District plan activities

Find out about the kinds of activities you can and can't do as outlined in the Hutt City District Plan.

Activity classification

Whether you need a resource consent, and the type of consent you need, depends on the type of activity you want to do, where you want to do it (the activity area), and the rules for the activity (according to its ‘classification') in the District Plan.

Activities that need resource consent

Activities that need resource consent are those classified as:

• controlled activities – we must grant resource consents for these activities, but we can impose conditions that relate to matters in the District Plan
• restricted discretionary activities – we can either grant or decline these activities, and impose conditions that relate to matters in the District Plan
• discretionary activities – we can either grant or decline these activities, and impose conditions in relation to any matter that helps to control the their potential adverse effects
• non-complying activities – we can only grant an application for a non-complying activity if its adverse effects are minor, or if it’s consistent with the District Plan’s objectives and policies. If we grant consent, we can impose conditions in relation to any matter that helps to control the activity’s potential adverse effects.

The two other classifications are:

• permitted activities – these don’t need resource consent but must still meet any conditions in the District Plan.

  If you’d like official confirmation that your activity is permitted, you can ask us to provide you with a Certificate of Compliance. This can be useful when you’re selling the property or obtaining finance, and it can also protect you from future changes to the District Plan, as long as there are no changes to the activity.

• prohibited activities – you can’t obtain resource consent for these activities.

Activity area

Activity areas (often called zones) are key features of the District Plan’s map of Lower Hutt.

Each activity area has a desired character and a distinct name, such as ‘General Business’, ‘General Residential’ or ‘General Recreation’.

How to find activity areas

You can find the activity area for your property by going to the Hutt City District Plan maps and following these steps:

1. Select ‘Street index’ to find the street in which your property is located. Note the ‘sheet number’.
2. Go back to the index page and select ‘Urban map index’ or ‘Rural map index’ (whichever applies). Go to the sheet number that covers the area of your property.
3. Zoom in to find your property, then use the legend at the bottom of the map to identify the ‘activity area’ for that location.

Other places you can find activity areas

You can also find activity areas in copies of the District Plan at all Hutt City libraries and at the Consents counter in the Council offices.