What is a Zone?

Zoning is one of the tools used in the district plan to group together land use activities that have similar environmental effects.  Zones are defined by similar characteristics, qualities, and purpose.
The Operative South Waikato District Plan is an ‘activity based plan’ which means activities are considered in the context of the zone that they are in, to determine whether they are a good ‘match’ for the zone.
Each zone in the district plan has objectives, policies, and rules for activities that may occur in them.  This allows activities to be managed so that their effects are consistent with community expectations for that zone.  In the district plan, activities in each zone are listed in terms of whether they are permitted (no resource consent required), or need some form of resource consent from Council before the activity can be built or carried out.
The three main types are controlled, discretionary or non-complying.  For further information on resource consents, refer to the Fact Sheet 2 ‘What is a Resource Consent?’.

What zones are there?

There are a number of different zones within the South Waikato District.  Information about each zone can be found on other fact sheets in this series.

The zones we currently have are:

• Residential – this is where most of the housing is in the district
• Rural – farmland and forestry
• Rural Residential – lifestyle lots adjoining the townships and Waikato River
• Commercial Core – the CBD in Putaruru and Tokoroa
• Commercial Fringe – Tirau Shopping Centre and shops around the edge of the Tokoroa and Putaruru CBD
• Neighbourhood Retail –the suburban ‘corner shops’
• Reserve – parks and reserves
• Airport protection – Tokoroa Airport and surrounding land
• General Industrial – manufacturing, warehousing and service industries located in the townships
• Heavy Industrial – Kinleith industrial area
• Dairy Industrial – Designed to manage effects from Lichfield Dairy Factory
• Hydro Electric Power Generation – Mighty River Power site at Arapuni

How do I know which zone applies to me?

The different zones are all represented on the planning maps for the district.  There are 45 maps that cover the entire district.  These are held in hard copy in a folder at the planning counter at the South Waikato District Council, or can be downloaded from www.swdc.govt.nz
The planning maps allow you to identify the property you are interested in, and what zone has been applied to it.  Once you have had a look at the maps you are in a better position to go to the plan and check out the rules and performance standards for the zone and work out whether a particular activity needs a resource consent.

What will the District Plan review mean for zoning?

South Waikato District Council has chosen to continue with the use of zoning and activity based planning to avoid, remedy or mitigate adverse effects on the environment.  Zoning is a concept that is well understood by the community, and provides a degree of certainty and security for landowners, residents and developers as to the environmental outcomes expected within each different zone, and the nature and scale of activities that can be carried out.

One of the matters that will need to be considered when reviewing the plan is whether the current number of zones should be increased or decreased, or remain the same.