District Plan

The Whangārei Operative District Plan contains objectives, policies, rules and maps to manage how and where our District develops. It seeks to balance environmental, social, cultural and economic interests to make our District a great place to live.

Our District Plan is currently subject to proposed Plan Changes:

District Plan amendments to align with resource management changes

The Government has made changes to the Resource Management Act that mean some types of District Plan provisions can no longer be considered when making decisions on district land use resource consent applications.

We are currently reviewing the District Plan to identify the provisions affected by these changes. We intend to amend the District Plan by the end of 2026. 

We have identified an initial list of rules in the Whangārei District Plan that are likely to be impacted by this change. We may make updates to this list as we work through the changes.

Potential changes to the Whangārei District Plan(PDF, 190KB)

Types of District Plan provisions impacted by the changes

For residential activities (except where historic heritage is involved):

  • the area of glazing
  • the presence or absence of balconies
  • outdoor living space
  • the internal layout
  • the size of a residential unit
  • the size of landscaped areas except, in relation to permeability.

For any district land use activity:

  • negative effects of development on trade competition, including on competing providers of input goods and services
  • effects on retail distribution
  • for a project, any lack of demand for the project or whether the project is financially viable
  • the type of residents to be housed in a new development
  • views from private property.

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