed internal boundaries between Lots 2-11. The buildings

comply with the recession plane requirements along the external property boundaries, as shown on Jennian

Elevation drawing 11/40.

2.3 Staging

The applicant proposes that this development be completed across two stages. The first stage will comprise

Lots 1 & 7-12, with a balance lot to contain future Lots 2-6. The second stage will see the subdivision of the

Stage 1 balance lot, and the creation of Lots 2-6 (see Jennian Site Plan 5/40 showing Stage 2 lots).


3

The earthworks for the development are proposed to be completed as a part of the first stage to align with

the recommendations of the stormwater modelling for the first stage and to ensure that the balance lot is

above the forecasted flood level.

Roading for the development is proposed to be split across both stages to ensure sufficient provision is

made for legal and physical access to each allotment that is created out of each stage of the subdivision.

The proposed access road would initially be required to operate as a two-way access until such time as the

second stage of the development is completed. That is, the section of road in front of the Stage 1 lots (Lots

7-11) will be formed as a first stage of works and the other part of the shared access will be constructed at

Stage 2. A turning head is proposed within the balance lot to assist with on-site manoeuvring for Stage 1.

On completion of the second stage this turning head will be removed, and the road will be formed to

operate as a one-way loop.

The water services, drainage, and utilities for the development are proposed to be split to match the

developed lots across both stages. Infrastructure will be constructed to ensure that each created residential

lot within that stage is fully serviced.

Staging of the proposed houses will assist in financing for the project. Funds from the sale of the Stage 1

houses will be used to assist in financing for construction of the Stage 2 houses.

2.4 Earthworks and Flood Mitigation

The site is identified as land that is subject to flooding. It is proposed to construct a building platform to

elevate the house sites within the proposed residential lots (Lots 2-11) above the predicted flood height.

The earthworks undertaken to form the building platform will also lower a portion of the land (Lot 12) to

provide a compensatory flood water storage area.

The building platform will be formed utilising imported material and material that is excavated from within

the site, where the material is found to be suitable for this purpose. The proposed earthworks are discussed

in more detail later in this report.

The earthworks will be undertaken in four stages. Each stage will be completed and stabilised before

commencing the next stage. The earthworks concept is shown on plans W16039-CN303 – CN306, which are

provided in Appendix F.

The building platform and the excavations for compensatory flood water storage (Lot 12) are proposed to

mitigate the potential for flooding. The platform and excavations will also ensure that the proposed

development does not exacerbate the flood risk.

The proposed earthworks design is based on recommendations by Awa Environmental Limited (Awa), who

were engaged as specialist stormwater modellers to evaluate the catchment and application site. Design

features recommended by Awa have been included in the earthworks design.

The initial findings and recommendations from Awa were subject to assessment by Greater Wellington

Regional Council (GWRC) as part of a resource consent application (WGN 180051 – see Appendix J). The

design of the proposed earthworks was altered in response to further investigation (topographic survey) of

the display office site. The earthworks platform for the proposed houses was originally designed for the

construction of 12 houses. One house was however dropped out of the proposal to provide additional flood

storage volume. The findings of the flood analysis are discussed in more detail later in this report and in

the attached Awa Addendum reports 1 to 6 (see Appendix D).


4

2.5 Services

Services are proposed as part of this application. The proposed servicing arrangement is outlined in

Sections 6-7 of the attached Engineering Services Report. Features of the proposed services design that are

relevant to consideration of the resource consent application include:

� Stormwater will be disposed of to public reticulation via a proposed new 300mm stormwater main

located in the position shown on Drainage Plan number W16039-CN401;

� The increase in runoff from the development has been included in the Awa assessment of the

catchment. Awa concluded that runoff will have a less than minor effect during a design event;

� The sewerage concept design solution for the development is shown on plan W16039-CN601, issue

3. Sewage will be discharged to the existing public main via separate laterals;

� Water supply to the proposed residential lots (Lot 2-11) will be provided via a new section of public

main that will be laid from the end of an existing main located to the southeast of the site;

� The existing water main can provide compliant water supply to the Regional Water Standard and

New Zealand Standard for Fire Fighting Water Supplies as shown on Water Plan number W16039-

CN601, issue 3; and

� Utility services to support the development exist within James Street. These utilities would be

extended to each lot in the development to provide the necessary power and telecommunications.

2.6 Mitigation Measures

A number of mitigation measures are proposed that seek to control and mitigate potential adverse

environmental effects. In summary, the following mitigation measures form part of the proposal:

� Provision of compensatory flood storage and formation of a building platform to elevate residential

activity within Lots 2-11 above the flood height and out of the flood risk area;

� Creation of an 8m wide easement in gross, including a 3.0m wide access over the stormwater drain

that runs near the southern property boundary. The easement will allow Council to maintain the

drain to prevent future blockage and flooding;

� A condition of consent requiring that Iwi be notified, and the correct procedure be followed, should

items of cultural or historic interest be unearthed while the earthworks are being undertaken; and

� The creation of consent notice conditions (see Section 9) to ensure the future use of the allotments

does not result in effects beyond those assessed in this application.

3 BACKGROUND

The application site (Lot 2 DP 489799) was created out of a subdivision that was approved in 2015 under

RC6884 – SB0017/15. The subdivision consent approved the separation of the site away from a much larger

parcel of land to the north, on the other side of James Street.

Resource Consent approval was granted for the construction of the Jennian display office in the northern

corner of the site. The consent was granted under RC 7336 – LU0065/17. The display office was built under

Building Consent BCA0457/16.


5

The subdivision consent (RC6884) was subject to four conditions. Condition 3 was a Consent Notice

requirement. The Consent Notice (10166436.1) contains advisory information and requirements pertaining

to the use of the application site. It advises that the land is located within an area that is known to be a

flood risk and that buildings within the site are limited to a defined area (Area A on DP 489799). The

resource consent that approved construction of the Jennian display office approved construction of the

building slightly outside Area A.

The Consent Notice (10166436.1) also requires that no houses be constructed within the site. An advisory

note within the consent notice states that the restriction does not preclude residential development but

advises that both GWRC and Porirua City councils (GWRC and PCC) need to be satisfied that the flood risk

is appropriately mitigated before houses can be built on the land.

The Consent Notice needs to be removed to allow the proposed development to proceed; consent is sought

pursuant to section 127 of the Resource Management Act (the Act) to remove the Consent Notice. This

proposal includes suggested replacement consent notice conditions to enable the proposed subdivision to

proceed in a manner that ensures the activity does not exacerbate environmental effects associated with

the known flood hazard.

Resource consent applications have been made to GWRC and PCC for the residential use / development of

the site under consent numbers WGN180051 and SL0058/17 – RC7456 respectively. The Wellington

Regional Council consent has been granted. This application to PCC replaces the one that was applied for

under RC7456.

3.1 Consultation

3.1.1 Pre-Application Meeting

Porirua City and Wellington Regional councils have been consulted by way of the resource consent

applications described above. Additional meetings between Council officers and consultants representing

the applicant were undertaken. The matters covered in this application and further assessment of

environmental effects (AEE) address the various matters of concern raised by PCC officers. In particular, the

application includes a proposal to construct houses in proposed Lots 2-11 and the draft wording of Consent

Notice conditions have been refined and are proposed to ensure potential adverse effects are appropriately

avoided, remedied or mitigated.

3.1.2 Consultation with Mana Whenua

GWRC consulted with Te Rūnanga O Toa Rangatira Incorporated (Ngāti Toa) as Mana Whenua to the land

with regard to the resource consent application (WGN180051) for the proposed earthworks and formation

the proposed building platform. Ngāti Toa requested that an accidental discovery protocol be put in place

at the earthworks phase; a condition was duly imposed by GWRC (WGN180051 - condition 25). The

response from Ngāti Toa and the GWRC decision are attached as Appendix G and J respectively.


6

3.1.3 Written Approvals

There are no private property owners who are directly affected by this proposal, so no written approvals

were sought, nor are they required in this instance.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has provided written approval in relation to the proposal to

develop land that is known to flood hazard and to gain access to the proposed houses via a road that is

contained within a Designation (K0412 – NZTA Designation). They also considered the effects of earthworks

in the Designations in providing their written approval to the proposal.

3.2 Any Other Activities That are Part of the Proposal

Clause 2(1)(d) of Schedule 4 of the Act requires the applicant to identify other activities that are part of

their proposal. This is intended to capture things which need permission or licensing outside of the Act, for

example, activities under the Building Act 2004 or the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996.

Approval is sought to cancel a condition of resource consent (RC6884) pursuant to section 221 of the Act

to allow the construction of the proposed houses. New Consent Notices are proposed as part of this

application to address the effects covered by the Consent Notice that is being cancelled. The proposed

Consent Notices will replace the existing Consent Notice imposed under RC6884. The proposed consent

notice will be imposed in place of the consent notice that was imposed on the resource consent for the

existing display office (RC7336); this consent notice has not yet been registered on the property title.

Earthworks associated with the proposed development will affect land in NZTA Designations K0401 and

K0412 (earthworks outside boundary of Lot 1 DP 489799) and the proposal is for access from a road that is

within a NZTA designation (James St). Approval has been given by NZTA as the requiring authority for the

two designations that are affected by this proposal (K0401 and K0412) pursuant to section 176(1)(i).

Building consents will be sought for construction of the proposed houses and for other buildings and

structures that form part of the proposed development which require consent.

3.3 Other Consent Requirements

There are aspects of the proposal that require resource consent from GWRC. Consent is required for the

undertaking of earthworks over an area greater than 3,000m2 where stormwater runoff from the works will

be discharged to land. Consent has been granted by GWRC under WGN180051 for these works (see

Appendix J).

4 THE SITE & SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT

4.1 The Site

The site is a triangular shaped parcel of land located at the intersection of St Andrews Road (SH1) and James

Street. We understand that the site is identified on PCCs address database as 25 James Street.


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A new Jennian display office has recently been constructed in the northern corner of the site. The building

was constructed under resource consent RC 7336 – LU0065/17 and Building Consent BCA0457/16. The

remainder of the site is vacant. Figure 1 below shows the currently vacant part of the site, as viewed from

James Street.

Figure 1: Existing site facing south from James St (Source: Photo by author dated 4/4/2017)

The Site is described by the processing planner in the previous subdivision consent decision (RC6884) as “a

triangular shaped piece of land located at the intersection of St Andrews Road and James Street. A part of

the northern corner of this parcel of land, as mentioned in Section 1.0 of the report, is currently occupied by

A1 Homes for show home purposes. Relevant resource consents have been granted for this activity.

Council’s GIS shows that part of the subject site is prone to flooding, and this has been confirmed by Greater

Wellington Regional Council (correspondence kept in file). It is noted that the entire area - smaller section

of the site, which contains the land parcel Pt Lot 30 DP 328137 is subject to flooding” (description from

Section 2.0 of RC6884 – SB0017/15). The subject site and surrounding properties have not been significantly

altered (apart from construction of the consented Jennian display office) and this description remains

accurate.

There is an existing catholic school (210 St Andrews Road) that adjoins the southern side boundary of the

site, and there is a large commercial property – Palmers Garden World (identified as 99 – 109 St Andrews

Road) located across St Andrew Road (SH1) from the subject site. These properties contain large buildings

and car parking areas.

4.1.1 Designations K0401 and K0412

The land that is proposed to be developed and subdivided is Lot 1 DP 489799. While the land parcel is

owned in a private title (CFR 705738) by the applicant, Councils GIS aerial information shows two adjacent

designations (K0401 and K0412) as encroaching into the property along the northern and western property

boundaries. The designation boundaries are shown as dark blue lines on Figure 2 over page. The light grey

lines represent the property boundaries and the darker grey lines the legal road boundaries.


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Figure 2: Porirua City Council GIS aerial

In a section 921 letter issued by PCC (RC7456) it was noted that “Our measurements indicate that a strip of

land along the James Street frontage about 9.3 metre wide is within the K0401 designation and strip up to

3.7 metres wide is within K0412 designation on the western side of the site”. The measured distances

indicated in the letter were checked by the project surveyor. He advised that while the scale of the GIS

means the distances cannot be accurately measured / determined, the scaled distances indicated by

Council appear to be accurate.

The surveyor also noted “It appears that the intent of this designation (K0401) is to follow the legal

boundary of the road, and therefore it’s encroachment into the applicant’s land may be a result of a plotting

error”. Historic title and designation document were reviewed to determine whether this observation is

correct, or whether the designations were in fact always intended to encroach into private land (Lot 1 DP

489799). We provide the below summary of our review of relevant documents.

The legal description of land affected by the two designations (K0401 and K0412) is not stated in Chapter K

of the District Plan. There is also no notation on the current property title (CFR 7057380) confirming that

the site is affected by the designations.

We reviewed historic title information, including the previous, but now cancelled title for the site CFR

114649. There is a notation on this title referring to Gazette Notice 7912720.2, which declared parts of the

1 Section 92 request for further information letter issued in respect to RC 7456, dated, 19 September 2018 (Appendix I)


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adjacent land to be road. However, the Gazette Notice only makes reference to Sections 1 and 2 SO 308941

as land to be vested in the crown as limited access road and Sec 1 SO 351758 to vest in PCC as road.

Land was taken out of the historic parcel (Pt Lot 30 DP 328137 held in CT 114649) under the Gazette Notice

(7912720.2). However, the property boundaries that resulted once the land was removed are the current

boundaries of Lot 2 DP 489799. See attached Gazette Notice 7912720.2 (Appendix I), which advertises the

vesting of land for roading purposes and SO 351758. The gazette notice contains the title diagram prepared

by the surveyor showing the boundaries of Section 1 SO 351758 (diagram S 1/3). SO 351758 clearly has a

step in the boundary (9.2m step) at the boundary between Lots 1 and 2 of the proposed subdivision. The

GIS information shows the Designation boundary as projecting straight along the frontage of proposed Lot

1 to the northeast corner of the site. The GIS information therefore does not reflect the SO boundary.

