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Decision making and status of provisions

Find out about our decisions on Independent Hearings Panel recommendations.

Public notices

2025 public notices

To be made on 7 July 2025.

2024 public notices

Council decisions on Independent Hearings Panel recommendations

The Council has made decisions on the Independent Hearing Panel’s recommendations on two occasions.

12 June 2025 decisions

The Wellington City Council Kōrau Tūāpapa | Environment and Infrastructure Committee resolved to adopt and approve most of the recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel (the Panel).

Of those recommendations not adopted, the Committee resolved to:

  • reject a recommendation that new public walking and mountain biking tracks within significant natural areas require a ‘discretionary activity’ resource consent. Instead, these will still require a resource consent but be a ‘controlled activity’.

Additionally, the Committee resolved to:

  • recommend to Wellington International Airport Ltd that it modify the WIAL 1 Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) designation to exclude areas that are adequately shielded by terrain and increase the Inner Horizontal Surface and Conical Surface penetration height allowance to 11m.
  • withdraw minimum requirements for bicycle and micromobility device parking in new developments and related provisions from the notified plan under clause 8D of Schedule 1 of the Resource Management Act. This means that decisions were not made on the panel recommendations on these provisions. Officers are to report back on alternative provisions for minimum cycle parking and parking design for consideration in a future district plan change.
  • Instruct officers to report back on options to align the regulation of signage with other cities and advise on scope and content of a Bylaw or District Plan change.
  • Instruct officers to review rules managing noise from commercial dog facilities, shooting ranges and firearm use in an upcoming noise plan change.

Minutes of the Environment and Infrastructure Committee - 12 June 2025

14 March 2024 decisions

The Wellington City Council Kōrau Tūāpapa | Environment and Infrastructure Committee resolved to adopt and approve most of the recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel (the Panel).

The Committee resolved to reject a number of Panel recommendations and to refer alternative recommendations to Minister Chris Bishop to make a final determination. These are identified in the table below. All other recommendations of the Panel were accepted.

Minutes of the Environment and Infrastructure Committee - 14 March 2024 (8.17MB PDF)

Interactive map showing the differences between the Panel's recommendations and the Council’s alternative recommendations

Letter to Minister Bishop with full details (970KB PDF)

Ministerial decisions on the Council's alternative recommendations

The Minister made and announced decisions on the Council’s alternative recommendations on 8 May 2024.

The table below summarises the Panel recommendations rejected by the Council, and the alternative recommendations referred to the Minister, and the Ministers decisions on those alternative recommendations.

See the Minister’s press release with decisions on the alternative recommendations: Decisions on Wellington City Council’s District Plan | Beehive website.

Independent Hearings Panel recommendations  Council’s alternative recommendation referred to the Minister Minister's decisions on recommendation
Rezone blocks along Adelaide Road between Basin Reserve and John Street from a City Centre Zone to a Mixed Use Zone.   Retain the City Centre Zone in this Adelaide Road area in the notified 2022 Proposed District Plan.  Council alternative accepted.
Around the City Centre Zone, enable high density generally within a 15 minute walk up to the Town Belt and Thorndon motorway, with a smaller catchment in areas with steep streets and areas further away from the core of the City Centre – refer to the interactive viewer.  Apply this 15 minute walkable catchment by measuring it from the City Centre Zone boundary, including from the John St end of Adelaide Road, up to the Town Belt edge, without reducing it for other reasons – refer to map.  

