WHAT AM I ALLOWED TO DO WITH MY PROPERTY IN INVERCARGILL?
What Can I Build?
Having established in the previous article that there are three residential zones in the Invercargill district - Residential 1 and 1A (the main residential areas in Invercargill) and Residential 2 (Bluff and Omaui) - we now look at the seven main rules in the District Plan that control what and where you can build in each of these zones, and how big you can build it. The seven rules are as follows:
- Residential Density: To be able to build a residential unit in the Residential 1 and 1A Zones without needing a resource consent, you need to have at least 400m2 of land for each residential unit. In the Residential 2 Zone you need at least 750m2 of land per unit.
- Site Coverage: The maximum portion of a property in the Residential 1 and 1A Zones that can be covered with buildings and structures (incl. all garages and sheds etc.) is 40% of the net site area. In the Residential 2 Zone it is 30%.
- Permeable Surfaces¹: Each property in the Residential 1, 1A and 2 Zone must provide permeable surfaces covering at least 30% of the total site area.
- Outdoor Living: Each residence must have at least 30m2 of private outdoor living space on site, and this space must be capable of accommodating a 5m diameter horizontal circle (i.e. the space must be at least 5m x 5m). This outdoor living space can be located anywhere on the site but cannot be used for vehicle parking or manoeuvring and cannot have any accessory buildings located within it.
- Space Around Buildings: The District Plan requires that a 2m yard is maintained along the two northernmost boundaries of a site in the Residential 1 and 1A Zones. This means that no buildings or structures can be built within two metres of the boundary, along the entire length of the boundary. The exception to this is if you’re building a garage, shed or sleepout etc. and the length of the structure along the boundary is less than six metres. In the Residential 2 Zone the 2m yard applies to all boundaries.
Example of Complying Site Plan - Height of Structures: The maximum height for a building in the Residential 1 and 1A Zones is 10m, while in the Residential 2 Zone it is 7.5m for dwellings, and 4.5m for accessory buildings. Height recession planes are also used to determine how high a building can be in relation to any given boundary. These recession planes effectively create an envelope within which all buildings and structures must fit. The angle of the recession plane is determined by the orientation of the boundary (i.e. whether it is directly north-south or not), but generally speaking the recession plane angle will be 60o for a northern boundary, 45o for an east or west boundary, and 35o for the southern boundary. Essentially, the way recession planes work is that the further off the boundary the structure is located, the higher up you can build it.
Elevation Diagram
Example of house not complying with the recession plane - Parking and Manoeuvring Space: Each residential site in Invercargill is required to provide at least one off-street car park per residential unit, and if the unit is over 150m2, two parks are required. If the site is back section, sufficient manoeuvring space needs to be provided to enable vehicles to enter and exit the site in a forward gear. If the site is a front section and the garage door is oriented so that it opens in the direction of the road, the door must be set back at least 5.2m from the street boundary so as to allow a vehicle to be parked between the garage and the road boundary.
Garage setback
What Else Do I Need to Consider?
In addition to the matters listed above, there are a number of other area specific District Plan rules that could apply to your property depending on where it is located (e.g. rules around flooding and other hazard areas, protected native vegetation etc.). The team at WM Environmental have extensive experience in planning and resource management in Invercargill, and have the knowledge required to provide comprehensive and reliable advice as to the consenting requirements for your project. We can also help to successfully obtain those consents in a timely, hassle free and inexpensive manner. Just give us a call for a no obligation discussion and we can provide you with all the information you need to get started whatever project you have in mind for your property.
If you would like to read more about subdividion in Invercargill check out our article; Can I subdivide in Invercargill?
¹A permeable surface is anything that allows stormwater to freely drain through it and soak into the ground, rather than directing it into the Council’s reticulated stormwater system.
Posted: 17 July 2020