There is nothing to confirm, nor any reason to suspect that the Designation boundaries should be any

different to the boundaries of 1 and 2 SO 308941 and Section 1 SO 351758. In the absence of any

information to the contrary, it must therefore be concluded that the GIS information which shows the

designation as encroaching into the application site is indeed the result of a plotting error and that the GIS

is therefore incorrect.

All the proposed earthworks are contained within the application site (Lot 2 DP 489799), apart from minor

recontouring to transition the earthworks within the site to the land contour along James Street, as well as

a narrow sliver of cut along the western property boundary and adjacent to the southwest corner of the

site (see Figure 3 below). The earthworks beyond the boundaries will occur in legal road (James St and St

Andrew Rd) and will be within the Designations that contain those roads (K0401 and K0412).

Figure 3: plan showing earthworks (source: extract from Orogen Earthworks Plan W16039-CN302)

Earthworks fill in legal road – James St

Earthworks cur in legal road – SH1


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4.1.2 Hydrology

Porirua City Council’s GIS shows that part of the site is prone to flooding; this has been confirmed by GWRC.

To establish the level of threat posed by flooding a site and catchment analysis was undertaken by Awa.

The hydrology report assessed the level of threat and the potential impact of flooding, as well as the

adequacy of proposed mitigation (earthworked building platform and flood storage area) to offset that

effect.

4.1.3 Infrastructure and Services

Infrastructure in the vicinity of the site is assessed in the attached services report by Orogen. The

infrastructure analysis has determined that the site can be adequately served in terms of stormwater,

sewage and water supply.

4.2 Surrounding Environment

The immediately surrounding environment is dominated by SH1.

The land to the north of James Street (Lot 2 DP 489799), which was previously held in the same title as the

application site, is a large rural property. The application site and the immediately surrounding properties

are smaller than Lot 2 and contain development that is more typically found in an urban environment.

It is noted in the 2015 subdivision consent decision that “There is an existing private school (210 St Andrews

Road) that adjoins the southern side boundary of the smaller section of the site, and there is a large

commercial property – Palmers Garden World (identified as 99 – 109 St Andrews Road) located across St

Andrew Road (SH1) from the subject site. These properties, albeit zoned suburban, have large buildings and

car parking areas which cater for non-residential uses.”

5 REASONS FOR THE APPLICATION

An assessment of the proposal against the relevant statutory documents has been undertaken and the

following reasons for consent are identified. A detailed analysis of the rules is provided in tabular form in

Appendix E.

5.1 District Plan

Consents sought under the Porirua District Plan are:

� Construction of eleven houses on a Rural site requiring consent as a Discretionary Activity under

rule D4.1.4; and

� A subdivision creating allotments that are less than 5ha in area requiring consent as a Non-

complying Activity under rule D4.1.5(v) of the District Plan.


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� Earthworks affecting land within the rural zone requires consent as a Discretionary Activity under

rule D4.1.1 of the District Plan

5.2 Overall Status of the Application

Overall, resource consent is required for a non-complying activity.

6 CANCELLATION OF CONSENT NOTICE CONDITION

Condition 3 of subdivision consent RC6884 included a requirement in relation to the ongoing use of land

within the subdivision. The requirements that were imposed in relation to the subject site (Lot 2 DP 489799)

relate to flooding and the position / use of a building that existed on the site at the time (A1 Show Home).

Building development within the property is limited by way of a Consent Notice to just the land that is

contained within covenant Area A on DP 489799.

Resource consent (RC7336) has been granted to construct a small section of the Jennian display office

building outside the covenant area. The decision included an approval to remove the Consent Notice

imposed under RC6884 and replace it with a new Consent Notice. The Consent Notice was required as a

condition of consent (condition 3). The approved building has been constructed but the (replacement)

Consent Notice has not yet been registered on the Computer Freehold Register (property title). Therefore,

in order to facilitate completion of the proposed development, which includes construction of houses on a

site that is known to be prone to flooding, it is proposed to cancel the existing Consent Notice (imposed

under RC6884). Replacement Consent Notice conditions are proposed as part of this application to address

the flood hazard issue (see Section 9).

Section 221 (3) of the Act (Territorial Authority to issue a consent notice) requires that:

(3) At any time after the deposit of the survey plan,—

(a) the owner may apply to a territorial authority to vary or cancel any condition specified in a

consent notice:

(b) the territorial authority may review any condition specified in a consent notice and vary or cancel

the condition.

With regard to the abovementioned statutory requirements, consent is sought to cancel the condition

specified in Consent Notice 10166436.1.

This resource consent application includes information outlining how the flood risk will be mitigated to

ensure that the proposal does not exacerbate the flood hazard for neighbouring properties, or the

occupants of the proposed houses.

It is considered that the proposal to remove the existing Consent Notice and replace it with the proposed

consent notice conditions (outlined in Section 9 of this application) will not result an outcome that is

contrary to the intent of the original consent notice and it is therefore appropriate to remove 10166436.1

from the CFR.


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7 SCHEDULE 4 RMA – ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

7.1 Introduction

Having reviewed the relevant District Plan provisions, visited the site and taking into account the matters

that must be addressed by an assessment of environmental effects as outlined in Clause 7 of Schedule 4 of

the Act, the following environmental effects warrant consideration as part of this application.

An assessment of these effects, that corresponds with the scale and significance of the effects that the

activity may have on the environment, is provided below. Clause 7(2) notes that the requirement to address

matters in the assessment of environmental effects is subject to the provisions of any policy statement or

plan. The relevant documents are assessed in Sections 8.2 to 8.6 of this report.

In making this assessment, the following matters have been taken into account:

� Rural amenity effects;

� Effects on infrastructure;

� Traffic related effects, including effects on State Highway and local road network; and

� Flooding effects.

7.1.1 Permitted Baseline

The permitted baseline is relevant to both the assessment under sections 95A – 95G and section 104 of the

Act. Under these sections, a consent authority may disregard an adverse effect of the activity on the

environment if a national environmental standard or the plan permits an activity with that effect. This is

the permitted baseline. It is only the adverse effects over and above those forming a part of the baseline

that are relevant when considering an application.

There is no ability to subdivide this site to create allotments that are less than 5ha in the Rural Zone as a

Permitted Activity. There is also no as of right ability to construct more than one house on this site. The

permitted baseline is therefore considered to be of little assistance in the assessment of this proposal.

It is our experience that in situations such as this, where the is no permitted baseline against which to assess

an application, a proposal must be assessed in terms of the actual environmental effects that the activity

will generate. An assessment of effects is provided in Section 9.0 below.

I note that while it does not fall within the scope for consideration of a permitted baseline, the Consent

Notice (10166436.1) appears to provide for residential use of the land, subject to satisfying the councils on

the matter of flooding. Flood mitigation is proposed as part of this application and the proposal therefore

achieves the intent of the consent notice.


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7.1.2 Receiving environment

In assessing the potential adverse effects on the environment, the receiving “environment” for effects must

be considered.

The receiving environment is a mandatory consideration defined by caselaw and is the environment beyond

the subject site upon which a proposed activity might have effects. This includes the future state of the

environment upon which effects will occur, including:

The environment as it might be modified by the utilisation of rights to carry out permitted activities;

and

The environment as it might be modified by implementing resource consents that have been granted

at the time a particular application is considered, where it appears likely that those resource consents

will be implemented.

In this case the receiving environment is as described in Sections 4.1 and 4.2 of this report.

7.1.3 Other considerations

As per sections 95D(d)-(e) and 104(3)(a) of the Act, the following assessment has not had regard to:

� Trade competition, or the effects of trade competition; or

� Any effect on a person who has given written approval to this application.

There are no trade competition matters to consider.

7.2 Housing Supply and Quality

The proposed houses have been designed to meet market demand. The applicant will both develop / build

and market the houses. To give Council an understanding of where the proposed development fits within

the current property market, and the merits of the proposed dwellings in comparison to other houses that

are currently available, we provide below a preliminary draft of marketing material prepared by the

applicant, which will be used as part of the marketing strategy to sell the houses:

The James Street medium density development is located on the urban edge of Plimmerton.

The townhouses within the development appeal to singles, small families and retirees. We will cater for

a complete mix of residents that standalone 220m2 housing on 600m2 sites simply leaves behind. Our

community will have a diversity of residents from the young to the more senior. Our clients are not

looking to maintain large gardens or outdoor areas as Plimmerton has plenty of reserve space and the

houses will be within easy access to the beach. There are also kilometres of walkways for everyone to

use and enjoy linking from Paremata to Pukerua Bay.

The Plimmerton Shops with doctors, Cafés, a Four Square and restaurants are 5 minute walk away, as is

the Plimmerton Railway Station.

Plimmerton Domain and Victory Park provide plenty of choice for recreational activities.


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Plimmerton School and Sand Dunes Quality Early Learning Centre are a short distance away, while St

Theresa’s School is even closer situated also in James Street.

All of our properties will have two on site carparks. There is also on street parking at above the current

requirements. The train station is close by, or you can drive to Porirua in 10 minutes. Wellington, the Hutt

Valley and Kāpiti are only 20 minutes away by car.

This is a development in a pleasant semi-rural setting that is close to public transport. It will cater for a

diverse range of residents. Clever design will show our development as an exemplar of what is possible

in terms of providing affordable appropriately sized housing.

Talk to us today about a property that suits your lifestyle and that will suit your budget.

7.3 Amenity Effects

The relevant objectives and policies of the District Plan for the Rural Zone provide guidance for assessing

the relevant effects of the proposal. The actual and potential effects of the proposal are related to effects

on the amenity and character of the neighbouring properties, and potential effects on the integrity of the

District Plan.

The District Plan talks about “pleasantness and character” as being constituents of amenity. In this case,

for this site, it is difficult to define what a person should reasonably expect in terms of the ‘pleasantness’

of the environment. The land is zoned Rural, but the environment has been developed in a manner that is

not typically found in a rural area. SH1 dominates the landscape and the activities that are undertaken

within it, and there are commercial activities across the road from the site. The area is not therefore

pristine, or even predominantly rural in character. The environmental effects of this proposal must

therefore be assessed in this context.

Amenity values can be affected by such things as daylight entry and shading effects, visual dominance (of

structures), levels of privacy, general visual appearance effects, lighting levels, background noise levels and

traffic effects. To a large extent the physical separation between the subject site and neighbouring

properties mitigates the extent to which this proposal will result in these direct effects to neighbouring

properties.

We address the effects to be considered for this proposal under the relevant headings as follows.

7.3.1 Traffic and Roading – Road Safety

The proposal to construct 10 houses (+ 1 future house) with access to James Street will not adversely impact

on the public road network. James Street is a wide road with suitable capacity to accommodate additional

traffic movements by the proposed residential development.

The flow of traffic associated with the proposed allotments is expected to be to and from the SH1

roundabout. The environmental effects of traffic movements from eleven additional houses will be

negligible in the context of the design capacity of the intersection at the roundabout and the proposal will

therefore have a less than minor effect on road safety, and the convenience of other road users.


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The site is visible to motorists approaching the SH1 roundabout from the north. Buildings constructed

within proposed Lots 2-12 will not however impact on visibility toward the roundabout. The Jennian display

office will be the most prominent feature looking along the road alignment toward the roundabout. Houses

built within the proposed allotments will be seen to one side of this building and will not block views toward

the roundabout.

Any traffic or roading effects resulting from the proposed subdivision will therefore be less than minor.

Light spill from vehicles exiting the proposed house sites will not directly shine toward the main road.

7.3.1 Traffic and Roading – Character and Amenity

The road is not ‘rural’ in appearance or design. To anyone who is not aware of the rural zoning of the land

on either side of the road they would assume that it is simply part of the suburban road network. The

proposed residential subdivision will therefore have negligible impact on the rural character of James

Street.

Houses within proposed Lots 2-12 will be seen to one side of the road by motorists heading south along

SH1, and turning on the roundabout. A house in Lot 12 would be behind the display office. The consented

display office will continue to be the dominant feature within the site as seen from the main road.

Landscape planting is proposed along the edge of James Street and in front of the houses to soften the

visual impact of the proposed development. Fencing is proposed to screen cars parked on the ‘second’ car

park in front of the garages to prevent the development from being seen as a ‘parking lot’ along the road.

The width of the proposed slip road access to the development also provides a visual separation between

the houses / car parks and the road, which will reduce the visual impact of the development.

7.3.2 Visual and Rural Character Effects

The application site is located adjacent to SH1. It is visible from the neighbouring school and at close range

from one property (18 State Highway 1) and at longer distances from the residential properties to the south.

The proposed subdivision will have limited effect on the amenity of neighbouring properties and public

space, due to separation distances and the orientation of neighbouring houses.

The proposed houses are set approximately 10.5m back from the road boundary (James St). The separation

distance and intervening elements (shared access and landscaping) will reduce the visual impact of the

houses on the street.

The houses will also be seen together with other built features in the landscape from SH1. We note that

the site, and the proposed houses are on the edge of the suburban environment and will be viewed by

passers-by in this context.

7.3.3 Internal Residential Amenity

The proposal to develop the site to contain more than one house has the potential to create internal as

well as external environmental effects. There are established urban design guidelines for the assessment

of the effects of a residential development of this nature. We assess the proposal under the applicable


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urban design topic headings below. In assessing the effects, we have considered both the PCC Medium

Density Residential Policy Area – Assessment Criteria (Appendix 1) and the Ministry for the Environment’s

(MfE) Medium-density Housing: Case Study Assessment Methodology. We provide comment on the

guidance within each of these documents below.

While it is acknowledged that the site is not in the Medium Density Residential Policy Area (MDRPA) in the

PCC District Plan (Appendix 1), the proposal is effectively a medium density housing development and the

provisions within the operative District Plan therefore provide appropriate guidance for the assessment of

effects. The development would fall within the ‘Terraced or row housing’ typology in the MfE case study.

7.3.3.1 Site and Block Size

Site features dictate the extent to which the proposed lots and houses can be orientated for the sun. The

flood hazard necessitates formation of a relatively narrow elevated building platform. The land beyond the

platform cannot be developed, as the balance of the site is required to provide a flood storage area. The

subdivision layout and design of the houses does however achieve development sites with good solar access

and which can be conveniently and safely accessed. For these reasons we consider the site to be

appropriate for medium density residential development as required by Appendix 1: Design Element 1.

The north-facing front rooms (living rooms) will open out to the front courtyard via a large glass sliding

door. The glazed entrance and windows will allow light in to the proposed living areas. Sunny front

courtyards will provide pleasant outdoor living spaces that have positive solar access.

7.3.3.2 Public Interface and External Appearance

The assessment criteria for a housing development proposed within the medium density residential policy

area (Appendix 1, Design Element 2) seek that:

• When viewed from any nearby public space (road, reserve and open space) buildings should create

visual interest through modelling of form and roof line, and ordered complexity in the application

of materials and composition of openings;

• Every dwelling unit should have a sheltered entry that is visible from the road if possible, or

otherwise visible from the main public access to the development;

• Garage doors should not dominate the road elevation and should generally be set back further

than the front face of the building;

• Fences or walls along any boundary with a public space and between the road and the front face

of the closest building should be generally avoided or limited in height to a maximum of 1.2m;

• Public space boundaries and front yards should be landscaped, with plant and tree species

selected to maintain views between the dwellings and public space;

• Dwelling units adjacent to a public space should have at least one window from a living room,

dining room or kitchen with primary views directly to the public space;


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• Access through developments should demonstrate integration with public walkways and

cycleways.

The proposal does, in our opinion achieve the above criteria. The buildings primary façade is well articulated

and proportioned. Vertical elements on the main elevation (windows, doors and roofs) will give each

dwelling a sense of individual identity. The doorway access to each house will be visible from the road and

will be immediately accessible from proposed off-street parking areas.

Projecting front gables and other building elements, together with contrasting colours serve to articulate

the front façade. The proposed roof structure, which comprises higher and lower level roofs pitched at

different angles, contributes to the overall visual complexity of the building. The proposed combination of

Gerard Tuffcote Satin metal roof cladding, Integra panel cladding, and James Hardie Linea weatherboard

will add visual interest to the building, particularly when viewed from the adjacent street.

The proposed colour palette, which is shown on the attached building renders, includes the following

colours from the Resene’s range:

� Matt Grey Friars - dark colour

� Albescent White - light colour

� Double Truffle - light grey colour

The contrast of colours provides a contrast between architectural elements. The colours also differentiate

the houses within the building.

There is little that can be taken from the existing environment to guide the design of the proposed

dwellings. The site is currently vacant, and the landform is flat, there is also no existing vegetation to

incorporate into the development. The proposal sets a positive design pattern through an appropriate

architectural style, as discussed above.

The garage doors are set back from the road edge. They are separated from the road by the width of the

proposed shared driveway. Low fencing around the front courtyards provide a visual barrier between the

road and the garage doors to ensure they do not dominate the streetscape.

The height of fencing around the proposed front courtyards has been carefully considered to achieve a

balance between privacy and avoiding a situation where the fence becomes a visually dominant structure

along the edge of the road. Medium height (1.5m) fencing is proposed to achieve this outcome. If it is

Councils view that the fencing should be kept lower to preserve a sense of openness along the street edge,

then the applicant would be willing to make this design change. The applicant would accept a condition

requiring that the fences around the front courtyards be limited to a maximum height of either 1.2m or

1.5m.

Landscaping is proposed along the strip between the public road and the shared driveway and in front of

each proposed courtyard. The landscaping includes 3 large specimen trees along the road. The proposed

planting will soften the hard edge of the proposed development to assist in assimilating the development

into its surrounds.


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The ten proposed houses will provide improved surveillance of James Street. The houses have windows and

courtyards that face out to the public domain (street) at both ground floor and first floor levels. The

proposed fencing is kept low so as to enable the occupants of the houses to see out to the street.

A footpath along the northern side of the proposed shared driveway will be delineated using a different

paving material to ensure residents have a defined and easily identifiable means of access between their

house and the public footpath.

The interface between the proposed development and the public domain has been carefully considered to

ensure the external appearance is appropriate and to ensure the design outcome is consistent with the

design guidance for the Medium Density Residential Policy Area (Element 2).

7.3.3.3 Dwelling Design, Position and Orientation

Design Guidance provided within Appendix 1, Design Element 3 requires that the following be achieved:

• Buildings should be of a height, orientation and located to define external spaces that allow

adequate daylight to dwellings and sunlight to main living rooms and private outdoor spaces;

• Garages to dwelling units should generally be located to the south and/or the rear of the dwelling.

• Main living rooms should be located on the northern or north-western side of the dwelling unit

where possible.

• As many dwelling units as possible should front onto and be accessed from the road and should be

located with a minimal setback. Only where the site precludes this, should dwelling units front onto

a central shared access way directly linked to the development’s public entrance.

• Dwelling units should be positioned and openings designed to capitalise on views that are available.

• Provision for refuse collection and recycling should be well integrated into the development,

ensuring that collection points and facilities are readily accessible by service vehicles and workers,

and will not detract visually or generate health risks

The proposed houses have been positioned and massed to provide good quality interior space and planned,

positive outdoor areas. The living areas within the houses open out onto front and rear yards. The front

courtyards are north-facing and will receive year-round sun. The interior layout allows the occupants to

access either of the two outdoor areas, as weather conditions dictate.

The northeast-to-southwest orientation of the lots allows houses to be constructed that have outlooks from

living and bedrooms that are pleasant. The orientation also allows the provision of outside space that is

sunny and open.

While limitations imposed by physical constraints (narrow width of building platform) prevent a site layout

that allows vehicular access to the rear, the adverse aesthetic / streetscape character effects of having

parking at the front of the site are mitigated by an appropriate form of design, as assessed above. We note

that the shared slip-road access is to the side of the public carriageway and will be screened by landscape


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planting. The shared access arrangement was the preferred arrangements by NZTA and PCC traffic

engineers.

The configuration of houses maximises available space on the elevated building platform to ensure the

maximum number of houses are established on the site with access to the public road via the shared drive.

Rubbish and recycling bins can be placed at the end of the shared driveway for collection. There is room at

the edge of the road for this. James Street has a relatively wide carriageway that is able to be practically

utilised by service vehicles including rubbish trucks.

7.3.3.4 Private Outdoor Spaces

Design Guidance provided within the Appendix 1, Element 4 includes the following criteria:

• Every dwelling unit should be provided with flat private outdoor space located to the north, east or

west of the dwelling unit and directly accessible from a primary living area of the dwelling

• Private outdoor space should be at ground level if possible (ie. desirable minimum area of 40m2

and minimum dimension of 5m) …

• Private outdoor space should not generally be positioned solely at ground level between the

dwelling unit and any road boundary

• Private outdoor space should be of a size to suit both probable occupancy and dwelling type and

having regard to the availability of storage space, the availability of shared open space within the

development and the proximity of the site to a public reserve

• Private outdoor space should be well proportioned for its envisaged uses.

Two private outdoor living areas are proposed for each house, one of which will be north-facing. The areas

are both in excess of 40m in area and are flat. They are large enough to contain outdoor clothes drying

facilities, space for outdoor entertaining and areas where children can play. The outdoor living areas are

directly accessible from main living rooms (dining room or living room) and are positioned with due regard

to the sun.

The design of the proposed internal and external living areas makes best use of the available space through

a thoughtful layout. The proposed houses are small homes that will be occupied by smaller households.

The spaces (internal and external) are functional and are large enough to accommodate the anticipated

lifestyle requirements of the occupants.

7.3.3.5 Visual and Acoustic Privacy

The configuration of outdoor areas and proposed fencing ensures privacy between properties. The houses

have been designed so that views out from rooms on the upper level will not be into the front courtyard of

neighbouring units.

The houses have been designed so that privacy within rear yards is also not compromised by views out of

upper level windows of neighbouring houses. The upper level windows on the rear elevation are either


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from a study nook, a bathroom (high sill) or bedroom. The bathroom windows will be opaque for privacy.

The other rooms (study nook and bedroom) are not frequently occupied living spaces / rooms. The low /

infrequent use of these rooms mitigates potential adverse privacy effects.

Intervening elements between the road and houses, including fencing and trees will ensure the ground

floor living rooms are not overlooked from the public road. It is also noted that James Street is not a high-

volume access route, either by pedestrian or vehicle traffic. The low usage mitigates any potential adverse

privacy effect that might be generated in this regard. Some overlooking from first floor habitable rooms is

an inevitable outcome for medium density housing development of this nature. In this case the design

mitigates adverse effects to an acceptable level.

The houses will be constructed to ensure an appropriate level of acoustic privacy is achieved. The site is

relatively close to SH1 and the houses could therefore be affected by traffic noise. There are however a

number of design solutions that can be implemented to ensure that a quiet environment is provided within

those parts of the houses that require it.

Intertenancy walls between the proposed houses as well as external walls can be constructed to achieve a

Sound Transmission Class rating that meets the requirements of the NZ Building Code, and to achieve a

design noise level of 40 dB LAeq (24h) inside all habitable spaces. A condition of consent is proposed (Section

9) to achieve this design requirement.

Any potential adverse noise effects are therefore mitigated by the proposal.

7.3.3.6 Parking and Access

Design guidance provided within Appendix 1, Element 6 includes the following criteria:

• Garages and outdoor parking spaces should be located adjoining or in close proximity to and

visible from, the dwelling unit they serve

• Outdoor parking spaces, shared vehicle access routes and any pedestrian routes on site should be

well lit for night time visibility and security

• Outdoor parking spaces on the front 10m of any site abutting a road should be generally limited,

unless the spaces are designed and positioned to minimise visual impact on the streetscape

• Outdoor parking and access areas serving more than two dwelling units should include hard and

soft landscape features that provide an attractive outlook from publicly accessible locations, and

from the dwelling and spaces within the development

• On-site visitor parking that is easily located and identified by unfamiliar users should be provided

for larger developments

• Access ways should be designed so that they restrict vehicle speeds to levels appropriate to the

site (traffic calming measures may be desirable)


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• Safe and convenient pedestrian access should be provided within the development and linking to

the external footpath network

• The road and accessway standards in Part H of the Plan apply.

The driveway access to the proposed houses (Lots 2-11) is via a shared one-way-in, one-way-out slip road,

and by way of a driveway between Lots 1 and 2 to the house site in Lot 12. The final design of the shared

access will be in accordance with the Porirua City Council Code of Land Development and Subdivision

Engineering.

The driveway design went through a rigorous consultation process where the feedback from both PCC and

NZTA was that the best solution is a shared ‘slip road’ arrangement. The proposed design responds to that

feedback.

The shared access has been positioned where it will not impact on the Northern Growth Area, should access

to the houses within the Growth Area be provided in the location shown on documents that were put

forward as part of public consultation2.

The second car park (in front of the garage) and the garage are directly accessible and visible from the

houses they serve.

Outdoor lighting will be provided. That is, an outside light at the front of each house will be provided to

illuminate the parking and access areas.

The fencing around the front courtyards (discussed above) will provide a visual barrier between the public

domain (road) and a car parked in the second car park. The landscape planting in the strip between the

public road and shared driveway will also assist in mitigating the visual effects of cars parked at the front of

the site.

The slip road is short and has relatively tight bends at either end. The alignment of the accessway will

prevent high speed use of the shared access.

The proposed footpath, which will be delineated by different paving, as shown on the attached landscape

plans will provide a pedestrian link between the houses and public footpath.

7.3.3.7 Building form and Appearance

The MfE Medium-density Housing: Case Study Assessment Methodology3 includes a number of relevant

criteria to consider when assessing the suitability of a medium density development, including a terraced

or row housing development. Criteria within the case study that are relevant to consideration of this

proposal include:

2 Indicative road design information for the northern growth area was provided to the applicant by PCC Land Use and Subdivision Engineer.

The proposed slip road was subsequently designed to avoid conflict with the proposed road layout.

3 https://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/towns-and-cities/medium-density-housing-case-study-assessment-methodology-0


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• Horizontal modulation: The way a building ‘sits’ on the ground and perception of its vertical height

and horizontal rhythm;

• Continuous building line: The perception of building length and depth through use of vertical

detailing steps in plan and/or building separation;

• Building roofline: The contribution roof forms provide to the perceived vertical height and bulk of

buildings (excluding services and utilities);

• Facade articulation: The level of detail provided on building façades that adds to a sense of depth,

visual interest and human scale;

• Material use and quality: The texture, colour, modular patterns, durability and treatment of façade

materials that provide visual interest, particularly in relation to the size of a person.

The building elevation, particularly the main façade is well balanced and articulated. It has an appropriate

degree of symmetry, while also ensuring each house is individually identifiable. The building is two-storeys

high, but its proportions ensure it reads as a cohesive ‘one’.

