Overview of Resource Management Act 1991
The Resource Management Act 1991 had been passed by the parliament of New Zealand for the purpose of promoting the sustainable management of physical and natural resources for instance water, air and land. The legislation is considered as the primary statue of the country enacted for the purpose of environmental management. The Act had been enacted for replacing previous provisions, to incorporate the provisions for sustainability and to ensure sustainable management of resources in the country (Mfe.govt.nz2018).
Principle 1
The three sets of principles are which are provided through the legislation are contained in Section 6, 7 and 8 of the Act.
Section 6 of the Act provided a list in relation to those matters which are of national importance which have to be identified and addressed for in order to adhere to the purpose of the legislation. The matters which are present under the section are
- Costal environment’s natural character
- Natural landscapes and features which are outstanding
- Providing access to the public in relation to water bodies
- Indigenous vegetation and habitants of significant nature
Principle 2
Section 7 provides list in relation to the matters which would be regarded for all decision to adhere to the purpose of the legislation. These matters include
- Kaitiakitange
- Amenity Values
- Stewardship
- Renewable energy
- Climate change
- Finite characteristics of physical and natural resources
- Habitats of salmon and trout
- Quality of the environment
- essentials of the ecosystem
Principle 3
Section 8 of the Act provides for taking into consideration the treaty of Waitangi in order to adhere to the purpose of the legislation (Legislation.govt.nz2018)
- Duty of the crown and Maori to act in good faith and reasonably
- Making informed decisions
- Duty of the Crown of protecting M?ori interests
The six elements of environment which are controlled and restricted by the legislation are provided through part 3 of the Act.
- Restrictions of land use –land has to be used in a proper manner. The legislation provides restriction in relation to the use of land which is protected along with subdividing land. The section also provided for a few activities which are allowed in relation to building works. These provisions are provided under section 10B of the Act.
- Restriction upon using costal marine area- these provisions are provided through section 12 of the Act where it has been expressly stated that a person is restricted from draining or reclaiming any seabed or foreshore or to alter, reconstruct, extend, erect, demolish or remove any structure or part of the structure attached to the seabed or foreshore.
- Restriction in relation to use of water – the rules in relation to restriction upon water use are provided through section 14 of the Act. According to the section a person is restricted from using, taking, diverting or dam any costal water or use any energy for the water which is not incompliance to a regional rule or the national environmental standard. This also includes Restriction in relation to using bed in a certain way of lakes and rivers – these provisions are provided through section 13 of the Act. The section states that no person is allowed to alter, reconstruct, extend, erect, demolish or remove any structure or part of the structure attached to the bed. Any person is also not allowed to drill, excavate or disturb the bed.
- Duty to avoid adverse effect- under section 17 of the Act it is the duty of the person to mitigate and adverse effect which may be caused to the environment due to his activity or an activity done on his behalf.
- Restriction in relation to incineration and dumping of waste- provisions regarding discharge of contamination are provided through section 15 of the Act. According to the section any person is not allowed to contaminate water, land or air unless the discharge has been allowed by a national environmental standard or a regional plan.
- Restrictions of making unreasonable noise- provisions of avoiding unreasonable noise are provided under section 16 of the legislation. According to the section the occupier of land or a person indulging in an activity under, in or on a water body has to undertake the best measures for the purpose of ensuring that the noise produced by the activity is limited. –
Esplanade strips or esplanade reserves are a form of mechanism which is in place for the purpose of providing protection to riparian and costal margins. It is a legal instrument which is established between a territorial authority and a land owner. The authority can provided certain restrictions in relation to the use of the strip although it is owned by the owner of the land. On the other hand access strips are established in order to provide access to the public for using water bodies or land. They are established under section 237B of the Act via an agreement between the authority and the owner. The measurement of the boundaries in case of an esplanade reserve is done from the banks in case of river or stream and form the means high water springs in case of a coastal area. The land boundary in all cases is a fixed survey line. Esplanade strips can be varied or changed under s234 of the Act.
A provision in a district plan in relation to public project or work is known as a designation. The notice in relation to a designation can e provided by the requiring authority. The authority has the power to do anything with the designation, thus they can take the area for the purpose of road widening as in this case. Any person is not allowed to carry out any work on the designation which is not allowed by the Authority without its consent. These implications would be applicable on the land in the future (Ministry of Business 2018).
- Build the home as designed by the architect
Principles Under the Resource Management Act 1991
(iv) Erect a 2 metre high sign at the gate to promote their businesse
(v) Sell the plants Ben plans to grow
(d)
(i) Increase the house size to a minimum of 300 m2 to make room for it
(v) Reduce the number of children cared for to five
(a)
(iii) 400 m2
(b)
(i) 3 m
(c)
(ii) 10 × 15 m
Land Information Memorandum (LIM)
Purpose
This a document through which information which is held by council in relation to a particular property is provided. The document is generally used by prospective buyers, sellers, valuers and real estate agents.
Contents
The document contains information such as legal description and number and address of the property. It also contain special lad features, health information, Subdivision and developments, Planning information, Rates information and Buildings. Only information which are in record of the council can be obtained through this document
Circumstances for obtaining
While considering the purchase of a property the people obtain the document
Application for Building Consent
Purpose
This document is provided by the council as a written authority for the purpose of carrying out building work which would be in compliance of building code.
