What is a District Plan?
Under the Resource Management Act 1991, every Council in New Zealand is legally required to prepare a district plan.

A district plan is the Council's statement of how it wishes to see the natural and physical resources (that can be found in the city today) managed, so the resources will continue to be there for future generations.

The plan controls activities in a bid to minimise any adverse effects the particular activity may have on the environment and the amenities of the surrounding neighbourhood or area.

Most people tend to come into contact with the Council's District Plan when they want to subdivide or construct a building on their property, because the district plan sets the rules for the size of the sections, the height of buildings, distances from boundaries, how much of the property a building may cover etc.

The Council produces a document that outlines the Plan Change. For each Plan Change, the Council also produces a section 32 report that provides an assessment of the costs and benefits of the various options and whether a Plan Change is an effective and efficient means of achieving the purpose of the Resource Management Act 1991. The section 32 report provides useful background information on the reasons for the Plan Change.

The Plan Change is publicly notified. This is generally in the Southland Times, and on the Invercargill City Council website. You may also receive a notice with your rates demand. If you are considered to be directly affected, you may also get an individual notice posted personally to you.

Any person can lodge a submission. These must be received by the Invercargill City Council within 20 Working Days from the date the Plan Change is advertised.

A summary of submissions is then prepared and advertised for public to make further submissions, either supporting or opposing the original submissions that were received. Public have a 20 Working Days to lodge further submissions from the date of the public notification.

If required, a Hearing will be held to consider all the submissions and any other relevant information before making a decision on the Plan Change.

The Council will then make a decision on each submission, and will either reject or accept (in whole or in part) each of the submissions. The Plan Change, as originally notified, will either remain as advertised, be amended in part or rejected.

The Council's decisions are then publicly notified. Any submitter may then appeal the Council decision to the Environment Court within 30 Working Days of the release of the decisions.