The roof over each garage assists in giving the buildings main façade a sense of depth. This is enhanced

through the proposed colour palate, which helps to differentiate the individual units and adds visual

complexity to the building.

The gable ends along the front elevation ‘flatten out’ the roof top to bring the height down to ensure the

building does not appear out of place in its context.

The design provides visual complexity. The entrances and windows are appropriate and are in scale,

proportion and percentage. There are no featureless plain walls that are visible from the public domain.

The building will be finished in materials that are similar to those used on the existing Jennian display office.

Therefore, the proposed design successfully mitigates any potential adverse visual / aesthetic effects and

achieves conformity with the MfE Medium-density Housing: Case Study criteria.

7.3.3.8 House Constructed in Lot 12

A house built within proposed Lot 12 will achieve all of the design outcomes assessed above. Lot 12 is a

large property that is flat, and a house built within covenant Area AH at a level above the estimated flood

height will not be shaded and will enjoy positive outlooks.

Access down to the house via a driveway between Lots 1 and 2 will be functional and safe. Outdoor living

will be available across the large property, or alternatively by way of a large deck, as illustrated on the

attached indicative design information (Jennian drawings JHV 16049, sheets 2/30 to 5/30).

7.3.3.9 Residential Character Effects Conclusion

The above assessment establishes that the proposed houses and the indicative house in Lot 12 have been

designed to achieve the outcomes for residential housing expected for a multi-unit development of this

nature. The environmental effects of the proposal can therefore be considered to be less than minor.


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7.3.4 External Amenity Effects

The proposal will result in height in relation to boundary encroachments. See Jennian Overall Site Plan 6/40

for the location of the points where the daylight angles are taken from (Daylight Points 1 and 2 shown on

Elevation 1 on 11/40). The encroachments shown on elevation diagram 12/40 are typical sections along the

shared boundaries between the proposed lots (Lots 2-11).

These encroachments all occur along boundaries that are internal to the subdivision and are therefore

essentially just technical breaches of the permitted standards. The environmental effects of the

encroachments, particularly the potential shading effects will be limited to the site. Shading by those parts

of the building that encroach through the recession planes will not extend beyond land within proposed

Lot 12.

The nearest neighbouring houses (16A and 20 James St) are located between 90m and 100m away to the

southeast of the house in proposed Lot 11. The amenity effects of the proposed development on these

neighbouring houses, particularly shading and privacy effects, will be mitigated by distance such that any

adverse effects would be less than minor.

There is a property closer to the proposed development at 21/21A James Street (50m approx. to property

boundary). However, this property contains an electricity substation. The activity undertaken within the

substation site is not one that requires, or benefits from the amenity values normally attributed to a

residential environment. Furthermore, the property is sufficiently separated from the proposed

development to ensure any adverse residential amenity effects will be less than minor. The residential

amenity effects of the proposal to 21/21A James Street will therefore be negligible.

The effects on the property to the northeast (18 SH1), which is located 146m away are mitigated by

distance, vegetation (screening) and topography. The house is elevated above the application site but is

not oriented toward the proposed subdivision. It is also surrounded by large trees. The proposed

subdivision and houses will therefore be sufficiently separated and screened from the nearest neighbouring

house so as to ensure it does not suffer any direct adverse residential amenity effects.

While houses built in the proposed subdivision may be able to be seen from the elevated houses off Grays

Road to the south, these properties are located in excess of 150m away. Houses constructed in the

proposed subdivision will not therefore be a dominant feature in the outlook from these neighbouring

houses.

The effects of the proposal on the neighbouring church and school (St Theresas’) will be limited. Views

toward the site from the church / school building are toward a boundary hedge. Beyond the hedge, houses

constructed within the proposed lots will be seen at a distance. While it is acknowledged that the proposal

will impact on the outlook from the school, any effect in this regard must be considered in the context of

the activity undertaken within the school / church site. Having an ‘altered’ outlook from a school or church

is not necessarily a minor or more than minor adverse effect, in its own right. The proposed residential

development will not be a visually dominant feature in the outlook, nor will the proposed buildings loom

over or appear out of place when viewed from the school.


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Development in proposed Lot 12 will be limited to area AH on the subdivision proposal plan (W16039-

CN101). A house constructed in the covenant area will have less than minor effect on the school / church,

and no impact on other properties.

Traffic arriving and leaving the proposed lots is expected to enter the site from the roundabout on SH1.

Residential occupation of the proposed lots will therefore not generate traffic that would adversely impact

on road safety for motorists from the nearby school, church or houses (houses along the southern branch

of James St).

Note that the driveway access to the houses in proposed Lots 2-11 has been altered to a single one-way-in,

one-way-out arrangement to mitigate potential adverse effects to existing road users, including parents

dropping off and picking up children from the school.

The adverse effects of the proposal on the businesses on the other side of SH1 will be less than minor. The

motorway separates the proposed subdivision from the garden centre and outdoor furniture business.

There is an abundance of kerbside parking available along the section of James Street in front of the site.

Parking demand created by visitors to the houses within the subdivision will not therefore result in spillover

demand that would adversely affect the businesses on the other side of SH1. Parking for a second vehicle

will be available in front of the garage door of each house. A second car parked here will not impede access

along the road.

We therefore submit that the direct effects to adjacent neighbours will be less than minor.

7.3.5 Earthworks Effects

The proposal will involve earthworks across almost the entire site. The proposed earthworks are shown on

Orogen Earthworks Finished Contour plan numbered W16039-CN301, Issue 3. The project engineer has

prepared the below breakdown of the proposed earthworks volumes and areas that will occur within legal

road and the designations (K0412 and K0401). The volumes and areas in Designation K4012 include the

volumes and areas of James Street.


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Consent is sought for all of the proposed earthworks shown on W16039-CN301, being both the earthworks

within the site and the works affecting land that is in legal road. To summarise, a total of 9,320m3 of material

will be affected, being 1,980m3 of fill and 7,340m3 of cut. The land area affected by the proposed earthworks

is 9,900m2. Though this will increase slightly (150m2) if the wider construction disturbance area to enable

formation of the perimeter fence and access etc is taken into account.

The earthworks will not prevent or hinder the ability to undertake works, or to develop and maintain the

section of legal road in front of the site.

The material that is excavated from the site will be utilised as fill, where it is found that it is suitable to do

so.

The ground level, outside the proposed building platforms (Lots 2-11), will be cut down by 0.5m and the

platform will be built up by approximately 1.5m - 2.0m. Sections of land along the southern property

boundary (drain in easement Area A) will remain unmodified. The unmodified strip of land will be for the

conveyance of stormwater.

7.3.5.1 Earthworks Effects - Effects from Proposed Changes to Ground Level

The visual effects of the proposed change to the ground levels will be mitigated by the scale of the area

that is being modified. That is, the site will effectively be developed into two large flat areas. The building

platform will be seen as a stepped terrace within the site.

The proposed building platform will generally be supported by an unretained batter, apart from adjacent

to the sloped access don into proposed Lot 12 and near the southern corner of proposed Lot 11, where

retaining walls will be constructed to support the fill. The walls are required to support fill in areas where

there is insufficient space to angle a batter out into the adjacent section of Lot 12.

The proposed batters effectively ‘round off’ of the edge of the modified landform. The proposed walls are

not high (1.6m-1.92m, see Orogen section drawing CN441) especially in the context of the large site in

which they will be constructed. The transition between the two proposed ground levels within the site will

largely be seen as a cohesive and natural looking landform; the two walls will not be visually dominant

features within the development site.

Whilst the ground level across the majority of the remainder of the site will be altered (lowered), the

aesthetic effect of this change will be negligible. The lowered ground level (0.5m excavation – Lot 12) will

be stabilised with grass and will therefore appear the same or similar after the works have been completed

and the grass has established.


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7.3.5.2 Earthworks Effects - Effects to Amenity of Neighbouring Properties

While views are not an amenity value that is specifically protected under the District Plan, it is generally

accepted that views and outlook are factors that contribute toward the amenity of a property.

While parts of the site may be seen from neighbouring properties, it is not a dominant feature when viewed

from neighbouring houses. Views toward the site from properties along the southern arm of James Street

(2-20 James St) are obstructed by the school and church, and vegetation that grows along the southern

boundary of the property. The vegetation is contained within either the proposed drainage easement in

the site or the neighbouring school. The vegetation will not therefore be removed by the applicant as part

of the development, or by subsequent owners.

There are intervening elements between the houses further to the south off Grays Road and the site.

Furthermore, these houses (houses off Grays Rd) are located in excess of 150m from the proposed building

platform. The potential effects of the proposed earthworks on the views from these properties are

therefore mitigated by distance and screening. The environmental effects on views from these properties

will be less than minor.

The only other house in the vicinity of the site is 18 SH1, which is located 146m to the north. This house is

surrounded by large trees. It also has its main views out toward to the northwest, away from the site. Any

effects to this property will therefore be less than minor.

7.3.5.3 Earthworks Effects – Direct Effects to Neighbours

The proposed fill platform will not be near a boundary that adjoins a neighbouring residential property.

The raised landform will not therefore shade or otherwise directly impact on amenity values.

The land within the site that is adjacent to the neighbouring school / church is going to be lowered. The

effects of the change in the ground level on the school grounds will be negligible. The cut surface will be

stabilised using grass; the finished surface will appear the same upon completion of the works.

The short-term effects, while the proposed earthworks are being completed, will be mitigated through the

implementation of an appropriate construction methodology. The attached Engineering Services Report

(page 12) states “A detailed Construction Management Plan can be established that supports the phasing

of the site works, and particularly earthworks, which demonstrates how the development can be

implemented in accordance with Industry Best Practice and also the Greater Wellington Regional Council’s

Guidelines for Erosion and Sediment Control”. GWRC has imposed a condition on its consent (condition 6)

requiring preparation and implementation of an approved Erosion and Sediment Control Plan. An

Earthworks Management Plan (EMP) prepared by the design engineer is included in Appendix C. The

management plan includes measures to control dust, noise and other effects from construction activity.

The proposed building platform (Lot 2-11) has been designed and will be formed / compacted to comply

with the engineering design requirements for fill that supports buildings. The proposed earthworks will

not therefore undermine the stability or otherwise affect neighbouring land or the subject site.


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The proposal to excavate land that is prone to flooding has the potential to adversely affect the amenity

and safety of neighbouring land and property. In this case the proposed earthworks have however been

designed with the specific purpose of mitigating the flood risk, as discussed in Section 7.3.10 of this report.

The proposed earthworks will not therefore adversely affect the residential amenity of neighbouring land.

7.3.6 Odour, Smoke, Noise, or Other Noxious Effects

The residential use of the proposed allotments will not generate adverse odour, smoke or dust effects that

would become a nuisance to neighbours. The district plan refers to the increase in noise levels, and limits

noise at night to a lower level. There will be no excessive night time noise as a result of the proposal. Noise

generated by residential activity within the proposed houses will be no greater than noise from a permitted

activity.

It is not proposed to construct external lighting that would adversely impact on the amenity of adjoining

neighbours, or the character of the wider area. The luminance level of the outside light at the front of each

house will be low and will not affect neighbouring properties or activity.

Adverse nuisance effects caused by odour, smoke, noise and other noxious sources will therefore be less

than minor.

7.3.7 Soil, Productive Use of Land and Water Quality

The land is not currently used for productive farming purposes and this situation will not change.

The proposal will not result in development that would adversely impact on water quality. Roof-water

runoff will be discharged to the reticulated network via the proposed extension to the existing pubic

stormwater pipe. The rate and volume of flow has been assessed and it has been determined that the new

and existing infrastructure will be sufficient to accommodate additional flow. Therefore, the additional

load on the system will not compromise the ability of the public network to function effectively.

Wastewater from buildings constructed within the proposed allotments will also be piped to the public

system. The proposed method of wastewater disposal will not result in adverse effects that would

compromise water quality, ecology or cultural values.

7.3.8 Ecological Effects

No vegetation (other than grass) is required to be removed to make way for the proposed development.

The site is not shown as containing an ecological site, nor does it contain ecologically or aesthetically unique

vegetation.

The land not being developed to contain house sites will be sown in grass and landscape planting will be

undertaken along the edge of James Street. The existing vegetation cover (pasture) will be reinstated across

the majority of the site.

A stormwater drain extends along the southern property boundary within the site and parallel to the

western boundary within road reserve (SH1).


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Erosion and sediment control measures will be put in place to prevent sediment laden runoff from entering

the drains, as outlined in section 4 of the EMP (Appendix C), which states:

We have prepared a concept plan for site management in accordance with the GWRC guidelines for Erosion

and Sediment Control that consists of:

• A decanting earth bund located in the low area of the earthworks surface for collection and

treatment of any dirty water runoff.

• Silt fencing and bunding to prevent dirty water directly entering the existing clear water channels.

• Runoff channels for dirty water collection.

• A stabilised construction entrance.

Mitigation is therefore proposed to ameliorate the potential adverse effects on water quality through an

appropriate construction methodology.

7.3.9 Iwi Considerations

We note Chapter Z of the District Plan, and the obligations it places on Council to “have regard to the

statutory acknowledgment when making decisions on whether the Trustee of the Toa Rangatira Trust is an

affected person on resource consent applications submitted for activities within, adjacent to, or directly

affecting a statutory area”. The site is within around 250 metres of the Te Moana o Raukawa (Cook Strait)

statutory acknowledgment area.

Erosion, silt and sediment control (ESC) measures are proposed as part of the application to prevent effects

that would adversely impact on the waterways and tangata whenua values. The proposed silt and sediment

control measures include devices that are commonly used to control earthworks of this nature. The ESC

system will meet with GWRC Erosion and Sediment Control Guidelines for the Wellington Region and will

ensure that water quality is not compromised by contaminated runoff.

