The Auckland Unitary Plan is currently in notified stage, and has reached the Council Decisions stage. Essentially this means the plan is still a ‘Work In Progress’ however we are now much closer to having the Unitary Plan being operative. Until the Auckland Unitary Plan is Operative we would not recommend making purchases based on the zoning measures of what a property will be under the Plan as it could still change.
If you are making important decisions based on the Auckland Unitary Plan I recommend that you either talk to Town Planning at Auckland City Council and/or check the online version of the Plan to ensure that the the controls you are making a decision on are current and conduct your own due diligence investigation into the same. You can access the online Auckland Unitary Plan Book here.
The information in this post is from the www.shapeauckland.co.nz, www.unitaryplan.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz and www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz website on October 13th 2013. The current version of the plan has changed in parts from the below, we are awaiting for the plan to be a fomalised version to be able to update the below. Accordingly I cannot guarantee it’s accuracy and reliability as we have not checked, audited, or reviewed the information and this may have changed from date of posting and todays date, therefore I do not accept any responsibility to any person for the accuracy of the information herein.
When you are looking at the Auckland Unitary Plan zone rules that will impact your property, it is important to check both the controls and the rules. You can see the rules for the Auckland Unitary Plan Zone Rules here.
If you are making important financial decisions based on the Auckland Unitary Plan it is highly recommended that you speak to Town Planning at Auckland City Council or a Registered Surveyor.
Below are the rules from the Unitary plan rule book for the Rural and Coastal Settlement Zone.
Chapter I: Zone rules» 1 Residential zones»
5. Development Controls – Rural and Coastal Settlement zone
5.1 Development control infringements
- Buildings that infringe three or more of the following development controls are a discretionary activity:
- building height
- height in relation to boundary
- yards
- maximum impervious area
- building coverage.
5.2 Building height
Purpose: manage the height of buildings to maintain the rural and coastal residential character of the zone (one to two storeys).
- Buildings must not exceed 8m in height.
5.3 Height in relation to boundary
Purpose: manage the height and bulk of buildings at boundaries to limit over-shadowing of neighbouring sites and provide space between buildings.
- Buildings must not exceed a height of 2.5m measured vertically above ground level at side and rear boundaries. Thereafter, buildings must be setback 1m for every additional metre in height (45 degrees).
Figure 1: Height in relation to boundary
- This control does not apply to a boundary adjoining:
- industrial zones
- centres and mixed use zones
- the General Business zone
- the Business Park zone
- sites within the public open space zones exceeding 2000m2.
- Where the boundary forms part of a legal right of way, pedestrian access way, or access site, the control applies from the farthest boundary of that legal right of way, pedestrian access way or access lot.
- A gable end or dormer may project beyond the recession plane where it is:
- no greater than 1m in height and width measured parallel to the nearest adjacent boundary
- no greater than 1m in depth measured horizontally at 90 degrees to the nearest adjacent boundary.
Figure 2: Exemptions for a gable end or dormer
- No more than two gable end or dormer projections are allowed for every 6m length of site boundary.
5.4 Yards
Purpose: maintain the spacious character of the zone and ensure dwellings are adequately set back from lakes, streams and the coastal edge to maintain water quality and provide protection from natural hazards.
Table 3:
| Yard | Minimum depth |
| Front | 5m |
| Side | 1m |
| Rear | 1m |
| Riparian | 10m from the edge of all other permanent and intermittent streams |
| Lake | 30m |
| Coastal protection yard | 20m, or as otherwise specified in appendix 6.7 |
5.5 Maximum impervious area
Purpose: manage the amount of stormwater runoff generated by a development.
- Maximum impervious area: 10 per cent.
- Maximum impervious area within a riparian yard: 10 per cent.
5.6 Building coverage
Purpose: maintain the rural and coastal residential character of the zone.
- Maximum building coverage: 20 per cent or 200m², whichever is the lesser.
5.7 Outdoor living space
Purpose: provide dwellings with outdoor living space that is of a usable size and dimension and is consistent with the spacious qualities of the zone and is accessible from the principal living room.
- A dwelling must have an outdoor living space measuring at least 80m2 that:
- is free of building, parking, servicing and manoeuvring areas
- excludes any area with a dimension 1m or less.
- Where a dwelling has the principal living room at ground level, part of the required outdoor living space must be able to contain a delineated 20m2 area that:
- has no dimension less than 4m
- is directly accessible from a principal living room
- has a gradient not exceeding 1 in 20.
- Where a dwelling has the principal living room above ground level, part of the required outdoor living space must include a balcony or roof terrace that is directly accessible from the principal living room that:
- has a minimum area of 8m2
- has a minimum depth of 2.4m.
5.8 Garages
Purpose: ensure garages are not a dominant feature of the streetscape.
- A garage door facing a street must be no greater than 40 per cent of the width of the front façade of the dwelling to which the garage relates.
- Garage doors must not project forward of the front façade of a dwelling.
