What is an appeal?

An appeal is filed with the Environment Court where a submitter or further submitter disagrees with any aspect of the decision. This can be narrow or broad. It could be an appeal on a single rule such as the maximum height of buildings, or a much broader topic such as management of growth.
The appeal process is different to the previous process which was managed by Council and the independent Hearings Panel. Appeals are managed by the Environment Court. This means that the Court determines the process, although it often seeks input from Council (and its advisors) and all other parties (both appellants and interested parties).

Who can make an appeal?

Any person who made a submission or further submission on a provision or part of the Proposed District Plan may appeal to the Environment Court.
Can I make an appeal?
Appeals close 30 working days after submitters receive the decision. If you have missed the deadline for lodging your appeal, you can apply to the Environment Court for a waiver of the time requirement. This will only be granted if the other parties give their consent, or if the court considers that other parties will not be disadvantaged.

Where can I see the appeals?

Under the District Plan Review page under the tab appeals.

How long will appeals take to resolve?

Appeals can take some time to resolve, although the Environment Court often sets tight timeframes for reporting back to the Court to ensure progress is being made. There are a range of ways that appeals can be worked through, such as negotiation and Court-assisted mediation, and parties are encouraged to explore these before an appeal progresses to a Court hearing.

Can the decision change as a result of appeals?

Yes, parts of the decision are likely to change through the appeals process, depending on the nature of the appeals.

I have received notification that an appeal has been made – what does this mean?

When an appeal is filed with the Environment Court, there is a requirement to provide a copy of the notice to everyone who made a submission about the subject matter of the appeal within 5 working days. Appellants often send their notice of appeal to a wider group of submitters than may actually be necessary.
Please read the notice of appeal carefully as it may be on a topic that you are interested in.
It is possible that an appellant has not correctly identified all the submitters so it pays to check the appeals.

How can I be involved in the process if I disagree with an appeal?

If you have received notice of an appeal and you made a submission on the subject matter of that appeal, you can give notice to the Environment Court that you wish to join the appeal by becoming what is called “a section 274 party.” A section 274 party to an appeal is someone who wishes to support or oppose an appeal point.
If you did not make a submission on the subject matter of an appeal, you may be eligible to become a party to an appeal if you meet the specific criteria. Not everyone can become a party to an appeal. To be a section 274 party, you must be either:

• the Minister for the Environment;
• a local authority;
• a person who has an interest in the proceedings that is greater than the public generally (excluding any person or business who may be a trade competitor and is acting to prevent the applicant from engaging in trade competition); or
• a person who made a submission about the matter.

When are section 274 notices due?

Any eligible person who wishes to become a party to any appeal under section 274 of the Resource Management Act must give notice to do so to the Court, the Waitomo
District Council and the appellant within a further 15 working days after the period for lodging appeals ends.
If you are considering becoming a section 274 party, we suggest that you seek your own legal advice.

How will I know if my zone and the rules for that zone have been appealed?

The only way to tell at the moment is to read through each appeal. Over the next couple of weeks Council will read through each appeal and will put up an “appeals” version of the Proposed District Plan on its website. This version will highlight the provisions and maps that are subject to appeals.

When can rules in the Plan be treated as operative?

Section 86F of the Resource Management Act requires a rule to be treated as operative where:

1. no appeals have been lodged; or
2. all appeals have been settled; or
3. all appeals withdrawn or dismissed.

This means some rules can be “treated as operative” before others if no appeals are received. Rules that receive an appeal cannot be “treated as operative” until all the appeals on that rule have been settled.
If a rule can be “treated as operative”, the corresponding rule (if any) in the operative district plan falls away and no longer applies.

How do I know when rules can be treated as operative?

Over the next few weeks Council will read through each appeal and will put up an “appeals” version of the Proposed District Plan on its website. This version will highlight all of the provisions, including rules and maps, that are subject to appeals.
Where Council is satisfied that a rule is not expressly referred to in an appeal and could not be altered as a consequence of relief sought on another provision in an appeal, it can be treated as operative.