Complete agenda for October 2009 Council Meeting (pdf, 1610KB)

Northland Regional Council - 21 October 2009 Page 146 Item 24Resource Management Planning Documents inNorthland – An Analysis of Possible Future OptionsFile: 990.13Report from Director of Strategy and Planning Lawrayne Hughes dated6 October 2009.PURPOSEThe purpose of this agenda item is to have the report entitled ‘ResourceManagement Planning Documents in Northland – An Analysis of Possible FutureOptions’ received by the Council.INTRODUCTIONThe Council has stated in its Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) that itintended to investigate combining planning documents in Northland with the aim ofimproving public usability of these documents and to improve the efficient andeffective integrated management of Northland’s natural and physical resources.This reflects the perception that having seven planning documents in Northland isnot as efficient and effective in managing the region’s natural and physical resourcesas it could be. It has been suggested that a single planning framework wouldimprove this by removing overlaps, identifying and addressing gaps, ensuringconsistency in priorities, and removing public confusion and complexity.Council staff have produced a report entitled ‘Resource Management PlanningDocuments in Northland – An Analysis of Possible Future Options’. The reportidentifies potential combined planning options for Northland’s planning documentsand analyses the resource management planning advantages and disadvantages ofeach option. The executive summary of this report is attached and the full documenthas been sent to Councillors.SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE REPORTNorthland’s four councils have produced a total of seven first generation resourcemanagement planning documents under the Resource Management Act 1991consisting of a Regional Policy Statement (RPS), three regional plans (air, water andsoil, and coastal), and a district plan for each of the three districts (Far North,Whangarei, and Kaipara). The Regional Policy Statement is due for its 10 yearstatutory review and this has been a catalyst for the Northland Regional Council toinvestigate whether combining some or all of Northland’s planning documents iswarranted. The report presents an analysis of the options available for combiningthe various plans and assesses their respective advantages and disadvantages froma resource management planning perspective.A semi-quantitative evaluation was undertaken which was based on the results of aworkshop which was attended by regional council and district council staff. Thisevaluation ranked each option using a number of assessment criteria.A qualitative evaluation was also undertaken which examined the advantages anddisadvantages of each option in terms of likely decision making drivers. Theevaluation was based on a literature review, interviews with frequent users of theplans, discussions with planning staff of other councils that have combined planningdocuments, and comments made by the workshop participants. An analysis of thecosts and timeframes of producing plans and undertaking plan changes ispresented.