Contents
- The prescribed application form
- Along with the required fees
- Plans or specification required by the council
- The building consent
- Any special condition required to be complied
- Advice in relation to calling the inspector
- Approved plans and specification copies
Building consent is required by a person for the purpose of carrying out any work in relation to building except for work provided under schedule 1.
Code Compliance Certificate
Purpose
This document is provided when any job in completed and the council has the satisfaction that the work has been done in compliance of the conditions in the building consent and the building code. The application must have details of ownership and people
Contents
The document contains the evidence which is provided by the authority is relation to any building work that the work has been done in accordance to the legal obligation imposed when the work was sanctioned.
This document is obtained by the owner of the building who had applied for a building consent as soon as the building work has been completed in accordance to the consent and the code (Building Guide 2018).
The advice which would be provided in the given situation is that a CCC has to be obtained under the provisions of section 95 of the BA 2004. A person is not allowed to transfer the property which does not have a CCC. In addition while sale it has to be disclosed under the legislation that the property does not have a code compliance certificate. In this case the CCC has to be applied for by completing all compliance work with the code. The two alternatives of CCC are Acceptable Solution or Verification Method and A certified product or construction method. The value of the property is affected and it is difficult for the buyer to get insurance in relation to the property.
Elements of Environment Controlling and Restrictions
A building warrant of fitness (BWoF) is an annual statement provided by the building owner which confirms specified systems present in the compliance schedule in relation to the building have been duly marinated and verified for the last one year according to compliance schedule. A building owner has the responsibility of providing a BWoF every year of issuing the building compliance schedule to the territorial authority (building.govt.nz2018).
Systems for building functions-
- Automatic or elector magnetic windows and doors
- Automatic backflow preventers which are connected to potable supply of water.
- Escalators, lifts, travelators for ensuring movement in the building
- air conditioning systems or mechanical ventilations
- Automatic system to suppress fire
- Manual or automatic warning systems
- Escape route pressurization systems
- Riser mains for use by fire services
- Laboratories fume cupboards.
- Smoke control systems.
Provisions in relation to alternation of existing buildings are provided under section 112 of the Building Act 2004. It has been provided by the section that even where the building has not complied with the building code, permission may be provided by the territorial authority to make alterations in case the alteration will enhance the attributes of the building in relation to means of escape during fire and providing facilities and access to people with disabilities. Thus the window expansion work may be carried out after obtaining permission under these provisions.
Provisions in relation to carrying out building work without building consent are provided through section 40 of the BA 2004. According to section 40(3) a person is liable to pay a maximum fine of $200000 for a continuing offence and a fined of $10000 for every day or part where the work is continued.
According to section 115 of the BA the use of the building must not be altered by the owner unless the territorial authority on all reasonable grounds is satisfied that the new use of the building is in compliance with the building code as nearly as reasonably practicable in all aspects. The items which are to be considered in relation to the change are sanitary facilities, ways of fire escape, and protection of properties, fire rating performance and structural performance.
The provisions in relation to failing to provide notice to the local authority are provided under section 114 of the Act. A failure to provide a notice under section 114(3) results in a fine which extends up to $5000.
Sub: Advice in relation to the legal requirements of the property
It has been noted that the fencing around your house is not in proper shape and if it is renovated it would enhance the value of the property. In addition you are not sure that the fencing is on the legal boundaries of the house or not. You do not have to ensure that the fences are on correct boundary. However , you have to disclose to the customers that whether the fencing in within the legal boundaries of the property or not. The neighbors are expected to share the cost of fencing when a new fence is build. The fence must be adequate and is reasonably satisfactory. A fencing notice has to be provided to the neighbor which contains details in relation to boundary to be fenced, the type of fence required, the builder of the fence, the estimated cost, purchase of materials and work start date. You are eligible for asking for 50% of the total cost of the fence. The notice must also state that the neighbor has 21 days to object to the notice and if not they would have to pay the cost. There has to be a means of restricting access to the pool. it is the responsibility of the owner to carry out the fencing work. It is provided that the spa pool has restricted access in form of a strong lockable cover. However this cover would not be able to satisfy the requirement and proper fencing is required. In addition in relation to the swimming pool there is a fence however there is no restriction of accesses. Thus a restriction to accesses needs to be put in place. Thus in the given situation you have to carry out restriction work in relation to the swimming pool to comply with legal obligations (Consumer NZ 2018).
References
Building Guide – house design and building tips, architecture, architectural design, building regulations, auckland builder, christchurch builder, wellington builder, hamilton builder, tauranga builder, dunedin builder, architects, kitchens and bathrooms, house plans, building consent advice so you Build It Right. (2018). Building Regulations. [online] Available at: https://www.buildingguide.co.nz/resources-regulations/regulations/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].
building.govt.nz, (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.building.govt.nz › Building officials › Guides for building officials [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].
Consumer NZ. (2018). Fencing law. [online] Available at: https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/fencing-law [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].
Legislation.govt.nz. (2018). Resource Management Act 1991 No 69 (as at 18 October 2017), Public Act 5 Purpose – New Zealand Legislation. [online] Available at: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1991/0069/latest/DLM231905.html?path=act%2Fpublic%2F1991%2F0069%2Flatest&col=act&fid=DLM231905 [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].
Mfe.govt.nz. (2018). Resource Management Act | Ministry for the Environment. [online] Available at: https://www.mfe.govt.nz/rma/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].
Ministry of Business, I. (2018). Building Code compliance. [online] Building Performance. Available at: https://www.building.govt.nz/building-code-compliance/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].