Auckland Council website.
This website has changed
This is the former Auckland City Council website, which has some of the information and services you need if you live or do business in the area. Go to the main Auckland Council website to access the complete range of council services.
Skip navigation
Plans, policies and reports
Plans, policies and reports

Hauraki Gulf Islands  review

<< Back to contents

Issues and options papers

Landscape Assessment, Outstanding Natural Landscapes

Issue
Currently the District Plan does not contain any method of assessing landscapes or the impacts of activities on landscapes.

Section 6 of the Resource Management Act requires that:

"In achieving the purpose of this Act, all persons exercising functions and powers under it, in relation to managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources, shall recognise and provide for the following matters of national importance:

(a) The preservation of the natural character of the coastal environment (including the coastal marine area), wetlands, and lakes and rivers and their margins, and the protection of them from inappropriate subdivision, use, and development:

(b) The protection of outstanding natural features and landscapes from inappropriate subdivision, use, and development:…"

As there is no current method of assessment and no definition of "outstanding natural landscapes", the process of assessment in relation to landscapes can be subjective.

One of the biggest issues that will face the management of the Gulf Islands will be distinguishing in the District Plan what comprises an outstanding natural landscape. This must be consistent with any regional policy documents that relate to the issue. For example, the public will need to consider what status ridgelines will have in terms of being landscape features.

Another key issue relating to Section 6 is what constitutes an inappropriate, or, conversely, appropriate use in an area of outstanding landscape. Such uses will need to be identified in the Plan.

The primary focus is on protection of these areas. It is possible that, in areas that have been identified as outstanding natural landscapes, subdivision could be discretionary, but with no reduction in minimum lot size. Alternatively, subdivision in these areas could be made non-complying or prohibited.

Effects of buildings in landscapes are not always assessed, especially in Land Units 1-10, which are generally located in the most sensitive areas of the Gulf Islands. In addition, the presence of vegetation and the impact development or activities such as forestry, can affect the landscape and its value.

Cumulative effects are sometimes difficult to address. They are effects that arise in combination with other effects on the site, or other effects in the surrounding environment. The District Plan can address them as part of its assessment criteria, but the assessment criteria need to be very specific.

Possible approaches

You may have a better or alternative approach to those outlined below. If so, we would like to hear from you.

  • Maintain the status quo, continuing to assess buildings without defined criteria and only where resource consent is currently required by the Plan.
  • Identify and insert an overlay of outstanding natural landscapes and regionally important landscapes into the District Plan.
  • Ensure that any identified landscapes are consistent with regional policy documents.
  • Add an appendix to the Plan that outlines good solutions for buildings in sensitive landscapes, with particular focus on colour, form and mitigation of visual effects, and on the context of the particular development.
  • Allow for innovative design solutions where these fit the landscape context.
  • Give strong guidance in the Plan to ensure appropriate use if a flexible approach is taken to Section 6. It is arguable that Section 6 restricts only inappropriate use, and that a prohibited activity status restricts all use or change.
  • Ensure that very clear policies and objectives define when a discretionary or non-complying activity is appropriate, and when it is inappropriate.
  • Recognise outstanding natural landscapes in the objectives and policies throughout the Plan and ensure these are followed through to the rules.
  • Consider the importance of ridgelines, native vegetation, buildings and rural land uses such as vineyards or forestry when assessing the components of landscapes.
  • Identify the values of cultural landscapes, such as heritage sites and modified rural uses.
  • Address cumulative effects as an important component of landscape assessments.
  • Loosen the assessment criteria in relation to landscapes and allow a 'free' approach to design.

Note:

While this issue paper can be read in isolation, it is best read in association with the issue papers relating to: