This note has been updated for 2017 and 2020 amendments but not updated for best practice.
Making a decision on whether an application should be notified, limited notified or non-notified is a very important step in processing a resource consent. This guidance note provides good practice advice about making recommendations and decisions on notification.
Sections 95 to 95G of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) set out the requirements for notification of a resource consent application. These provisions apply to resource consent applications (s88), boundary activities (s87AAB), fast-track consent applications (s87AAC), Section 127 applications (change or cancellation of consents conditions); s128 reviews and s221 (vary or cancel a consent notice).
The RLAA17 has amended the RMA by replacing the previous public and limited notification assessment process for resource consent applications with a new mandatory step-by-step process for deciding whether an application should be notified or not.
Note: The statutory tests to determine whether to give public or limited notification of a notice of requirement for a designation and notice of requirement for a heritage order are unchanged. However, because of the amendments made to sections 95A to 95E by RLAA17, they have been moved to sections 149ZCB to 149ZCF in Part 6AA of the Act. Sections 168A, 169, 189A and 190 in Part 8 of the Act detail how sections 149ZCB to 149ZCF are to be modified and applied to designations and heritage orders. Further information relating to this process can be found in the guidance note in relation to Notices of Requirement and Requiring Authorities.
See the Ministry for the Environments technical guide on resource consent notification and step-by-step notification determination flowchart.
