22 February 2019

Media: Stuff

Topic: Rules regarding CBD living

Enquiry

I am working on a [national] story about councils and their rules around people living in shops in the CBD.

What are the Rotorua Lakes Council's rules around people living in the CBD, in particular in former shops and is this something the council would consider looking at in order to fill empty buildings?

Various councils have been contacted. It follows a mayor saying it's something their council may consider amid housing shortage and an increasing number of empty shops as people move to online shopping or travel out of town for more options.

Response

From Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick:

Our vision is for a vibrant CBD where people can live as well as work, shop and enjoy recreational activities, dining and entertainment.

Inner city living is something we're very keen to see more of. It's something we look to encourage when opportunities arise and it is permitted under the Rotorua District Plan.

The amount of vacant retail space in Rotorua's CBD has actually been declining in recent years. That's not because of increased inner city living and has happened despite online shopping and new shopping developments outside of the CBD. We don't yet have 2018 results but 2017 saw the lowest retail vacancy rate in our CBD since 2010, with occupancy at 89.3 per cent.

However, there is certainly the potential for more inner city living and we see it as something that would add to the vibrancy of, and activity within, our CBD.

Information re Rotorua Lakes Council rules regarding inner city living:

Inner city living is permitted under the Rotorua District Plan.

Conversion of retail space into residential is a Permitted Activity in the CBD (ie doesn't require resource consent) with the exception of Tutanekai Street where resource consent is required for ground floor conversions (upper storey conversions require no resource consent for this area).

While residential is permitted in the CBD there are a number of performance standards that must be met for all residential accommodation in the CBD eg acoustic treatment.

Any new build in the CBD - whether residential or retail - requires resource consent.

The Building Act still applies for all conversions and new builds.

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Media: Daily Post

Topic: Building consents for solid fuel burners

Enquiry

Just wanting some clarification. How much will the solid fuel burner building consent be?

I've been talking with the regional council and they said to get in touch with lakes. I want to know how much it would cost to replace a legal fire place?

Is that consent $395? Because I was speaking to a man who found the $2700 application fee (which I later found out was because replacing an illegal fire required a resource consent) was a potential deterrent.

The regional council also said their are still 2500 non-compliant burners in Rotorua - do you know how many of those are legal? (ie lakes council has evidence they were installed) And how many of these 2500 are illegal?

Response

Following a discussion by phone to clarify the different roles of the RLC and regional council with respect to solid fuel burners, we referred the reporter to BOP Regional Council as per the delegation under the Rotorua Air Quality Control Bylaw. We also provided the following information:

• We can confirm that the fee for a Building Consent application for free standing solid fuel heater is $395. You will need to confirm what the $2700 is for with the Regional Council.
• The functions under the Rotorua Air Control Bylaw have been delegated to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council
• Applications for Resource Consent for installing a new wood burner where there is no existing wood burner must be made through the Regional Council (see Air Quality Rule 13)
• We cannot verify the number the Regional Council has given you because RLC does not hold historic records for wood burners (the reason for this is there would be many burners that were installed as part of wider building consents and each specific part of those consents were not recorded separately e.g. kitchen renovation, deck build or installation of fire etc

There is some good information including flow charts for when Resource Consents are needed HERE. We have also provided an explanation below for the different between a building consent and resource consent.

Resource consent relates to environmental impact and considerations:

Is a formal approval for such things as the use or subdivision of land, the taking of water, the discharge of contaminants in water, soil or air, or the use or occupation of eg coastal space.

Building consent is about building standards to make sure they're safe:

Comes under the Building Act covers the construction, alteration, demolition and maintenance of new and existing buildings throughout New Zealand. It sets standards and procedures for people involved in building work (including licensing of building practitioners) to ensure buildings are safe, healthy, and built right first time.

It covers how work can be done, who can do it, and when it needs to be consented and inspected. The Building Act as it relates to buildings is implemented by local district and city councils.