Hi, there's a small unique bit of land in an industrial/mixed area near me which I'd like to buy and build a relatively compact 1-2 bed modern standalone 2 storey townhouse. By small, its just over 5 meters wide. I don't want to purchase the land without some sort of indication that a building consent would be approved. How far down the building consent process can I get before the council gets nervous about liability? I can show them the piece of land, detailed drawings and possibly some efforts to mitigate disruption to neighbours views/privacy, and height restrictions.

sherriff_3000 - 2020-12-08 20:59:00

The consenting process is quite difficult with a 'normal' building so we try to design it to comply with the dozens of rules in the district plan.
To build anything unconventional (to the council) you will need a lot of patience and money.
You could start with a pre-planning meeting with the council planners, which costs around $600 and may or may not be helpful.
Good luck!

masturbidder - 2020-12-08 23:47:00

What liability is there for council to get nervous about?

pico42 - 2020-12-09 08:42:00

A Project Information Memoranda (PIM) from the council is what you should apply for. It will set out all the rules and information the council has regarding that property with regard to whatever it is you are thinking of building on it.
https://www.building.govt.nz/building-officials/guides-for-b
uilding-officials/project-information-memoranda/

mongolia1 - 2020-12-09 10:09:00

sherriff_3000 wrote:

Hi, there's a small unique bit of land in an industrial/mixed area near me which I'd like to buy and build a relatively compact 1-2 bed modern standalone 2 storey townhouse. By small, its just over 5 meters wide. I don't want to purchase the land without some sort of indication that a building consent would be approved. How far down the building consent process can I get before the council gets nervous about liability? I can show them the piece of land, detailed drawings and possibly some efforts to mitigate disruption to neighbours views/privacy, and height restrictions.

The issues you mention are planning related rather than Building Code related, so Building Consent is not the issue, Resource Consent is.
Definitely go for a pre-application meeting with a Council planner.

karahiwi - 2020-12-09 15:06:00