A resource consent application has been granted by GWRC for the proposed earthworks. GWRC is satisfied

that the ESC measures outlined in the attached Engineering Services Report and EMP will be sufficient, and

has imposed a condition requiring provision of a final ESC plan. This condition will be complied with.

A condition is also proposed in the GWRC decision requiring that the standard accidental discovery protocol

be adhered to, to ensure that if wāhi tapu or other cultural sites are unearthed the works must cease and

Heritage NZ and the local Iwi must be informed.

Turi Hippolite provided feedback on behalf of Te Runanga o Toa Rangatira Inc to the resource consent

application to GWRC (Appendix G). Mr Hippolite advised that “Sedimentation is an issue because any

stormwater runoff will make its way to the nearby CMA and add to the contaminants entering the Harbour

inlet. There are controls in place to help contain stormwater which helps to reduce any adverse effects.” He

also requested that an accidental discovery protocol be put in place.


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We submit that, given the separation distance to the harbour, the mitigation that is being proposed,

including the accidental discovery protocol condition imposed by GWRC, any adverse effects will be

adequately mitigated such that Māori interests will not be adversely affected by the proposal.

7.3.10 Flood Management

The site contains land that is known to be prone to flooding. Awa Environmental prepared reports that

contain an analysis of flood modelling data and recommendations for the design response to ensure the

flood risk is adequately mitigated.

Conclusions of Awa Hydraulic Modelling Analysis of Proposed Development and Model Build Reports - It

is noted in the modelling model report that “The earthworks scheme proposed for the subdivision

development on James Street has been developed with the aim of minimising adverse offsite flooding effects

while allowing onsite residential development”.4

In summarising what the proposed mitigation measures seek to achieve Steven Cornelius, Senior Hydraulic

Modeller for Awa concluded “The existing, undeveloped site currently acts as a storage area for stream flow

and overland flow that reaches it from the north and south. The proposed development comprises a raised

building platform extending along the James St boundary of the site. This raised platform will reduce the

storage volume available at the site for stormwater. The intention of the proposed mitigation measure of

lowering the ground of Lot 12 at the site is to offset any loss of stormwater storage that will occur with

development of the building platform5”.

Recommendations of Awa Reports - Notable recommendations and conclusions within the Awa reports

include:

� lowering of a significant portion of the site to increase onsite flood storage, as well as raising a building

platform, along the James St boundary;

� an assessment of pre- and post-development flow across the site shows that there will not be a

significant difference in depth;

� Water level depths that compare the base case and post development depths for a 1% AEP event were

modelled. The results show that beyond the site there are no significant increases in water level in the

post development scenario.

Changes to Subdivision Design in Response to Further Information Sought by Councils - Following receipt

of the comments received from both councils and NZTA (PCC s92 letter for RC7456 – Appendix H), a review

of the overall scheme using the knowledge gained from the initial flood modelling (modelling reports

provided with application for RC7456) was completed. A topographic survey was undertaken by Orogen to

provide an accurate ground topographic survey of the land being subdivided, including Lot 1 (Jennian

display office site).

To address / offset the effect the proposed fill on available flood storage, the design of the proposed

earthworks was reduced by reducing the subdivision by one lot. The reduction in the number of lots and

the size of the building platform will compensate for the reduction in storage volume lost due to the

4 Section 4.2 Post Development Model Results on the Hydraulic Modelling Model Build Report

5 Item 3 - Plimmerton MIKE FLOOD Modelling Report, Addendum 1


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placement of fill. The changes to the design of earthworks and the subdivision layout are shown on the

attached revised Orogen plans. The changes include:

� Removing proposed Lot 2;

� Alteration to the batter position into the storage area;

� Widening the accessway to proposed Lot 12 (previously proposed Lot 13).

Result of Changes to Subdivision and Earthworks Design - The proposed changes result in changes to the

design of the earthworks, notably the reduction in size of the fill platform (western end) and removal of

proposed Lot 2.

The calculated flood storage volume within the proposed flood storage area (proposed Lot 12), with the

previously proposed earthworks, is 14,630m3. The originally calculated volume (prior to the amendment to

the earthworks design) was 13,630m3.

Since the above total was calculated a further minor iteration of the earthworks design has been completed.

That is, retaining walls have been added near the boundaries between Lots 2 and 12 and 11 and 12. The

change to the design results in increased stormwater capacity, as the total are of flat land within proposed

Lot 12 increases. The calculated total storage volume, assuming a top water level of 3.8m will increase by

300m3. The storage volume will increase by 1,550m3, assuming a top water level of 3.53m.

Conclusions of GWRC in Response to Amended Design - In its resource consent decision, which included

an approval for the diversion of flood water, GWRC concluded that “…the environmental effects from the

bulk earthworks on flooding can be appropriately managed through the recommended conditions …” (see

section 5.3).

Safe Egress from Proposed Lots in Flood Event - PCC has indicated that an outstanding matter of concern

that needs to be addressed in the current resource consent application is the impact of the flood hazard on

the use of the site for residential purposes, including the ability of occupants to safely leave the site in a

flood event. In responding to a question from GWRC on the same matter Awa provided Addendum report

4 (Appendix D). Basing its conclusions on the relevant available flood classification assessment standard

(Floodplain Development Manual (New South Wales Government, April 2005)) and an analysis of its own

flood modelling data for the site Awa concluded that “in our opinion safe access to and from the site will

not be impacted during the 1% AEP rainfall event with climate change” (see pages 1-6 of Addendum Report

4).

Proposed Minimum Floor Levels to Ensure Safe Occupation of Houses - The minimum floor levels required

in the Consent Notice conditions in Section 9 are proposed to ensure safe occupation of the houses in

accordance with relevant NZ standards.

The Awa assessment determined the critical design storm event as the 1% annual exceedance probability

(AEP) event. The projected water surface level in the no culvert blockage scenario is 3.52m. The proposed

finished level of the building platform (Lots 2-11), shown on the attached Orogen engineering design plans,

is 3.9m.

To comply with the New Zealand Building Code the FFL needs to be 0.15m above the finished ground

(earthworks) level, which in this case is a required minimum level of 4.05m.


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NZS4404 requires a minimum ‘freeboard’ of 0.5m between the projected flood height and the underside

of the floor slab.

The minimum clearance from the 1% AEP water surface in the no culvert blockage scenario required by the

standard is 3.52 + 0.5 = 4.02m, and similarly 3.82 + 0.5 = 4.32m for the culvert blocked scenario.

A typical foundation precast masonry block is 0.2m high. Two precast block units with a 50mm foundation

base and an infill slab of 150mm will achieve a lift of 450mm above the earthworked platform surface. This

will provide a finished floor level for Lots 2-11 of ground level = 3.90m + foundation and floor = 0.45m =

proposed finished floor level of 4.35m being greater than the 4.32m required by NZS4404.

Therefore, the recommended FFL for proposed Lots 2-11 is 4.35m, as this level provides freeboard to the

requirements of the Building Code and also NZS4404 for either 1% AEP water surface scenario.

For Lot 12 the same assessment applies, and the recommended FFL is 4.35m for this lot.

Culvert Blocked Scenario - The flood model was re-run by Awa with blockages of key culverts in the public

stormwater system included to establish what impact any blockages would have on flood levels in response

to a request for clarification on this matter from GWRC. The results of the re-run are provided and described

in the attached addendum report (Addendum Report 4 – Appendix D).

A table showing flood levels in three blockage scenarios is provided (Table 1 in Addendum 4). The location

of the blocked culverts is shown on Figure 7 of the addendum report.

Awa concludes in its report (Addendum 4, page 7) that the “development has negligible impact on peak

flood levels under the various culvert blockage scenarios tested”. By comparing the predicted flood height

at each Result Point (Points P1 to P10, Table 1) with the predicted heights with a blockage (3rd to 8th

columns on Table 1) you can see the basis of that conclusion. There is only a very small difference in flood

height with and without blockage.

In assessing the recommended FFL (4.35m) in terms of the projected flood height in a culvert blocked

scenario the maximum predicted flood level from the Awa modelling is 3.82m. Therefore, the maximum

flood height is below the top of the proposed building platform (3.9m) for Lots 2-11 and below that of all

FFLs at 4.35m. There is therefore no risk of inundation over the proposed earthworks platform for Lots 2-

11 or the required minimum floor height in Lot 12 in this scenario.

Therefore, we can conclude that the FFLs recommended for the subdivision are appropriate in all flooding

scenarios assessed for the development.

WWL position - We understand via verbal feedback from Wellington Water Ltd that they are satisfied with

the conclusions and information put forward by Awa in their assessments and modelling, and are satisfied

that any external flood-related effects are acceptable.

Appropriateness of Consent Notice Conditions to Mitigate Risk - The proposal relies on compliance with

consent notice conditions to mitigate risk associated with the flood hazard. Consent Notices are proposed

requiring:


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� a maximum floor height above the predicted flood level within Lots 2-12;

� the design of building foundations and the location of a house within Lot 12;

� maintenance of the flood storage area (Lot 12); and

� and prevention of the inappropriate use of Lot 1.

Collectively the consent notices will ensure the proposed lots are managed and developed in a manner that

does not compound flooding or the flood risk. Compliance with the consent notices will ensure the land is

not developed in a way that will result in flooding or flood effects beyond what has been assessed by Awa.

Consent notices are encumbrances that are routinely imposed by councils to ensure environmental effects

do not go beyond the level of effect approved under a resource consent decision. The underlying site (Lot

1 DP 489799) is subject to a consent notice (Instrument No. 10166436.1) that was imposed to achieve the

same or similar outcome as is sought to be achieved by the consent notices that are proposed as part of

this application.

Consent Notices are enduring encumbrances that are registered on a property title and must be complied

with on an ongoing basis. Removing a consent notice from a title requires agreement by Council and cannot

occur without Council first having an opportunity to assess the merits and environmental effects of the

proposed removal. Therefore, the proposed allotments will not be able to be developed in contravention

of the proposed Consent Notices unless Council has determined that development can occur without

compounding the flood risk.

Conclusion on Effects of Flood Risk / Hazard - Therefore, in conclusion, the proposed flood modelling

analysis shows that the flood risk associated with the proposed development on land that is known to be

prone to flooding can be mitigated. This aspect of the proposal is therefore less than minor, subject to

completion of the earthworks and maintenance of the proposed lots in accordance with Awa’s

recommendations.

7.4 Environmental Effects Assessment Summary

Overall, from the assessment undertaken above the proposal will have actual and potential effects that

are considered to be negligible.

8 STATUTORY ASSESSMENT

8.1 Section 104(1)(a) of the Act

Section 104(1)(a) requires that when considering an application for a resource consent, the consent

authority must, subject to Part 2, have regard to ‘any actual and potential effects on the environment of

allowing the activity’. Section 104 (1) (ab) requires that the consent authority consider ‘any measure

proposed or agreed to by the applicant for the purpose of ensuring positive effects on the environment to


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offset or compensate for any adverse effects on the environment that will or may result from allowing the

activity’.

As assessed in Section 7 above, the proposal will have actual and potential effects that are acceptable. In

addition, the proposal will also have positive effects on the environment, being development of a currently

under-utilised piece of land in a location where services are available and where the occupants of the

proposed houses will have good access to public transport, parks and other amenities.

8.2 Section 104(1)(b) of the Act

Section 104(1)(b) requires that when considering an application for a resource consent, the consent

authority must, subject to Part 2, have regard to:

any relevant provisions of –

(i) a national environmental standard;

(ii) other regulations;

(iii) a national policy statement;

(iv) a New Zealand coastal policy statement;

(v) a regional policy statement or proposed regional policy statement;

(vi) a plan or proposed plan

An assessment of the relevant statutory documents that corresponds with the scale and significant of the

effects that activity may have on the environment has been provided below.

8.3 National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity

The following objectives apply to all decision-makers when making planning decisions that affect an urban

environment.

Objective Group A – Outcomes for planning decisions

OA1: Effective and efficient urban environments that enable people and communities and future

generations to provide for their social, economic, cultural and environmental wellbeing.

OA2: Urban environments that have sufficient opportunities for the development of housing and

business land to meet demand, and which provide choices that will meet the needs of people

and communities and future generations for a range of dwelling types and locations, working

environments and places to locate businesses.

Objective Group D – Coordinated planning evidence and decision-making

OD1: Urban environments where land use, development, development infrastructure and other

infrastructure are integrated with each other.

OD2: Coordinated and aligned planning decisions within and across local authority boundaries.


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Outcomes for planning decisions

Policies PA1 to PA4 apply to any urban environment that is expected to experience growth.

PA1: Local authorities shall ensure that at any one time there is sufficient housing and

business land development capacity …

Long-term Development capacity must be feasible, identified in relevant plans and strategies,

and the development infrastructure required to service it must be identified in the relevant

Infrastructure Strategy required under the Local Government Act 2002.

PA4: When considering the effects of urban development, decision-makers shall take into

account:

a) The benefits that urban development will provide with respect to the ability for people

and communities and future generations to provide for their social, economic, cultural

and environmental wellbeing; and

b) The benefits and costs of urban development at a national, inter-regional, regional and

district scale, as well as the local effects.

Investigation has been undertaken to determine the suitability of the site for residential use. Underground

infrastructure is available to meet the requirements of the development and public amenities such as parks

and public transport are situated in close proximity to meet the needs of the future occupants.

