Planning Resources

The Rotorua District Council commissioned a large amount of research in preparation of the District Plan. Other research commissioned outside the District Plan that may inform development is also listed.

Strategic planning reports

Rotorua Housing and Business Development Capacity Assessments 2021 (Main Report)

Rotorua Housing and Business Development Capacity Assessments 2021 (Technical Report)

Rotorua Future Development Strategy - (PDF, 23MB)

About the Future Development Strategy

The FDS is a long-term strategy for the development of a well-functioning urban environment (the city including Ngongotahā) that provides for the social, economic and cultural wellbeing of its people, as well as directing how and where growth will happen over the next 30 years.

Read about the background to how the FDS was developed on our consultation platform Let's talk | Kōrero mai.

Information on the Future Development Strategy consultation

Natural hazards

Flood mapping

Flood maps and reports relating to three types of flood assessments:

Pluvial flooding, for specific stormwater catchments in Rotorua city and Ngongotahā
Flooding from high lake levels
Fluvial flooding, from streams overspilling in the Greater Utuhina Catchment (Rotorua City).

Assessments can overlap in area, providing different results for different sources of flooding. Therefore, all should be considered. The regional councils may also hold further information on flooding that is not available here.

1. Pluvial flooding (stormwater catchments)

Flood modelling results for Rotorua and Ngongotahā

We've modeled pluvial flooding (high rainfall flooding) for specific catchments in Rotorua and Ngongotahā to Awahou Stream. These areas are shown on the Location Map of Rotorua's Stormwater Catchments and Flood Maps (PDF, 1.4MB).

Model limitations

The models are indicative for general catchments, not property specific
Fine features like kerbs, fences and walls aren't included
Some drainage works might not be considered
Limited real-world data was available for validation
Use caution interpreting in and around building footprints. Buildings might be treated as elevated land or removed, which may not accurately reflect flooding.

Future climate scenario

The future climate scenario used is the IPC RCP 8.5 high-emissions scenario - 1% annual exceedance probability (AEP)
Floods of this magnitude are very rare in today's climate (an AEP significantly less than 1%).

Building and development considerations

Special planning rules or Building Act requirements may apply to developments in flood-prone areas.

For more details, please refer to the linked reports, including for other AEP scenarios.

Reports

2. High lake levels

Refer to the following report for information on high lake levels for the twelve major Rotorua lakes:

Rotorua Lakes Design Levels Technical Report BOPRC 2022

The approximation of the areas potentially affected by the 1% AEP high lake levels is available on Council's online mapping service GeyserView.

Note – Bay of Plenty Regional Council is currently developing updated projections on climate change impacts on high lake levels.

3. Greater Utuhina catchment fluvial flooding model

Modelling commissioned by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council provides information on areas susceptible to fluvial flooding (stream overspill) in the vicinity of streams in the Greater Utuhina Catchment (Rotorua city). Flooding from direct localised rainfall or pipe surcharges is not shown in these flood maps. For questions on this modelling please contact the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.