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).