The site is identified in a Council strategy document as one where urban growth should occur. That is, Lot

2 DP 489799 is included in the Northern Growth Area Structure Plan (Area C - Camborne North

Development Area). An explanatory statement in the Structure Plan contains the following comments in

relation to Area C “Enabling the extension north of the existing Camborne urban area enables the increased

utilisation by new residents of the amenities and infrastructure of the existing suburb and those of areas

nearby such as Plimmerton. This includes schools, shops, rail station at Plimmerton, open spaces, churches,

roading and other services. The Camborne North Development Area will connect into Grays Road and

current highway at James Street.”

The proposal is therefore consistent with the overarching strategy of the National Policy Statement on

Urban Development Capacity, 2016 in that it will enable the existing urban environment to develop and

change; and will provide sufficient development capacity to meet the needs of people and communities and

future generations within Porirua’s urban environment.

8.4 Wellington Regional Policy Statement

The following natural hazards objectives of the Wellington Regional Policy Statement have been identified

as being relevant to consideration of this application:

Objective 19 The risks and consequences to people, communities, their businesses, property and

infrastructure from natural hazards and climate change effects are reduced.


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Objective 20 Hazard mitigation measures, structural works and other activities do not increase the

risk and consequences of natural hazard events

Policy 51: Minimising the risks and consequences of natural hazards – consideration

When considering an application for a resource consent, notice of requirement, or a change, variation

or review to a district or regional plan, the risk and consequences of natural hazards on people,

communities, their property and infrastructure shall be minimised, and/or in determining whether an

activity is inappropriate particular regard shall be given to:

(a) the frequency and magnitude of the range of natural hazards that may adversely affect the

proposal or development, including residual risk;

(b) the potential for climate change and sea level rise to increase the frequency or magnitude of a

hazard event;

(c) whether the location of the development will foreseeably require hazard mitigation works in the

future;

(d) the potential for injury or loss of life, social disruption and emergency management and civil

defence implications – such as access routes to and from the site;

(e) any risks and consequences beyond the development site;

(f) the impact of the proposed development on any natural features that act as a buffer, and where

development should not interfere with their ability to reduce the risks of natural hazards;

(g) avoiding inappropriate subdivision and development in areas at high risk from natural hazards;

(h) the potential need for hazard adaptation and mitigation measures in moderate risk areas; and

(i) the need to locate habitable floor areas and access routes above the 1:100 year flood level, in

identified flood hazard areas

The proposal has been assessed and approved by GWRC, who took the relevant policy statements into

account in granting their decision. The proposal is however a non-complying activity that will affect land

which is known to flood. The Policy Statements, particularly the objectives and policies listed above, must

therefore be considered by PCC in its assessment of the proposal.

The site is known as one which is prone to flooding and considerable investigation was therefore

undertaken at an early stage to determine what impact the flood hazard might have on the proposed

development, and what effect the residential use of the land might have in terms of exacerbating the flood

risk for neighbouring properties / land. The known hazard meant that the flood modelling that was

undertaken went beyond that which is normally required for a development of this nature / scale.

Policy 51 does not preclude development of land that is at risk of flooding. Policy 51 (g) does seek the

avoidance of ‘inappropriate’ development in areas of ‘high risk’ from natural hazards. We submit that the

flood investigation prepared by Awa, who are suitably qualified and experienced hydrologists, shows that


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the proposed development will not be at high risk from natural hazards (flooding), as the potential flood

risk is mitigated. Consent to the proposal can therefore be granted under the RPS.

Having regard to the above identified items within Policy 51, we consider that the risk of the flood hazard

to people, communities, their property and infrastructure are minimised and the proposal is not an

inappropriate use of the land. In reaching this conclusion we note the following:

� The flood modelling undertaken by Awa analyses flood events for the required Annual Exceedance

Probability flood (1% AEP);

� Climate change and sea level rise have been factored into the modelling;

� Access to and from the site during a high rainfall event has been analysed (see Awa Addendum

Report 4) and it has been established that residents will be able to safely exit the proposed lots;

� There are no natural features that act as a buffer to flooding in this instance and the proposal will

not create any adverse effects to those features;

� The proposed subdivision is not an inappropriate use of the site. The proposed flood storage area

will achieve hydraulic neutrality and the proposal will have a negligible effect on maximum flood

heights within the site and neighbouring properties / land; the change to the design of the

earthworks is likely to result in a positive outcome in terms of maximum flood heights;

� Consent notices are proposed to ensure the habitable floors of houses built within the site are

above the 1: 100 year flood height.

Policy 52: Minimising adverse effects of hazard mitigation measures – consideration

When considering an application for a resource consent, notice of requirement, or a change, variation or

review of a district or regional plan, for hazard mitigation measures, particular regard shall be given to:

(a) the need for structural protection works or hard engineering methods;

(b) whether non-structural or soft engineering methods are a more appropriate option;

(c) avoiding structural protection works or hard engineering methods unless it is necessary to protect

existing development or property from unacceptable risk and the works form part of a long-term

hazard management strategy that represents the best practicable option for the future;

(d) the cumulative effects of isolated structural protection works; and

(e) residual risk remaining after mitigation works are in place, so that they reduce and do not increase

the risks of natural hazards.

The proposed flood mitigation is the best and most appropriate solution in this case. The changes to the

design of the subdivision and earthworks has increased the size of the flood storage area, which in turn has

resulted in a consequential reduction in predicted peak flood levels on- and offsite.


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NZTA has provided written approval to the proposal, thereby demonstrating that they are satisfied that the

proposal adequately addresses potential off-site flood effects to crucial infrastructure (roads).

The residual risk to neighbouring property owners and public land is mitigated by the proposal, as

demonstrated by flood level neutrality, the confirmed ability of safe egress in a flood event and the extent

of the proposed floor levels above the predicted flood height.

The proposal is therefore consistent with the outcomes that are sought to be achieve by Policy 52.

8.5 Regional Plan Freshwater Plan

8.5.1 Relevant objectives and policies assessment

The objectives and policies of the Operative Regional Plan (Regional Freshwater Plan) that are relevant to

consideration of this application include:

4.1 Objective - Flood Mitigation

4.1.9 The risk of flooding to human life, health, and safety is at an acceptable level.

4.1.10 The adverse effects of flooding on natural values and physical resources, including people's

property, are at an acceptable level.

4.2.18 Policies - Flood Mitigation

To promote the avoidance or mitigation of the potential adverse effects associated with

flooding.

Explanation. The Council will promote flood avoidance or mitigation by its own actions, and

through activities by people and communities, in a way which provides for sustainable

management. More specifically, the Council has an "operational" responsibility to minimise

and prevent damage by floods under the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941 which

is separate from the Resource Management Act 1991 … Floodplain Management Plans and

flood hazard assessments are described further in Section 12.1.4, including the locations where

they have been, or are intended to be, completed

4.2.22 To adopt a precautionary approach when planning for and making decisions about the

potential adverse effects of flooding on people and communities where information is

incomplete or limited.

9. Principal Reasons for Adopting Objectives, Policies, and Methods

The principal reasons for Objectives 4.1.9 and 4.1.10, and Policies 4.2.18 to 4.2.22, of the Plan

are to minimise the likelihood of loss of life, injuries, or damage to property in the event of a

major flood. Flooding of larger rivers in the Region is a matter of regional significance. This is

reflected in the operational role of the Council to mitigate or remedy the adverse effects of a

major flood.

Policy 4.2.18 indicates the Council's intention to promote flood avoidance or mitigation. This

approach is consistent with the Council's role under the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control

Act. The Council’s role under that Act provides opportunities for implementation.

The proposal is for the subdivision and development of land and for the undertaking of earthworks. The

proposed earthworks have been designed to mitigate the flood risk. The flood modelling analysis provided


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as part of this application addresses the flood hazard. The floor levels recommended within the flood

modelling report are above the maximum flood height in both major and minor flood events.

We therefore consider that the proposal is consistent with the intent of the objectives and policies of the

Regional Freshwater Plan.

8.5.1.1 Relevant objectives and policies of the Proposed Natural Resources Plan

We have reviewed the new provisions being introduced in the Proposed Natural Resources Plan (PNRP) for

development of land that is prone to flooding. The provisions that are relevant to consideration of the

resource consent application for the proposed earthworks, which will result in discharges, include:

Objectives 046-048, Policies P62, P66, P67 and P95. The PNRP does not include provisions that are different,

or that signal a change in policy direction away from the policies in the operative regional plans. Therefore,

the PNRP does not contain new objectives, policies or rules that need to be considered in the assessment

of this proposal.

In any event, GWRC has granted consent to the proposal. Any inconsistency with the objectives, policies

and rules of the proposed and operative regional plans would have been identified during processing of

that consent. No issues were raised.

8.6 Porirua District Plan

8.6.1 Assessment of relevant objectives and policies

The relevant objectives and policies of the operative Porirua City District Plan and our comments are

provided below:

C4.1 OBJECTIVE

To identify a rural zone and continue its management so as to avoid, remedy or mitigate the

effects of the activities within it.

C4.1.1 Policy

To preserve the contrast between the rural and urban areas of Porirua City.

C4.1.2 Policy

To encourage primary production activities in the Rural Zone.

C4.1.3 Policy

To ensure that activities within the Rural Zone do not detract from the character or quality of

the rural environment

The site has not been used for primary production purposes for a number of years, as confirmed in the

resource consent decision for the subdivision that created the site (RC6884).

The site is suited to its intended purpose. The Northern Growth Area Structure Plan signals the Council’s

intent with respect to the future use of land in this location. The proposal to complete a small subdivision

on the site is entirely consistent with the anticipated use of land in this location.


39

The proposal will not undermine the rural character of the area. The land in this location is generally not

used for this purpose so the proposal will not conflict with existing land use activities.

The proposal does not undermine the productive use of land, as discussed in section 7.3.7 above.

Environmental effects generated by the proposed activity, such as noise, dust and lighting effects will be

no greater than the level of effects that are anticipated in the objectives, policies and rules of the district

plan.

The proposal does not therefore create conflict with Objective C4.1, or the policies that flow from it.

C4.1.6 Policy

To ensure that non-primary production activities do not make it necessary to upgrade rural roads

beyond the level needed to service rural and recreational activities.

The site is not accessed via a rural road and the proposal will create no adverse effects in this regard.

C4.2 OBJECTIVE

To avoid or reduce the adverse effects of activities on ecosystems and the character of the rural zone.

C4.2.1 Policy

To manage the environmental effects of buildings on the rural resource.

C4.2.2 Policy

To protect the natural and physical environment from silt run-off caused by the removal of native

vegetation and earthworks and disturbances to the land.

C4.2.3 Policy

To require a high standard of wastewater disposal at all times

The proposal will not adversely impact on the natural environment. The subdivision affects land that does

not contain native or ecologically significant vegetation.

Sewage and stormwater will be disposed of to existing infrastructure. The public system has sufficient

capacity to take additional flow from the subdivision. The proposal therefore does not conflict with these

objectives and policies.

8.6.2 Assessment of relevant criteria/rules

There are no assessment criteria within the Porirua City District Plan for the assessment of an application

for consent to subdivide land in the Rural Zone creating lots that are less than 5ha in area.

8.6.3 Section 104(1)(b) Summary

The above assessments demonstrate that the proposal will be consistent with the relevant objectives and

policies and assessment criteria of the relevant statutory documents, subject to fair and reasonable

conditions being imposed as recommended in Section 9.


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8.7 Section 104 (1)(c) of the Act

Section 104(1)(c) also states that consideration must be given to "any other matters that the consent

authority considers relevant and reasonably necessary to determine the application."

There are no other matters relevant to this application.

8.8 Section 104D Test for Non-Complying Activities

To be able to grant consent to a non-complying activity, a council must be satisfied that either the adverse

effects of the activity on the environment will be minor (s104D(1)(a)), or the proposed activity will not be

contrary to the objectives and policies of a proposed plan and/or plan (s104D(1)(b)). This consideration is

commonly known as the 'threshold test ' or the 'gateway test '. If either of the limbs of the test can be

passed, then the application is eligible for approval, but the proposed activity must still be considered under

Section 104. There is no primacy given to either of the two limbs, so if one limb can be passed then the 'test

' can be considered to be passed.

As identified in the assessment above, the adverse effects of the activity on the environment will be less

than minor, subject to implementation of proposed mitigation. The proposed activity will not be contrary

to the objectives and policies of the Plan. As such the application can be considered under Section 104 and

a determination made on the application as provided by Section 104B.

8.9 Section 106 – Certain Restrictions on Subdivisions

Pursuant to Section 106 of the Act, a consent authority may grant a subdivision consent or may grant a

subdivision consent subject to conditions that –

a) the land in respect of which a consent is sought, or any structure on the land, is or is likely to be subject

to material damage by erosion, falling debris, subsidence, slippage, or inundation from any source;

or

b) any subsequent use that is likely to be made of the land is likely to accelerate, worsen, or result in

material damage to the land, other land, or structure by erosion, falling debris, subsidence, slippage,

or inundation from any source; or

c) sufficient provision has not been made for legal and physical access to each allotment to be created

by the subdivision.

Section 106(2) of the Act specifies that conditions imposed under Section 106(1) must be for the purposes

of avoiding, remedying or mitigating the effects referred to in subsection (1) and of a type that could be

imposed under Section 108.

The site is known to be subject to flooding. Mitigation is however proposed as part of the application to

offset the flood risk to ensure that buildings and structures within the subdivided lots are not subject to -

or likely to be subject to - material damage by flooding or any of the other natural hazards identified in

Section 106. The application also confirms that the proposed subdivision will not exacerbate the flood risk

to adjacent and downstream properties.


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The proposed consent notice conditions will ensure that future development of the proposed allotments

will not result in adverse effects in this regard.

The proposed subdivision makes sufficient provision for access, as required by section 106(1)(c). As a

consequence, the proposed subdivision does not raise any concerns with respect to the provisions of

Section 106.

