What zone is my property in and what rules apply?

To find out what you can do on your property you need to know what zone it is in.

Each property has a zone within the District Plan. The District Plan is a rule book to manage how different parts of the District are used, developed, and protected. 

You can find what zone your property is in by searching your address in our GIS Maps.

Finding your property zone

The Whangārei District Plan 2022 is operative in part and there are appeals to the Transport Chapter which are not yet resolved.  

1. Open the District Plan GIS Map
2. Start typing your address or legal description in the search bar on the left-hand side of the screen.
3. Click on your full address or legal description to select it, when it appears in the drop down box. 
   
4. Click on your property on the map to display the full ‘Details’ of your property on the right side of the screen.
5. Under ‘Details’ you can arrow across, and your zone will display under the heading of Zones, e.g. ZONE – General Residential Zone.
   

What can I do in my zone?

Once you know what zone your property is in you can find the rules that apply to your zone.

Each zone has rules about:

• where you can build
• how high you can build
• what you can use land and buildings for (e.g. residential, commercial or, industrial use)

The rules specify things like how far apart houses need to be, how close you can build to your boundary and how many houses you can build on a site.

Find rules that apply to your zone

You can find the rules that apply to your zone by following the instructions below:

1. Find your property zone. 
2. Once you have found your property zone, under 'Details' click on the 'More info' link next to 'Chapter' and beneath 'Zone'.
   
3. Chapter of the District Plan will open for your zone.
4. To find out what rules apply to your property zone scroll to the rules section of the Chapter.

Each zone chapter sets out a description and expectation for the zone, objectives, policies and rules (in that order). The rules set out bulk and location requirements for buildings and tell you what types of activities are allowed in your zone. If a rule in the chapter is highlighted yellow this means it is subject to an outstanding Appeal.

We recommend in this case that you contact the Duty Planner or make a request for planning advice. 

If you need help to understand how the rules apply to your property you can make an appointment with the Duty Planner.  

How we can help