A consequential amendment ensures that viewshafts from the top of the Cable Car would stay protected from any nearby high density residential development.  		 Council alternative accepted.
Exclude areas of Hay Street higher up the street from having building heights of 22 metres within the walkable catchment.  Applies the High Density Residential Zone and maximum heights limits are applied to Hay Street in the same way as other area within a walking catchment of the City Centre Zone.  Council alternative accepted.
Increase the extent of Character Precincts from that notified in the Proposed Plan - refer to the interactive viewer.  Retains the same extent of character precincts as in the notified Proposed Plan, as well as the notified Medium and High Density Zones in these areas. A consequential amendment returns the Berhampore Neighbourhood Centre maximum height standard to the notified 22 m.   Council alternative accepted.
Reduce the building height threshold and height-to-boundary controls as they relate to Hania Street properties that are next to the Moir Street Heritage Area.   For these building height threshold and height-to-boundary controls, retain the numbers as notified in the Proposed District Plan.  Council alternative accepted.
For 1-3 residential units in the Medium Density Residential Zone, require a front yard setback of 1.5m and a side yard of 1m. In the High Density Residential Zone, require the 1 m side yard (not front yard setback).  Remove the front and side yard setback requirements for 1 – 3 residential units in the Medium and High Density Residential Zones.   Council alternative accepted. 
Apply the High Density Residential Zone with a 22 metre height limit within a 10 minute walkable catchment around the Kilbirnie Metropolitan Centre, except for coastal natural hazard areas and steep eastern hills.   Refer a request to the Minister that the upzoning required by the National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020 as it relates to the Kilbirnie Metropolitan Centre be given effect to through a plan change notified within one year of the Minister’s decision.   Council alternative rejected.
Do not identify the Johnsonville railway line as a rapid transit service.  Identify the Johnsonville railway line as a rapid transit service and enable buildings with a maximum height of 22 metres within a 10 minute walkable catchment of its stations.   Council alternative accepted. 
Along the Kapiti rail line, enable buildings with a maximum height of 22 metres within a 5 minute walkable catchment from the Takapu Road and Linden Stations, 10 minutes from the Tawa and Kenepuru Stations, and 10 minutes from the Redwood Station (except the southeast side – 5 minutes).   Along the Kapiti Line, enable buildings with a maximum height of 22 metres within 10 minute walkable catchments of Kenepuru, Linden, Tawa, Redwood and Takapu Road stations.  Council alternative accepted.

Retain the following buildings on the heritage schedule:

  • 320 The Terrace, Gordon Wilson Flats
  • 139 Park Road, Gas Tank (former)
  • 1 Ranfurly Terrace, Emeny House (former)
  • 53 Trelissick Crescent, Kahn House
  • 280 Oriental Parade, Olympus Apartments
  • 274 Oriental Parade, Wharenui Apartments
  • 21 Kelburn Parade, Robert Stout Building
  • 24 Donald McLean Street, Former Primitive Methodist Church
  • 25-29 Phillip Street, Johnsonville Masonic Hall
  • 69 Tio Tio Road, Our Lady Star of the Sea Chapel and Stellamaris Retreat House
 Remove the buildings from the heritage schedule.  Council alternative rejected.
Exclude the City Centre Zone from the application of the ‘hydraulic neutrality’ rule.  To not exclude the City Centre Zone from the application of the ‘hydraulic neutrality’ rule.    Council alternative accepted.

Decisions using the Intensification Streamlined Planning Process (ISPP) cannot be appealed but can be judicially reviewed.

Next steps

Appeal period.

The Council's decisions will be notified and submitters served on 7 July 2025. This will begin the appeal period for 12 June 2025 decisions. 

Proposed District Plan Tranche 2 deadline extension to 18 July 2025

The Council wrote to the Minister for the Environment (Minister Simmonds) on 5 June 2024, requesting an extension to the plan change time frames for tranche 2 of the Proposed District Plan. In a letter dated 26 July 2024, Minister Simmonds accepted this extension.

Tranche 2 provisions are the sections of the plan being addressed through Hearing Streams 6 - 11. These are all notified under the Part 1, Schedule 1 plan change process. 

The new deadline for Council decisions on Tranche 2 provisions is 18 July 2025.

Letter from Minister Simmonds (58.8KB PDF)

Guidance on the status of plan provisions

ISPP provisions are now operative.

Standard planning process rules (Part one, Schedule one) which have been determined by the Council have 'legal effect'.

Contact us

For any matters related to your resource consent application, contact the Planning Helpdesk:

Phone: 04 801 3590
Email: planning@wcc.govt.nz

For any matters of 2024 District Plan interpretation, contact the District Plan team:

Mobile: 021 198 7136
Email: district.plan@wcc.govt.nz

If you would like independent support from a qualified planner who has had no involvement in developing the District Plan you can contact Emily Bayliss, the ‘Friend of the Submitter’:

Mobile: 021 803 0080
Email: friendofsubmitters@wcc.govt.nz