9 SECTION 108 OF THE ACT - RECOMMENDED CONDITIONS OF CONSENT

As identified in the preceding assessment there are a number of recommended conditions of consent that

will avoid, remedy or mitigate the potential adverse effects of the proposed activity on the environment.

It is anticipated that the Council will adopt conditions relating to the following matters.

� That the development be in general accordance with the information and plans submitted with the

application and held on Council files.

� Prior to the commencement of works, the consent holder shall forward the final Erosion and Sediment

Control Plan (ESCP) to Porirua City Council.

� The consent holder shall ensure that, prior to the commencement of any works, all silt and sediment

control measures required by the approved ESCP are in place in accordance with the provisions of that

Plan.

� Any adverse effects of dust from the earthworks shall be mitigated through the use of water and/or such

other measures as are considered appropriate.

� Should wāhi tapu or other cultural sites be unearthed during earthworks, the contractor shall:

a) Cease operations within 20 metres of the find;

b) Inform local iwi (Ngāti Toa);

c) Any taonga (finds) will be held by Ngati Toa for safe keeping while Heritage NZ carry out their

processes;

d) Inform Heritage New Zealand and apply for the appropriate authority if required; or

e) Take appropriate action, after discussion with Heritage New Zealand, Council and iwi to remedy

damage and/or restore the site.

Note: In accordance with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, where an archaeological

site is present (uncovered), an authority from Heritage New Zealand is required if the site is to be

modified in any way.

� The distribution of fill material within the lot shall conform to the following:

a) The placing of fill on site shall be in general accordance with the principles of the Code of Practice

for earth fill for residential development, NZS 4431:1989.


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� All areas exposed by earthworks, trenching, or for the formation of erosion control measures, are to

be re-grassed / hydro-seeded at the earliest possible opportunity following completion of the fill site

or at the latest within 1 month after final completion of the earthworks.

� The following consent Notice Conditions:

1. The consent holder or future owners of Lots 2 to 11 are advised that, and shall comply with the

following:

i. Lots 2-11 contain engineered fill which elevates the house sites above the maximum predicted

flood level.

ii. Buildings constructed within Lots 2-11 must have a Finished Floor Level above RL 4.35m.

2. Condition 1 shall be the subject of a consent notice under Section 221 of the Resource Management

Act registered against the new Computer Freehold Registers for Lots 2-11 and shall be prepared by

Council at the cost of the consent holder.

3. The consent holder or future owner of Lot 1 is advised that, and shall comply with the following:

i. Lot 1 is located within an area that is known to be at risk of flooding below RL 3.5m.

ii. Building development within the allotment shall be limited to ‘Area AG’ on Orogen Subdivision

Plan W16039-CN101, Issue 7. Area AG currently contains the existing building consented under

Porirua City Council resource consent RC336-LU0065/17.

Advice Notes

• This condition does not prevent the on-going use of Lot 1 to contain a display office.

• This condition does not preclude the residential use of Lot 1, provided any future applicant

satisfies both Greater Wellington Regional Council and Porirua City Council that the flood

risk to residents of Lot 1 and any other properties it appropriately mitigated. The

appropriateness of any mitigation proposal will be rigorously assessed as part of the

necessary resource consent application or/and application for a variation to the consent

notice. Any proposal to construct a house in Lot 1 will be subject to the district plan

provisions that are applicable to the site/zone at the time the application is lodged.


Act registered against the new Computer Freehold Register for Lot 1 and shall be prepared by


5. The consent holder or future owner of Lots 12 is advised that, and shall comply with the following:

i. Lot 12 is located within an area that is known to be at risk of flooding. The land is a nominated

flood storage area. Land below RL 3.5m is subject to inundation.

ii. Any house constructed within Lot 12 shall be located in the area identified as ‘Area AH’ on

Orogen Subdivision Plan W16039-CN101, Issue 9 and shall be a pole foundation building similar

to that shown on Jennian Homes house plans numbered JHV 16049. The house shall have a

minimum floor level above RL 4.35m and a deck egress to Lot 1 at RL 3.9.


43

iii. The foundation poles must be designed to withstand periodic inundation, and any loadings

resulting from the accumulation of debris against the foundations that would present a barrier

to flood flows.

iv. All the land within Lot 12, other than the land within Area AH that may be developed to contain

a house, must remain clear of permanent or temporary structures that have the potential to

become an impediment to flood flows or the capacity of the land to act as a flood storage area.

v. The area below the house is to be kept clear of objects that would occupy the flood storage

volume, or could float and compromise the structural integrity of the house or its foundations.

vi. The land (Lot 12) must be regularly maintained to ensure its capacity to store stormwater is

not compromised. Management of the area must be undertaken in accordance with the

Maintenance Management Plan for the site.




7. A Maintenance Management Plan must be prepared for Lot 12 to ensure that the land remains

unobstructed so as to achieve the flood storage function, as assessed in the hydraulic modelling

analysis reports prepared by Awa Consulting, numbered J000023.001 and 002, dated 15 February

2018. The management plan shall outline development limitations to ensure structures, such as

sheds, fences and larger trees are not established in Lot 12 where they would compromise the

stormwater storage capacity of Lot 12. The land shall be inspected every 5 years to ensure the

management plan is being complied with.

8. Within 1 month of completion of the earthworks undertaken to form the flood storage area, a

Maintenance Management Plan shall be submitted to the satisfaction of Manager Resource

Consents, confirming the proposed management procedure required by condition 7.

9. The consent holder or future owners of Lots 2 to 11 are responsible for maintenance of the

vegetation planted within the landscaping strip along the edge of James Street, where it is contained

in Areas VA to VI on Orogen Subdivision Plan W16039-CN101, Issue 9. The vegetation in the planting

strip must be maintained to a tidy standard.




11. To achieve a reasonable indoor acoustic amenity level the dwellings within Lots 2-4 and 12 must be

designed and constructed to achieve a design noise level of 40 dB LAeq(24h) inside all habitable

spaces. Where windows need to be closed to achieve the design noise level an appropriate

alternative ventilation system may also be required.

Note: Proposed Lots 2-4 and part of proposed Lot 12 appear to be located within the NZTA Reverse

Sensitivity Buffer and Effects Areas (Effects Area – Complete Data). This condition is proposed to

achieve a reasonable indoor acoustic amenity level within the houses that may be affected by traffic

noise as a result of their proximity to the motorway.


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Act registered against the new Computer Freehold Registers for Lots 2-4 and 12 and shall be

prepared by Council at the cost of the consent holder.

It is requested that the draft conditions be provided to 4Sight in advance of a decision being made on the

application.

10 NOTIFICATION ASSESSMENT – SECTIONS 95A TO 95G OF THE ACT

10.1 Public Notification Assessment

Section 95A requires a council to follow specific steps to determine whether to publicly notify an

application. The following is an assessment of the application against these steps:

10.1.1 Step 1: Mandatory public notification in certain circumstances

An application must be publicly notified if it meets any of the following criteria:

a) the applicant has requested that the application be publicly notified:

b) public notification is required under section 95C:

c) the application is made jointly with an application to exchange recreation reserve land under section

15AA of the Reserves Act 1977.

It is not requested the application be publicly notified and the application is not made jointly with an

application to exchange reserve land. Therefore Step 1 does not apply and Step 2 must be considered.

10.1.2 Step 2: Public notification precluded in certain circumstances

An application must not be publicly notified if, under section 95A(5):

a) the application is for a resource consent for 1 or more activities, and each activity is subject to a rule or

national environmental standard that precludes public notification:

b) the application is for a resource consent for 1 or more of the following, but no other, activities:

(i) a controlled activity:

(ii) a restricted discretionary or discretionary activity, but only if the activity is a subdivision of land or

a residential activity:

(iii) a restricted discretionary, discretionary, or non-complying activity, but only if the activity is a

boundary activity:

(iv) a prescribed activity (see section 360H(1)(a)(i)).

In this case public notification is not precluded, therefore Step 2 does not apply and Step 3 must be

considered.


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10.1.3 Step 3: Public notification required in certain circumstances

An application is required to be publicly notified if one of the following circumstances are met, under

section 95A(8):

a) the application is for a resource consent for 1 or more activities, and any of those activities is subject to

a rule or national environmental standard that requires public notification;

b) the consent authority decides, in accordance with section 95D, that the activity will have or is likely to

have adverse effects on the environment that are more than minor.

The assessment provided above establishes that the proposal will not have adverse effects that are more

than minor, subject to compliance with the proposed consent conditions.

10.1.3.1 Section 95D(a) – Adjacent Land

The following parties own land that is adjacent to the subject site. Therefore, for the purposes of deciding

whether the proposal will have adverse effects on the environment that are minor or more than minor, any

effects on these parties must be disregarded pursuant to section 95D of the Act. However, the effects on

all neighbouring property owners must be considered in the assessment of effects that is required under

Section 104 of the Act.

Table 1: Adjacent properties

Property Address

210 St Andrews Road (The Roman Catholic Bishop of the

Archdiocese of Wellington) Lots 4-5 DP 9683

The Roman Catholic Bishop of the Archdiocese of Wellington Lots 13-21 DP 9683

18 St Andrews Road (owner Ian and Martin Benge and Anna

Staples) Lot 2 DP 489799


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Figure 4: Adjacent properties (Source: Quickmap)

The assessment of environmental effects undertaken above concluded that the activity will have less than

minor adverse effects on the environment as a whole. For the purposes of public notification, the adverse

effects on the environment when positive effects and adjacent land is excluded from the assessment will

be less than minor.

10.1.3.2 Step 3 Summary

With respect to section 95D, the adjacent land (discussed above), permitted baseline, trade competition

and written approvals were considered as part of the assessment of environmental effects undertaken in

Section 7 of this report, which found that the adverse effects on the environment will be less than minor.

Therefore Step 3 does not apply and Step 4 must be considered.

10.1.4 Step 4: Public notification in special circumstances

Section 95A (9) states that a council must publicly notify an application for resource consent if it considers

that ‘special circumstances’ exist, notwithstanding that Steps 1 to 3 above do not require or preclude public

notification.

Special circumstances are not defined in the Act. Case law though has identified special circumstances as

something outside the common run of things which is exceptional, abnormal or unusual but less than

extraordinary or unique. A special circumstance would be one which makes notification desirable despite

the general provisions excluding the need for notification. The council should be satisfied that public

notification may elicit additional information on the aspects of the proposal requiring resource consent.6

6 Far North District Council v Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngati Kahu [2013] NZCA 221 at 36–37

Key:

Subject site

Adjacent property


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However, special circumstances must be more than:

where a council has had an indication that people want to make submissions;

the fact that a large development is proposed;

the fact that some persons have concerns about a proposal.

There are no special circumstances that exist to justify public notification of the application because:

The proposal involves the residential subdivision of land that, whilst zoned rural, is located within a

suburban environment. The proposal is therefore neither exceptional or unusual;

While the site has been identified as being subject to flooding site investigation and modelling has been

undertaken to ensure that sufficient mitigation is proposed to offset the flood risk, thereby making the

proposal an appropriate use of the land;

The project is not considered to be controversial or of significant public interest;

The application and its supporting material have been prepared by a set of qualified professionals,

including input by a specialist in stormwater and flood management. It is very unlikely that notification

would elicit any additional, relevant information;

The applicant is a privately owned company and the application site is privately owned;

This application is a standalone proposal and can be considered on its own merits;

The applicant is not aware of any party that could have a legitimate expectation of being notified; and

It would not be desirable in all the circumstances above to notify the application.

10.1.5 Public Notification Summary

From the assessment above it is considered that the application does not need to be publicly notified, but

assessment of limited notification is required.

10.2 Limited Notification Assessment

If the application is not publicly notified, a consent authority must follow the steps of section 95B to

determine whether to give limited notification of an application.

10.2.1 Step 1: Certain affected groups and affected persons must be notified

The application must be limited notified to the relevant persons if the following are determined, as specified

by section 95B(2):

(a) affected protected customary rights groups; or

(b) affected customary marine title groups (in the case of an application for a resource consent for an

accommodated activity).

(c) whether the proposed activity is on or adjacent to, or may affect, land that is the subject of a

statutory acknowledgement made in accordance with an Act specified in Schedule 11; and


48

(d) whether the person to whom the statutory acknowledgement is made is an affected person under

section 95E.

There are no protected customary rights groups, affected customary marine title groups and the site is not

on or adjacent to, or may affect, land that is the subject of a statutory acknowledgement.

10.2.2 Step 2: Limited notification precluded in certain circumstances

In the following circumstances an application must not be limited notified to any persons, as specified by

section 95B(6):

(a) the application is for a resource consent for 1 or more activities, and each activity is subject to a rule

or national environmental standard that precludes limited notification:

(b) the application is for a resource consent for either or both of the following, but no other, activities:

(i) a controlled activity that requires consent under a district plan (other than a subdivision of

land):

(ii) a prescribed activity (see section 360H(1)(a)(ii)).

The proposal does not fall within any of the above identified categories so limited notification is not

therefore precluded under Step 2.

10.2.3 Step 3: Certain other affected persons must be notified

Other affected persons must be notified in the following circumstances specified by section 95B(7) and

(8):

(7) (a) in the case of a boundary activity, an owner of an allotment with an infringed boundary; and

(a) in the case of any activity prescribed under section 360H (1) (b), a prescribed person in respect of

the proposed activity.

(8) In the case of any other activity, determine whether a person is an affected person in accordance with

section 95E.

The proposal is not for a boundary activity or other activity prescribed under section 360H (1) (b). No other

person is affected in accordance with section 95E, as discussed below.

