Promoting internal consistency in RMA plans

Why consistency is important

Consistency within and between plans promotes certainty and familiarity and lessens problems associated with interpretation and unintended consequences. More specifically, use of the same phrases and terminology:

• means that experience gained in the application or implementation of provisions in one part of the plan, can be applied more easily to other parts of the plan where that term or phrase is used
• increases certainty in interpretation, as readers don’t have to think about whether slight variances will result in significant changes of meaning; and there is less likelihood of misinterpretation
• improves the ability of new staff to quickly understand the structure of the plan and the way in which provisions in it are to be interpreted.

Ideas for promoting internal consistency

Drafting Protocols / Guidelines / Style Guides

These are documents produced within the council itself and combine legal requirements, good practice, and council requirements for plan provision drafting into a style guide. The document then becomes a key reference for all those involved in drafting plan provisions to follow. Drafting protocols and guidelines may contain:

• an explicit statement of what the protocol or guidelines are designed to achieve
• the goals adopted for the drafting of the plan (such as the philosophical approach taken to the permissiveness or restrictiveness of the plan, the degree of simplicity in language and standards desired, or what the plan should be working towards achieving)
• the principles to be followed in drafting the plan
• an outline of the plan format and how provisions are intended to relate to each other
• checklists or tips on how provisions should be drafted
• examples that illustrate the style in which provisions are to be drafted
• protocols in regard to reviewing and checking against the guidelines or protocols (such as whether a style champion has been appointed or not, what the roles of the champion are, or protocols regarding peer reviews and self-checking).

Good practice tips for drafting protocols and guidelines include:

• approach writing the content of the guideline or protocol from the perspective of a staff member who has recently joined the council but has some RMA experience already (don’t assume staff already have knowledge of how the local authority does things or how provisions have been written in the past)
• include examples of what is meant wherever possible
• ensure everyone who will be involved in drafting has an opportunity to input into the drafting before the guidelines or protocols are finalised. This is important to maintain a sense of ownership, commitment and understanding of why the document exists and what it contains
• involve consent planning staff in developing the protocol or guidelines. What do they want to see included? What do their experiences in using existing plans tell you about what needs to be included or avoided in the next plan?

For example of guidelines and protocols see:

• Dunedin City Plan Drafting Guidelines (PDF 523KB)

Style ‘champions’ and watchdogs

Appointing a person within the drafting team who monitors and checks for issues of consistency in style, terminology can assist. This person has the role of ensuring others are reminded of, and are adhering to, the style, phrasing and terminology chosen for the plan. In the past this task has often been the de facto role of the project leader or manager, but it can be given to any experienced person within the drafting or editing team. In using this technique it is important that:

• this champion is fully aware of all the style requirements adopted by the council and good practice in plan provision drafting
• the champion has some form of guide or objective set of criteria that serve as prompts or reference checks that can be used by both the person doing the initial drafting and the champion in checking
• processes are in place that ensure this person sees and has time to check and amend (or make recommendations on) all plan provisions, changes, and variations before they reach the notification (or council approval) stage
• the person chosen is able to provide constructive feedback on style and what is needed to keep it consistent
• all members of the drafting team accept the role of the champion and are comfortable with it (reminders may need to be given periodically to the effect that the champion is there to assist in ensuring a consistent end product that meets pre-agreed standards).

Style and content edits

As well as checking and editing to eliminate grammatical and technical errors, a dedicated edit for consistency of style and content may be carried out. Checking against the Drafting Protocol can assist with this. Other good practice ideas for checking content and style include:

• using a professional editor, technical writer, or journalist to read through the document and see if they can pick up inconsistencies in style, or suggest ideas to make the plan easier to read (they are usually very familiar with the principles of the plain English writing style)
• ensure that new provisions are peer-reviewed by a person who is familiar with the plan (up re-reading, the writer may see what is supposed to be there, rather than what is actually written).

Legal review

Legal reviews are usually carried out to check the legality and robustness of policy statement or plan provisions. In checking provisions, lawyers can also pick up on inconsistencies in the way provisions are expressed and on terminology of legal principles and case law. As legal reviews typically come towards the end of the pre-notification drafting phase, they should not be relied on as the primary method of checking consistency. Also, having a lawyer check for style and consistency of wording throughout a plan may not represent the best use of the lawyer’s time or expertise. It some circumstances having a lawyer look just look at key phrases that are used throughout the plan, or wording concerning areas that a particularly contentious, may be more cost-effective.

• If your council has adopted and documented a particular style, make sure that the lawyer is aware of this (perhaps by circulating a copy of drafting guidelines or reports that set out the adopted style). Ideally lawyers should have been party to the development of that style.

Templates

Some councils use templates in place of, or as part of, style guides. Electronic templates can be used to ensure fonts are appropriate to the various level of headings, and general plan text. More advanced electronic templates can assist in numbering plan provisions, and can also contain prompts to remind the writer of key considerations or tasks when drafting.