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Napier's Operative District PlanTe mahere tiaki i ngā rawa me te whenua o Ahuriri

NCC is required to prepare a district plan under the RMA as the primary document managing land uses, development, sustainability and environment within Napier city’s boundaries. Below you can download and view the district plan maps, and the plan changes.

Napier Operative District Plan (e-plan)

Council declared the City of Napier District Plan operative on 21 November 2011. Since declaring the City of Napier District Plan operative, Council has undertaken a number of changes to the Napier District Plan. Our Operative District Plan is currently being reviewed. You can find out more about that process here. Once the Proposed District Plan is approved, it will become our new Operative District Plan. 

View the napier city council operative district plan here


District Plan Maps

If you would like to download district plan maps simply enter the street name and select from the dropdown list and you will get all the maps that relate to that street.

View the District Plan 

  • View the Operative District Plan online here or visit;
  • Napier City Council Customer Service Centre (Planning Department), 215 Hastings Street, Napier 
  • Napier Library, Herschell St, Napier 
  • Taradale Library, White Street, Taradale, Napier 

Frequently Asked Questions

About the District Plan

The rules in the District Plan set out what activities you can do as of right (permitted activities) and what activities we need to look at more carefully through a resource consent application.  

Some of the provisions may affect you if you are wanting to build, subdivide or change the use of your land. The rules are intended to support and deliver the vision of our community adopted strategies. 

Some common ways the District Plan can affect property owners are: 

  • How close to the boundary you can build or extend your house, garage or other buildings 

  • Whether or not you can subdivide your property 

  • The activities that can occur in an industrial zone 

  • What we want our buildings in the city centre to look like and how high they should be 

  • Whether there are any ‘special values’ relating to your property (e.g. heritage buildings, landscapes) 

  • Whether you can operate a business from your home 

  • Rules relating to festivals and events 

An e-plan provides users with a searchable and electronic version of the District Plan. 

The key features include: 

  • a map-based interface 

  • allows users to view the parts of the plan that are specific to a particular property 

  • provides information on any variations or appeals that apply to a site 

  • links that allow users to jump between references in the plan 

  • allows users to click on highlighted words to see their legal meaning. 

The Long Term Plan summarises Council activities and how we expect to fund these over the next 10 years. 

The District Plan sets the rules for how we manage, use and develop land. 

The District Plan is a large and technical document. To help you understand what changes and additions we’re proposing, we have created topic summaries. These outline the key points across a range of chapters and topics. They also highlight the biggest impacts to property owners, property developers and stakeholders. We recommend you read these first before delving into the full plan.

topic summaries 

About the Proposed Plan and the Review Process

Immediate legal effect means that some of our proposed provisions relating to matters of national significance such as the protection of areas of significant indigenous vegetation or habitats of indigenous fauna, and historic heritage will be deemed operative once we notify. This means some new rules will apply to any new consents from notification onwards. You can find which rules have legal effect in the E-plan 

Because some rules have immediate legal effect, after notification of the Proposed Plan,.applications for resource consent will need to be made under, and assessed against, both the Operative District Plan and the Proposed District Plan. This can be quite complex, and we suggest that you consult a professional to assist with any applications for consent during this time.  

Check the Operative and Proposed District Plan to see how your activity is classified: 

  • Permitted - allowed if you follow the standards outlining how the activity must be done 

  • Controlled - requires resource consent but will be approved if meets standards 

  • Restricted discretionary - requires resource consent and Council has discretion over certain matters when deciding whether to grant a resource consent 

  • Discretionary - requires resource consent and effects will be assessed and resource consent granted or declined on a case by case basis 

  • Non-complying - resource consent granted only under exceptional circumstances 

  • Prohibited - not allowed at all;no resource consent can be applied for 

Once you have approval you need to ensure your activity is undertaken within the plan’s rules and standards. 

When making a submission on a District Plan, you can either support or oppose the rules we have proposed. You will be able to do this online, or get assistance from our Napier Libraries and Customer Services Teams.  

A further submission is a written statement that allows a person to support or oppose other people’s submissions. It also gives people the opportunity to comment on how a submission may impact them, and to have their views considered by a hearings panel, along with the original submission. 

You are entitled to make a further submission if you can demonstrate a special interest in the Proposed District Plan. So please take care to show either that your interest is greater than that of the public in general, or that you are representing a relevant aspect of the public interestIf in doubt, please make a further submission and the hearing panel will decide whether it can be considered. 

Once the further submission period closes, council staff analyse the further submissions and make sure that they’re linked to the original submissions and the appropriate plan provisions. 

The original submissions, as well as the further submissions, inform reports that council staff prepare ahead of the hearings. 

If someone disagrees with the decision, they can appeal to the Environment Court. The appeal can be about a specific rule or a broader topic. The Environment Court manages the appeal process, seeking input from all parties involved. Anyone who made a submission on the Proposed District Plan can appeal. The appeals can take time to resolve, but the Court sets deadlines to ensure progress. Parties are encouraged to explore negotiation and mediation before a Court hearing. The appeals may lead to changes in the decision, depending on their nature. 

Council considers technical advice and community feedback when formulating a policy approach. To find out how we reached a decision, you can view Section 32 reports for each chapter which discusses each topic in appropriate level of detailSee our District Plan Document Hub 

As part of good practice in a District Plan Review, we commissioned a variety of reports on key issues like noise or landscapes and natural features. You can find these reports in our District Plan Document Hub. 

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