Proposed Plan Change 3 – Kārewarewa Urupā

Proposed Plan Change 3 recognises and provides for Kārewarewa Urupā as a site of significance to Māori. Kārewarewa Urupā is located in the area around Barrett Drive, Te Ropata Place, Marewa Place, and Tamati Place at Waikanae Beach.

This plan change includes the following amendments to the Operative District Plan 2021:

• adding Kārewarewa Urupā to Schedule 9 of the District Plan (Sites and Areas of Significance to Māori)
• amending the District Plan maps to include Kārewarewa Urupā.

Further information relating to the request is provided below. You can also view:

• Map of the area affected by Proposed Plan Change 3 on page 5 of Proposed Plan Change 3 – Kārewarewa Urupā [PDF 1.02 MB] or see a larger image of this map [PNG 2.35 MB]

Status: Hearings scheduled

Status of this Plan Change under Government’s Plan Stop requirements

Section 80U of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), as amended by the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Act 2025, requires councils to withdraw proposed plan changes (and other planning instruments) that have not yet reached a hearing, unless they are covered by an automatic exemption under the Act or have been granted an exemption by the Minister.

Council applied to the Minister for the Environment for an exemption under section 80V of the RMA to allow Proposed Plan Change 3 to continue through the plan change process. 

The Minister has now granted that exemption. In a decision dated 28 January 2026, the Minister approved Council’s exemption request in full, allowing Proposed Plan Change 3 to proceed through the plan change process.

Read the Minister’s decision letter [PDF 209 KB].

If you have any questions, please contact the District Planning team by phone on 0800 486 486 or by email at [email protected].

Immediate legal effect

PC3 had immediate legal effect from Wednesday 18 September 2024 in accordance with section 86B(3)(d) of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). This means that the District Plan rules for sites and areas of significance to Māori will apply to subdivision, use, and development at Kārewarewa Urupā on and from this date.

Definitions

Urupā

Under the District Plan, Urupā means (Māori) burial ground

Wāhanga

This term is not defined in the District Plan or in the RMA. However, the word “wāhanga” can be considered in this context to mean “classification”. ”Tahi” means “one” and “rua” means two.

Wāhanga tahi

Schedule 9 of the District Plan describes this classification as follows:

Wāhanga rua

Schedule 9 of the District Plan describes this classification as follows:

Waahi Tapu

Under the District Plan, Waahi Tapu means a site or an area which is sacred or spiritually meaningful to tangata whenua. Waahi tapu may be associated with creation stories of tangata whenua, a particular event (such as a battle or ceremony); it may be where the whenua (placenta) was returned to the earth, or where a certain type of valued resource was found.

Timeline