Development fees reviewed

Kaipara District Council is asking for feedback on proposed changes to its Development Contributions Policy.

The policy outlines fees charged to developers to help offset the impact of their development and are spent on infrastructure including roading, wastewater and stormwater services in the district.

Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson said that getting the policy right was vital for the district.

“It’s important we regularly review our development contributions in balance with changing costs incurred by development,” he said. “Kaipara is the place to be and we want to attract people to Kaipara without detrimentally impacting our current residents.”

The proposed amendments are aimed at ensuring that council recovers an appropriate share of the costs of investment from new developments.

The proposed policy will see an increase in development contribution fees for most areas in the district while Baylys Beach fees will reduce. Costs to improve infrastructure or build new infrastructure to cater for the projected growth of each area was used to determine the new fees.

Fees may be required when a resource consent is granted under the RMA for subdivision and land use applications, a building consent or certificate of acceptance is granted under the Building Act or an authorisation for a service connection is granted. The new fees are only applicable to developments that lodge their applications after the new policy is declared operative.

Consultation opens runs to Tuesday June 24. Visit kaipara.govt.nz/have-your-say to view the proposed policy and give feedback.