The 'Self-contained zone plan

Description

This type of plan is related to the ‘area-based plans’ in that each chapter is similar to being a small plan in itself. All policy framework elements and rules applying to a particular zone are contained in discrete chapters that can be read without having to cross-reference to any other part of the plan other than planning maps. Some regional councils approached the management of certain issues or areas in a similar fashion in the past but derivations of it are more commonly found amongst district plans.

Advantages

• Self-contained zone plans are seen as user-friendly because all the rules pertaining to a particular area are contained in a single chapter without the need to look elsewhere in the plan.
• Helps ensure integrated management of all environmental issues within a zone by reducing the potential for cross-references to other chapters being missed.
• Able to accommodate local variations in circumstances within zones without complicated exceptions or tables.
• Provides the ability for the plan to be split up into sections at the front counter (like a series of mini plans) so that customers need only see the section that applies to their zone.

Disadvantages

• These plans can be bulky due to repetition of common provisions in every chapter or zone; having a definition section in each chapter may lead to inconsistencies or confusion.
• The addition of new zones or management areas increases plan bulk further (as all district or region-wide provisions needed to be repeated again).
• Increased care is needed to ensure that region or district-wide issues are covered in every zone (thereby avoiding ‘holes’ where issues could slip through).
• Potential for inconsistencies in provisions and approaches to occur when dealing with effects that cross zone boundaries;
• Plan changes to common provisions will need to be followed though all zones or chapters, with any alteration able to be challenged (so that there could be multiple challenges, or a challenge to the provision in one zone resulting in provisions that consequently become out of step with provisions in the others).

Example plans

While zones in the first generation Wellington City Council district plan are not entirely self-contained, they do exhibit many of the features that that one would expect in a self-contained zone plan (such as policies being divided up amongst the zones).