About PC2

Proposed Plan Change 2 (PC2) to the Operative Kapiti Coast District Plan 2021 (District Plan)[PDF 31.55 MB] responds to Government requirements to change the District Plan to accommodate more residents, businesses and community services in Kāpiti. It is also a significant step towards implementing our Growth Strategy, Te Tupu Pai – Growing Well.

PC2 was publicly notified on 18 August 2022. There was a high level of interest, and we received over 200 submissions. Further submissions were publicly notified on 10 November 2022, and nearly 100 further submissions were received.

You can see submissions and further submissions at Submissions and further submissions received.

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About this plan change

In summary, this plan change:

• incorporates the Government’s Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) into our District Plan, allowing the construction of up to three three-storey residential units on most sites in the General Residential Zone as a permitted activity where all the MDRS are complied with
• enables increased levels of development in and around Kāpiti’s centres and around the train stations at Paekākāriki, Paraparaumu and Waikanae
• rezones some areas to General Residential Zone
• proposes new design guides to encourage high-quality design of residential and mixed use development
• replaces all references to the Council’s Subdivision and Development Principles and Requirements 2012 document with references to the Land Development Minimum Requirements April 2022 document
• provides for qualifying matter areas where development is less enabled, including areas already identified in the District Plan, plus new areas including a Coastal Qualifying Matter Precinct, a Marae Takiwā Precinct, and Kārewarewa Urupā in Waikanae Beach.

Plan Change 2 also proposes:

• providing for tangata whenua to develop papakāinga housing developments
• making improvements to the District Plan’s financial contributions provisions.

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Timeline

Date	Action
Thursday 18 August 2022	Public notification of PC2
Thursday 15 September 2022	Original deadline for the close of submissions
5pm, Tuesday 27 September 2022	Extended deadline for the close of submissions
Thursday 10 November 2022	Public notice inviting further submissions on PC2
5pm, Thursday 24 November 2022	Further submissions close
by 5pm, Friday 3 March 2023	Council's planning and other expert evidence to be available online
by 12 noon, Friday 10 March 2023	Submitters wishing to present expert evidence must provide it to the Hearing Administrator. Send to [email protected].
by 5pm, Monday 13 March 2023	Submitters expert evidence available on Council's website
by 12 noon, Wednesday 15 March 2023	The Hearing Panel encourages parties to pre-circulate any opening legal submissions, preferably no later than midday. Send to the Hearing Administrator at [email protected].
20–24 and 27–31 March 2023	Independent Hearings Panel (IHP) conducts a hearing of submitters who wish to be heard. Hearing dates and other details can be seen on our Hearing page. Following the hearing, the IHP will consider PC2 and any submissions received on it and make recommendations on the plan change to Council.
July/August 2023 (TBC)	Council decides whether to accept or reject the IHP’s recommendations on PC2. This decision is publicly notified. These steps must be completed by 20 August 2023. Notes: The Intensification Streamlined Planning Process does not allow for appeals to be made on Council’s decision. If Council accepts all the IHP’s recommendations, then PC2, as modified by the recommendations of the IHP, becomes operative from the date that Council’s decision is publicly notified. If Council rejects any or all recommendations made by the IHP, then the rejected recommendations are sent to the Minister for the Environment, who makes the decision. Once the Minister notifies their decision, PC2 (as altered by the recommendations accepted by the Minister) becomes operative. There is no deadline for the Minister to make their decision.

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Summary of proposed Plan Change 2 by area

If you're interested in seeing how Plan Change 2 might be relevant to your area, see our Ward by Ward Summary of Plan Change 2 – Intensification[PDF 322 KB].

Note: This summary contains general information about PC2. It's not comprehensive, and doesn't describe every aspect of the plan change that may be relevant to you. If you wish to make a submission on PC2, you must make the submission on the Proposed Plan Change 2 – Intensification (Intensification Planning Instrument[PDF 31.55 MB]) itself, and not this summary.

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Maps showing submitter requested rezoning

Several submitters requested that PC2 rezone additional areas of land. Maps[PDF 5 MB] have been created showing the locations of these rezoning requests.

Notes and disclaimers:

1. These maps are intended to illustrate the location and extent of rezoning requested by submitters through their submissions on notified PC2. This map does not supersede the relief sought through submissions.
2. These maps only show rezonings requested by submitters where the spatial extent can be clearly understood or reasonably inferred from the submission.
3. In relation to submissions on areas to be rezoned as part of notified PC2, this map only illustrates submissions that request changes to the spatial extent of these areas. These maps do not illustrate submissions that support or oppose notified rezonings, but do not request a change in extent.
4. These maps do not illustrate submissions that request changes to the spatial extent of precincts (except where this is requested as part of the rezoning).
5. These maps do not constitute a recommendation or determination on whether submissions are in scope.
6. These maps do not show the rezoning of the General Residential Zone to Medium and High Density Zone sought by Kāinga Ora [S122]. Refer to the maps contained in Appendix 4 to submission S122 for the extent of rezoning sought by this submission.

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Government requirement for this change

The Government passed the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 in December 2021. This law requires the Council to change the District Plan to:

• incorporate the Government’s MDRS into the District Plan
• give effect to policies 3 and 4 of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020 (NPS-UD).

Under this law, Council can also make the following changes to the District Plan:

• changes to enable papakāinga housing
• changes to financial contributions provisions
• other changes that support or are consequential on incorporating the MDRS or giving effect to policies 3 and 4 of the NPS-UD.

The plan change is not allowed to include anything else.

The Ministry for the Environment has published guidance for the public on this legislation in Understanding the RMA (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021: General Overview (Ministry for the Environment).

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Legal advice on scope of Plan Change 2

Council decided to release an additional document, Advice letter – implementing the Enabling Housing Amendment Act[PDF 437 KB], which provides legal advice on the scope of the proposed plan change. This advice informed the Section 32 Evaluation Report, which assesses how the provisions of Plan Change 2 meets the objectives of the RMA.

You can read more about this in our media release at Council extends deadline for intensification plan change submissions (15 Sept 2022).

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Increased development in and around our centres and train stations

Policy 3 of the NPS-UD requires our District Plan to enable:

• in metropolitan centre zones, that building heights and density of urban form reflect demand for housing and business use in those locations, and in all cases building heights of at least six storeys
• building heights of at least six storeys in at least a walkable catchment of:
  • existing and planned rapid transit stops
  • the edge of metropolitan centre zones
• within and adjacent to neighbourhood centre zones, local centre zones, and town centre zones, that building heights and densities of urban form are commensurate with the level of commercial activity and community services.

This means the District Plan is required to enable increased building heights within the:

• Metropolitan Centre Zone at Paraparaumu
• Town Centre Zones at Ōtaki, Waikanae, Paraparaumu Beach and Raumati Beach
• Local Centre Zones at Waikanae Beach, Kena Kena, Mazengarb Road, Meadows, Raumati South and Paekākāriki.

We’re also required to enable increased building heights within walkable catchments (or walkable distances) of these zones, and the train stations at Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Paekākāriki (rapid transit stops). This is explained further in section 5.2.4 of the Council’s Section 32 Evaluation Report[PDF 2.82 MB].

The proposed changes to the District Plan maps, in Appendix A of the Proposed Plan Change 2 – Intensification (Intensification Planning Instrument)[PDF 31.55 MB] document, show the location of each of the Metropolitan, Town and Local Centre Zones, where increased heights are proposed to be enabled. They also show the location and extent of proposed Residential Intensification Precincts, which are areas within walkable catchments of these zones and the train stations at Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Paekākāriki, where the increased heights are also proposed to be enabled.

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Consents for development

There are many instances where you may still need a resource consent from the Kāpiti Coast District Council or the Greater Wellington Regional Council before undertaking development. For more information, see our Resource consents section.

New development is also likely to require a building consent from Council before any work can be started.

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Previous consultation

Previous consultations included:

• In April 2022, we sought public feedback on a draft version of this plan change. We received feedback from over 200 individuals and organisations, and this led to some useful improvements to the “proposed” version of the plan change that’s now being publicly notified. You can read a summary of that feedback and responses in Section 32 Evaluation Report: Appendix B – Summary of Public Feedback on Draft PC2[PDF 1.15 MB].
• In 2021 Council also consulted widely during development of our Growth Strategy, Te Tupu Pai – Growing Well. Among other things, this consultation covered a proposed approach to intensification across the General Residential Zone, in and around the District’s centres and around the train stations at Paekākāriki, Paraparaumu and Waikanae. Proposed Plan Change 2 is consistent with the approach to intensification in the Growth Strategy. The Growth Strategy was adopted by Council in February 2022. You can read more at Growth Strategy, Te Tupu Pai – Growing Well.

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