Does a council have an obligation to be competent to is applicants and if they are not what can be done?
I had plans drawn by local engineer and they were submitted and passed, I received building permit some excavation started, I called council for inspection, The council informed me i did not have planning consent..one would think they go hand in hand, that was December...
Planning officer contacted engineer and asked for clarification on plans, Engineer pointed out and high lighted information which was on documents already submitted, this has happed 4 or five times now two separate planning officers as first one has left. There does not seem to be any resolution in sight. I am wondering if i can use legal avenue

fryan1962 - 2021-05-03 07:32:00

Not sure why you refer to a "Building Permit" and a "Building Consent" - they are the same thing.

Are you sure you didn't submit the plans for a Project Information Memorandum (PIM)?

sparkychap - 2021-05-03 08:41:00

I have building permit but not RMA resource consent Not needed in previous country where I lived
Engineer applied for everything needed and I paid

fryan1962 - 2021-05-03 10:20:00

You need a building permit and a resource consent. The resource consent is automatic if the proposed structure is allowed under the regional plan plan.

However the palaver you are going through is consistent with an overloaded or slow council consenting process. They work to a deadline for approvals, but is an issue, question or problem can be found the whole process resets. This can go on for months.

I have had success in the past by formally complaining about the delays.

tony9 - 2021-05-03 12:03:00

tony9 wrote:

You need a building permit and a resource consent. The resource consent is automatic if the proposed structure is allowed under the regional plan plan.

However the palaver you are going through is consistent with an overloaded or slow council consenting process. They work to a deadline for approvals, but is an issue, question or problem can be found the whole process resets. This can go on for months.

I have had success in the past by formally complaining about the delays.

I like this idea, It has gone on for months and they are asking questions that have been set out in the plans, they just need to read the plans

fryan1962 - 2021-05-03 12:26:00

tony9 wrote:

You need a building permit and a resource consent. The resource consent is automatic if the proposed structure is allowed under the regional plan plan.
…

Eh? If the structure is permitted, resource consent is not required.

pico42 - 2021-05-03 12:47:00

Your engineer should have alerted you to the need for a resource consent if one was needed. They are not automatic, as Tony9 has stated. Depending what the works to be done a construction that does not meet the current resource plan may need to have all sorts of separate work to bring it into line with what is permitted, not to mention alerting neighbours etc. . Eg over size/height buildings, more dwellings on a section than provided for in the plan, breach of building envelope.

It might be useful for you to ask the council or look on the plans to see what is allowed in your area to ensure that what you are submitting is compatible.

Ask your engineer to set out the process for you or ask the Council. Ask the Council where in the process you are.

shanreagh - 2021-05-03 12:53:00

pico42 wrote:

Eh? If the structure is permitted, resource consent is not required.

Tony's is a valid point as OP seems to be a bit confused over what has been granted.

Edited by shanreagh at 12:58 pm, Mon 3 May

shanreagh - 2021-05-03 12:54:00

fryan1962 wrote:

I like this idea, It has gone on for months and they are asking questions that have been set out in the plans, they just need to read the plans

You are clearly talking past each other. Council may be expecting additional documentation that you have not yet provided because it believes you are not at the stage in the planning process that you think you are.

Best to talk to council direct, not set legal eagles on them so YOU know what the story is.

shanreagh - 2021-05-03 12:58:00

A resource consent isn't "automatic" if it meets the district plan - it's simply not needed.

sparkychap - 2021-05-03 13:13:00

Formal complaint by all means but in parallel consider an official information request. You can ask for a lot of detail about your own application, such as all dates / notes / decisions made, by whom, the qualifications of those involved, reasons for specific delays (if you have the info already), reasons for decisions being changed and so on.

OI requests go through a different process and result in some investigation being carried out within a time frame. So it is worth doing an OI request as well as rather than instead of.

The website fyi.org.nz has lots of info and examples of actual requests. Probably worth looking up any made to your council. (You can't use the site for personal information.)

artemis - 2021-05-03 13:49:00

Some places require a resource consent for building. This happened to us and I knew that we didn't need resource consent. Went and spoke with Council person who said yes we did need it and I repeated no we didn't because of XXXX and the Council person had to admit I was correct. Really annoyed them as they couldn't collect another $1000 from us. Have caught them out on other things when building too. Really frustrating that they didn't know their own regulations.

strathview - 2021-05-03 15:28:00

sparkychap wrote:

A resource consent isn't "automatic" if it meets the district plan - it's simply not needed.

We have done setbacks and height in keeping with district plan, we are removing soil which is why we need resource consent

fryan1962 - 2021-05-03 17:08:00

shanreagh wrote:

You are clearly talking past each other. Council may be expecting additional documentation that you have not yet provided because it believes you are not at the stage in the planning process that you think you are.

Best to talk to council direct, not set legal eagles on them so YOU know what the story is.

Engineer has shown me request for further info, then has shown me on plan we have already submitted and past. they just keep asking one thing after another

fryan1962 - 2021-05-03 17:11:00

fryan1962 wrote:

I have building permit but not RMA resource consent Not needed in previous country where I lived
Engineer applied for everything needed and I paid

To be specific, your engineer applied for resource consent as well as the building consent?
The resource consent application is still being processed?
The planning dept is asking for more information which is contained in the already submitted plans?

pico42 - 2021-05-03 17:11:00

pico42 wrote:

To be specific, your engineer applied for resource consent as well as the building consent?
The resource consent application is still being processed?
The planning dept is asking for more information which is contained in the already submitted plans?

yes correct

fryan1962 - 2021-05-03 18:27:00

This message was deleted.

hooserat - 2021-05-03 19:22:00

If you apply for and get issued with a building consent, but the project requires resource consent also, the BC is stamped 'section 37' and cannot start until RC is issued.
Is sect 37 stamped on the front?

masturbidder - 2021-05-03 20:24:00