Development contributions

Changing the policy

Process
Possible future changes to the policy

Process

The development contributions policy is one of the policies included in Auckland City Council's long-term council community plan. As such, it may be amended from time to time, as part of each new long-term plan (each 3 years), or as part of the amendments to the long-term plan that are included in each year's annual plan or otherwise following public consultation as set out in the Local Government Act 2002.

Changes to the development contributions policy will generally follow this process:

possible changes to the policy are outlined in one or more reports to the annual plan direction setting meetings in December through February
policy issues are presented (as necessary) to the meeting of the City Development Committee early in the new year
if changes are proposed, an amended policy will be considered by the combined committees meeting in March. If agreed at that meeting, the amended policy will be published as a draft for consultation, as part of the draft long-term plan or draft amendments to the long-term plan.
the draft policy will be open for public submissions in April and May
a revised amended policy will be prepared after reviewing the submissions. This will be considered by the combined committees meeting in June. If agreed at that meeting, the amended policy will be adopted and published as part of the long-term plan or amendments to the long-term plan.
if adopted, the revised policy will typically come into effect from 1 July of that year. The revised policy may include some transition arrangements setting out how consent applications which are already in progress on 1 July are to be treated.

Possible future changes to the policy

Possible future changes are outlined in section 12 of the 2007 policy. This includes:

further aspects of transport, for the whole city
the implications of the council's public space strategy.

These possible extensions to the policy are being investigated because new development within the city increases the demand for these assets and services. These extensions to the development contributions policy would help ensure that those undertaking new development make a fair contribution towards meeting the additional demand generated for community facilities, stormwater, transport and public space.

The development contribution charges collected for existing activities will also be reviewed in future, to ensure they reflect understandings of growth costs. This may include further extensions arising from growth-related projects adopted as part of achieving the vision for the city.

Updated June 2008