Changes to District Plan car parking requirements
The National Policy Statement for Urban Development (NPS-UD) came into effect August 20, 2020, requiring councils to remove minimum car parking requirements (excluding accessible car parking) from their District Plans. This direction supports the aim of the NPS-UD to enable more housing and commercial developments. Removing car parking minimums allows developments to be flexible with land use and site layouts. This enables land to be used for a variety of reasons including increased housing, business space or outdoor space, when car parking isn’t useful. Any car parking that is provided will still need to meet design and maneuvering standards.
The South Taranaki District Council is a Tier 3 territorial authority under the NPS-UD. As a Tier 3 council, the South Taranaki District Council is required to remove all objectives, policies, rules, and standards from the District Plan that contain minimum on-site car parking. Accessible car parking standards will continue to be in effect. Territorial authorities were directed under the NPS-UD to remove these provisions without providing opportunities for public consultation under a non-Schedule 1 of the Resource Management Act 1991 process.
Multiple sections of the District Plan will be modified to reflect the NPS-UD car parking removal requirements. Section 10 Parking and Transportation contain the main provisions for on-site car parking and will change the most. Amendments have also been made to some definitions in Section 1, objectives and policies in Section 2 and rules in Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 16, and 20 of the Plan to reflect the required changes to on-site parking minimums under the NPS-UD.
Public Notice
Removal of Minimum Parking Requirements from the South Taranaki District Council Operative District Plan
Under section 55 of the Resource Management Act 1991 in accordance with Policy 11 and clause 3.38 of the National Policy Statement for Urban Development 2020 (NPS-UD), South Taranaki District Council gives notice of amendments to the Operative District Plan to remove all objectives, policies, rules, relevant provisions that have the effect of requiring a minimum number of car parks to be provided for any development, land use, or activity.
The parking design standards, requirement for access, and manoeuvring spaces in the District Plan are not impacted by the NPS-UD and remain applicable to new development proposals. No changes to accessibility parking requirements in accordance with the New Zealand Building Code have been made as part of the changes to parking minimums.
As required under Section 55 of the Resource Management Act 1991, these changes to the District Plan have been made without using a Schedule 1 process (the typical public submission process for plan changes).
The changes to the District Plan have immediate effect.
This notice is in accordance with Section 55(2A)(b) of the Resource Management Act 1991.