In deciding who is an affected person under section 95E, a council under section 95E(2):

(a) may disregard an adverse effect of an activity on a person if a rule or national environmental

standard permits an activity with that effect (i.e. council may consider the “permitted baseline”);

(b) must disregard an adverse effect that does not relate to a matter for which a rule or environmental

standard reserves control or restricts discretion; and

(c) must have regard to every relevant statutory acknowledgement made in accordance with a statute

set out in Schedule 11 of the Act.

A council must not consider that a person is affected if they have given their written approval or it is

unreasonable in the circumstances to seek that person’s approval.


49

With respect to section 95B(8) and section 95E, the permitted baseline and written approvals were

considered as part of the assessment of environmental effects undertaken in Section 7 of this report, which

found that the potential adverse effects on the environment will be less than minor. Therefore, no persons

will be affected to a minor or more than minor degree.

10.2.4 Step 4: Further notification in special circumstances

As required by section 95B(10), a council must determine the following:

whether special circumstances exist in relation to the application that warrant notification of the

application to any other persons not already determined to be eligible for limited notification under this

section (excluding persons assessed under section 95E as not being affected persons)

The proposal is for a residential development and subdivision and consideration of effects on any person

has been undertaken at Step 3 where it was considered these are less than minor. As such it is not

considered there are any other persons who would warrant notification of the application.

10.3 Notification Assessment Conclusion

The proposal does not trigger the need for public or limited notification under sections 95A and 95B of

the Act.

11 PART 2 ASSESSMENT

We consider that those aspects of the Porirua City District Plan that are relevant to this application have

been ‘competently prepared under the Act’, in the sense referred to by the Court of Appeal7. The council is

therefore not obliged to conduct an evaluation under Part 2 of the Act, and Part 2 considerations should

not be used to override the plan provisions. However, for the sake of completeness, and to remove any

doubt, the following assessment against Part 2 has also been undertaken.

Section 5 (Part 2) of the RMA outlines the purposes of the Act, being to promote sustainable management

of natural and physical resources. Sustainable management is defined in section 5(2) of the Act. The

adverse environmental effects of this proposal will be less than minor and it will therefore not undermine

the sustainable management aspirations of the Act.

Part 6 of the RMA (Matters of national importance) requires that “In achieving the purpose of this Act, all

persons exercising functions and powers under it, in relation to managing the use, development, and

protection of natural and physical resources, shall recognise and provide for …”.

In relation to the matters listed in section 6 of the Act, the proposal does not generate effects that would

impact on the coastal environment, outstanding natural features, indigenous vegetation, public access,

Māori and their customary rights, or historic heritage. The proposal therefore does not adversely impact

7 R J Davidson Family Trust v Marlborough District Council [2018] NZCA 316, paras 74 and 75


50

on the extent to which these resources are recognised, nor does it undermine the ability to protect the

identified resources.

Section 7 of the RMA requires that in achieving the purposes of the Act, all persons exercising functions and

powers under it, in relation to managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical

resources, shall have particular regard to specified matters. Of those matters we consider that the following

are relevant to consideration of this application:

� the efficient use and development of natural and physical resources;

� the maintenance and enhancement of amenity value;

� maintenance and enhancement of the quality of the environment.

The proposal does not create conflict with the matters identified in section 7. In particular, amenity values

are maintained, as discussed in the assessment above. The proposal is not an inefficient use of the land

resource, as the use of the land will be optimised and adverse effects will be mitigated by the proposal so

as to avoid adverse effects to neighbours or the wider environment. The proposal is not therefore

inconsistent with the outcomes that are sought to be achieved by the District Plan.

We consider that the purposes of the Act will be achieved by granting consent to this proposal, having

regard to the listed matters and the assessments provided in Sections 8 and 9 of the application.

Section 8 of the RMA requires Council to take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. No

issues are raised by this proposal with respect to the Articles of the Treaty.

Overall the application is considered to meet the relevant provisions of Part 2 of the Act as the proposal

achieves the purpose of the Act being sustainable management of natural and physical resources.

12 CONCLUSION

The application is for consent to develop the site to contain ten new houses plus one possible future

dwelling and to subdivide the site. Earthworks are included as part of the application to mitigate the

potential adverse effects of flooding to ensure that the proposed house sites are not susceptible to flooding,

and to ensure that the flood risk to neighbouring properties is not exacerbated by the proposal.

The adverse environmental effects of this proposal are considered to be less than minor, as discussed in

Section 7.3 of this report. In particular, the adverse environmental effects of the proposal will be mitigated,

and the construction and occupation of the proposed houses will not adversely impact on the local or wider

environment. It is considered that no persons will be directly affected by this proposal.

In terms of section 104(1)(a), the actual and potential effects of the proposal will be acceptable.

The proposal is consistent with the relevant objectives, policies and assessment criteria of the District Plan

in terms of section 104(1)(b).


51

Hence, in accordance with section 104B of the Act, it is considered appropriate for a non-notified consent

to be granted subject to fair and reasonable conditions.

Appendix A

Computer Freehold Register

Appendix B

House Design Plans by Jennian Homes, Numbered JHV 16049

Appendix C

Subdivision Proposal Plan by Orogen

Appendix D

Hydraulic Modelling and Addendum Reports by Awa Consultants

Appendix E

Activity Table

Appendix F

Engineering Services Report

Appendix G

Response from Ngati Toa

Appendix H

Section 92 Request for Information Letter for RC7456

Appendix I

Gazette Notice 7912720.2 and SO 351758

Appendix J

Copy of Greater Wellington Regional Council Consent WGN180051

Appendix K

Written Approval from NZTA

Name <Tag Line>

RESOURCE CONSENT APPLICATION FOR LAND

USE AND SUBDIVISION CONSENT

Twelve-Lot Fee Simple Subdivision 25 James Street, Plimmerton

Subdivision and Land Use Consent Application Assessment of Environmental Effects

February 2019

REPORT INFORMATION AND QUALITY CONTROL

Prepared for: NBC Projects Limited

Simon Barber

Author: Laurence Beckett


Reviewer: Mark Ashby


Approved for

Release:

Mark Ashby


Document Name Subdivision and land use consent_James St_AEE_August 2017

Version History: V1.0 11 February 2019


i

CONTENTS Page

1 INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................. 1

2 THE PROPOSAL ...................................................................................................................... 1

2.1 Proposed Houses ................................................................................................................... 1

2.2 Proposed Subdivision ............................................................................................................. 2

2.3 Staging .................................................................................................................................... 2

2.4 Earthworks and Flood Mitigation .......................................................................................... 3

2.5 Services .................................................................................................................................. 4

2.6 Mitigation Measures .............................................................................................................. 4

3 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................... 4

3.1 Consultation ........................................................................................................................... 5

3.2 Any Other Activities That are Part of the Proposal ................................................................ 6

3.3 Other Consent Requirements ................................................................................................ 6

4 THE SITE & SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................ 6

4.1 The Site .................................................................................................................................. 6

4.2 Surrounding Environment .................................................................................................... 10

5 REASONS FOR THE APPLICATION.......................................................................................... 10

5.1 District Plan .......................................................................................................................... 10

5.2 Overall Status of the Application ......................................................................................... 11

6 CANCELLATION OF CONSENT NOTICE CONDITION................................................................. 11

7 SCHEDULE 4 RMA – ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS .......................................... 12

7.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 12

7.2 Housing Supply and Quality ................................................................................................. 13

7.3 Amenity Effects .................................................................................................................... 14

7.4 Environmental Effects Assessment Summary ..................................................................... 32

8 STATUTORY ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................... 32

8.1 Section 104(1)(a) of the Act ................................................................................................. 32

8.2 Section 104(1)(b) of the Act ................................................................................................. 33

8.3 National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity .............................................. 33

8.4 Wellington Regional Policy Statement ................................................................................ 34

8.5 Regional Plan Freshwater Plan ............................................................................................ 37

8.6 Porirua District Plan ............................................................................................................. 38

8.7 Section 104 (1)(c) of the Act ................................................................................................ 40

8.8 Section 104D Test for Non-Complying Activities ................................................................. 40

8.9 Section 106 – Certain Restrictions on Subdivisions ............................................................. 40

9 SECTION 108 OF THE ACT - RECOMMENDED CONDITIONS OF CONSENT ................................ 41

10 NOTIFICATION ASSESSMENT – SECTIONS 95A TO 95G OF THE ACT ........................................ 44

10.1 Public Notification Assessment ............................................................................................ 44

10.2 Limited Notification Assessment ......................................................................................... 47

10.3 Notification Assessment Conclusion .................................................................................... 49

11 PART 2 ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................... 49

12 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................... 50

James St – subdivision ii

ii

List of Tables

Table 1: Adjacent properties .................................................................................................................. 45

List of Figures

Figure 1: Existing site facing south from James St (Source: Photo by author dated 4/4/2017) .............. 7

Figure 2: Porirua City Council GIS aerial .................................................................................................. 8

Figure 3: plan showing earthworks (source: extract from Orogen Earthworks Plan W16039-CN302) ... 9

Figure 4: Adjacent properties (Source: Quickmap) ................................................................................ 46

List of Appendices

Appendix A Computer Freehold Register

Appendix B House Design Plans by Jennian Homes, Numbered JHV 16049

Appendix C Subdivision Proposal Plan by Orogen

Appendix D Hydraulic Modelling and Addendum Reports by Awa Consultants

Appendix E Activity Table

Appendix F Engineering Services Report

Appendix G Response from Ngati Toa

Appendix H Section 92 Request for Information Letter for RC7456

Appendix I Gazette Notice 7912720.2 and SO 351758

Appendix J Copy of Greater Wellington Regional Council Consent WGN180051

Appendix K Written Approval from NZTA


i

APPLICATION FOR RESOURCE CONSENT

SECTION 88, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT 1991

(Form 9 RMA Regulations)

TO: Porirua City Council (PCC)

APPLICANT: NBC Projects Limited

RESOURCE CONSENT APPLIED FOR:

� Twelve-lot fee simple subdivision and land use consent for construction of a row of 10 terraced houses.

LOCATION:

Address: Legally described as:

� James Street, Plimmerton � Lot 1 DP 489799 and legal road

OTHER ACTIVITIES

See sections 5 and 6 of this application.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE CONSENTS REQUIRED:

No additional consents are required.

ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS UNDER FOURTH SCHEDULE, PART 2, AND SECTIONS 104 AND 221 OF THE ACT:

I attach, in accordance with the Fourth Schedule, Part 2, and section 104 and 221 of the Resource

Management Act 1991 (the Act), an assessment of environmental effects in the detail that corresponds

with the scale and significance of the effects that the proposed activity may have on the environment.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

I attach the information required to be included in this application by the Porirua City District Plan, the

Wellington Regional Policy Statement, the Resource Management Act 1991, or any regulations made under

that Act.

DURATION AND LAPSING:

In accordance with section 125 of the Act, we seek the standard term of five years to give effect to this

consent. Being a land use consent, the duration is unlimited.

(Signature of applicant or person authorised to sign on behalf of applicant).

Dated in Wellington, August 2018.

ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: ADDRESS FOR INVOICING:

4Sight Consulting

PO Box 25356

Wellington 6146

Att: Laurence Beckett


NBC Projects Limited C/0 Orogen Limited

1a/10 Surrey Street, Tawa

Att: Darcy Brittliff



1

1 INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

General

This application has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Resource

Management Act 1991 (“the Act”). In addition, Clause 4 of Schedule 4 of the Act sets out specific

information requirements for subdivision applications and the plans located at Appendix C have addressed

these matters.

2 THE PROPOSAL

2.1 Proposed Houses

It is proposed to construct 10 houses within a residential building that will be located on the northern part

of the site near James Street. The proposed houses will extend along the property frontage to the southeast

of an existing Jennian Homes display office (see house design plans on drawings titled Jennian Homes

Wellington Ltd job number JHV 16049, sheets 2/40 to 12/40 - Appendix B).

It is proposed to construct a shared common ‘slip road’ access to the proposed houses. The entrance to the

shared driveway will be located in front of the eastern-most house. Vehicles will enter the driveway from

this point and will utilise the shared access to gain entry to internal garages (single garage) that will be

provided within each dwelling. A parking space will also be available on the driveway outside the garage.

The houses are all two storeys high. They are identified on the Jennian plans as ‘Lots 2-11’. The numbering

reflects the numbering of allotments being created out of a subdivision that is also proposed as part of this

application (see Section 2.2 below). The upper levels of the houses will contain three bedrooms, a study

nook a bathroom and an ensuite. The ground floor of each house will contain a kitchen, a shared dining /

living room and a toilet. The living rooms will have direct access out to outdoor areas at the front and rear

of the building.

Building design information is provided to show how proposed Lot 12 could be developed to contain a

house (drawing No. JHV 16049, sheets 2/30 to 5/30 - Appendix B). The house is a pole foundation building

which complies with the Consent Notice conditions proposed in Section 9 of this application, including a

requirement that the house be located in Area AH on Orogen Plan W16039-CN101, that the house have a

minimum floor level above RL 4.35 and that deck egress be provided to Lot 1.

While it is not proposed to construct the house (Lot 12) as part of this application, the applicant would like

to maintain flexibility in terms of the future use of the land. The indicative design information is provided

to show how the land could be practically developed in a way that does not compound the known flood

hazard.

Landscape planting is proposed as part of this application. See Jennian Landscape Plans (Jennian plans No.

JHV 16049 sheets 4/40 and 5/40) for detail. Landscaping is proposed within a landscape planting strip that

will be established along the driveway in front of the front fence for each house and within the road berm

of James Street. Four larger specimen trees are proposed in legal road.