Resource consent pre-application meetings

Who needs to attend

You and/or your agent (usually a planner, surveyor or architect) will meet with a Council planner who will give detailed feedback on your project. The meeting may also involve other Council specialists – for example, a traffic engineer, heritage advisor or urban design advisor.

Before the meeting

To get the most out of the meeting:

• you will be required to send us your plans and any relevant documents at least 3 days before the meeting
• email us beforehand to let us know who you're bringing with you, and if there are any particular issues you’d like to discuss.

We may talk to you about whether we need to invite other Council specialists to attend the meeting – for example, an urban designer, traffic engineer or heritage advisor. This is to make sure we can answer your questions and identify any issues or concerns early on.

At the meeting

You can bring your advisors (for example, planning, traffic, surveying) with you to the meeting.

During the meeting, we will advise:

• the District Plan rules that are likely to be triggered
• which other Council approvals are likely to be required
• if any specialist reports are likely to be required for your application
• key areas/ concerns to address in your application.

You'll also get feedback on the design of your proposal – as well as feedback from a resource consent planner, this can include feedback from urban design, heritage, traffic, geotechnical and/or noise experts.

We cannot advise at the meeting if your resource consent:

• will be approved
• needs to be notified
• has any affected parties.

After the meeting

We'll email you a record of what we discussed, usually within 5 working days of the meeting.

So we can provide consistent, high-quality guidance, a second planner will peer review our advice before we send it to you.

This record will need to be agreed by the two parties.

Please note:

• if you change your proposal after the pre-application meeting, our advice may no longer apply
• while we try to keep this a confidential process, we may have to disclose information you provide to us if another person requests it under the Local Government and Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
• the advice we give you is not legally binding
• you can make your application at any stage, even if there are  unresolved matters from the meeting.
• if your proposal is complex we will require that plans are provided 3 days out from the meeting. If these are not provided we will delay the meeting.

Meeting charges

We charge $266.50 an hour per Council advisor for in-depth meetings.

This cost ensures that we offer you tailored advice and guidance at the highest quality possible. The charge covers the time we spend:

• preparing for the meeting
• at the meeting
• documenting and peer reviewing our advice
• visiting the site, if requested.

You'll be sent an invoice and meeting record once the record has been agreed.

Example: Your project requires two Council officers for a one hour meeting. If each officer spends two hours in total preparing for, attending and recording the meeting, you will be charged $1,046.00 (four hours at $261.50 per hour).

Note: The costs of external resource / specialist consultants, for example consultant planners, urban designers and landscape architects, are passed on at their actual cost (as a disbursement).

Register for a pre-application meeting

You'll need to include:

• the names of any advisors you want to bring with you
• information about your proposal – for example site photos, a location plan, drawings or plans, or any reports you have commissioned
• any particular issues you'd like to discuss.

We'll contact you within 3 working days to organise the meeting.