FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We can advise you on what is possible, design your development for you and the project through all of the steps to completion.
You should approach us as early as possible to see whether the development meets Council rules and whether there are any constraints to development, such as access to services.
We can provide advice on whether a proposed development is possible under the zoning and rules that apply to the land. We can also check on whether conections are available to services and whether there are any other constraints that may apply to the land.
Our architects are experienced and skilled in a wide range of commercial and industrial developments. Our architects work with our planners to ensure our clients needs are met in a way that also satisfies Council requirements and ultimately provides what we are proud to be involved in – creating great places.
We can advise on the Council requirements for whatever development you propose. We can then provide any consultancy services required for obtaining resource and building consents, including architecture if the development involves a new building.
Even the simplest resource consent will cost $2,000 to prepare and process through Council. Complex resource consents can cost many thousands in consultant and Council fees. Our initial estimate will outline what the likely costs will be.
Generally, resource consents expire after 5 years.
A resource consent is processed under the Resource Management Act and district or regional plan and covers the land use, subdivision or discharge parts of the development. A building consent is prepared and processed under the Building Act and covers the building structure itself. Building consents will usually follow the resource consent stage and building works cannot commence until all required resource cosents are obtained.
We can advise at our initial meeting how long it will take to prepare a resource consent application. This will depend on the complexity of the project and how many inputs will be required. For a very simple proposal we may be able to prepeare an application within two weeks. A very large development may take 6 months to prepare. Our advice to clients is to take care in preparing applications so that they are comprehensive and cover what we know the Council will be expecting – this saves frustration and time later in the process.
On behalf of our clients we prepare the resource consent application and manage the process through to approval. The process often begins with a pre-application meeting with Council staff at which time any necessary mofictions to the development are discussed with our clinet. The application is then prepared and lodged. The Council will often then ask for further information (the “Section 92) and we work though that until Council staff are happy they have everything they need to finalise the consent. Almost all applications follow a “non-notified” process, although there is often the need to consult with tangata whenua and neighbours.