REG_021: Auckland Unitary Plan (Operative in part) — the D_003 unitary-plan profile

REG_021: Auckland Unitary Plan (Operative in part) — the D_003 unitary-plan profile

Source

https://unitaryplan.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/ — original source (opens in a new tab; the file is not redistributed)

Auckland Unitary Plan — the D_003 unitary-plan profile (REG_021)

The D_003 council-profile — 3rd of 5, verified tier

The operative Auckland Unitary Plan (RPS + regional + district plan in one — a true unitary plan). ~30 chapters read verbatim via pdftotext -layout. The whole set is filed; this page records the rural + servicing rules the profile schema needs. Auckland is the campaign’s first UNITARY plan and the mirror-image of QLDC: restrictive on general land, enabling only on Māori land.

Summary

Applied to the 8-question D_003 schema, the AUP shows Auckland routes rural-residential density through subdivision (Countryside Living, Discretionary, ~2 ha lots, one dwelling per lot ≈ 1 dwelling/2 ha), while clustering multiple dwellings on one undivided rural title is Non-Complying below 40–100 ha. The genuinely enabling multi-dwelling pathway is Māori-land-specific (E20: up to 10 dwellings permitted / 20 restricted-discretionary; H27 Māori Purpose Zone: 3 permitted / 4+ RD) — the third independent council confirmation of the campaign’s spine finding. Uniquely among the profiled councils, the AUP’s own district rule permits on-site wastewater (E5), including for off-grid dwellings — reopening at council level the gate the national wastewater EPS (REG_013) left shut.

Key claims

- claim: "GENERAL RURAL DWELLING DENSITY (Table H19.8.2, verbatim rows). Five rural zones (Rural Production, Mixed Rural, Rural Coastal, Rural Conservation, Countryside Living). 'One dwelling per site' = Permitted (P) in all. 'Two dwellings per site where the site is less than 40ha' = Non-Complying (NC). 'Two dwellings per site where the site is equal to or greater than 40ha and is less than 100ha' = P (Mixed Rural / Rural Production) or Discretionary (Rural Conservation / Countryside Living). 'Three or more dwellings per site where the site is less than 100ha' = NC in all zones. So a multi-dwelling community clustered on one undivided rural title is Non-Complying below 40-100ha - the second-hardest activity status short of prohibited."
  source_location: "Table H19.8.2 (Activity table – number of dwellings and activity status in rural zones), rows A72-A78"
- claim: "COUNTRYSIDE LIVING SUBDIVISION = the density route (E39). '(A14) Subdivision in the Rural – Countryside Living Zone complying with Standard E39.6.5.2' = Discretionary; '(A15) ...not complying' = Non-Complying. Minimum net site area (Table E39.6.5.2.1): default 'Minimum: 2ha'; WITH transferable rural site subdivision in named locations 'Minimum: 8,000m2, Minimum average: 1ha'; Papakura and Whitford-Caldwells Road 'Minimum: 1ha'; Point Wells 'Minimum: 5,000m2'. So rural-residential density is achieved by subdividing to ~2ha lots (Discretionary consent), one dwelling per lot = ~1 dwelling per 2ha - roughly 5x LESS dense than QLDC Rural Residential (1 per 0.4ha, REG_020)."
  source_location: "E39.6.5.1 activity table (A14/A15); Table E39.6.5.2.1 Minimum and minimum average net site areas"
- claim: "MAORI LAND DENSITY (Table E20.4.1, verbatim). '(A3) One dwelling per hectare with no more than 10 dwellings per site in the rural zones' = Permitted. '(A4) One dwelling per 4,000m2 with no more than 20 dwellings per site in the rural zones' = Restricted Discretionary. '(A6) Dwellings not otherwise provided for in a rural zone' = Non-Complying. So on Maori Land, up to 10 dwellings are PERMITTED and 20 restricted-discretionary - the enabling multi-dwelling pathway that general rural land lacks."
  source_location: "Table E20.4.1 Activity table (Maori Land)"
- claim: "MAORI PURPOSE ZONE (Table H27.4.1, verbatim). '(A4) Up to three dwellings per site' = Permitted; '(A5) Four or more dwellings per site' = Restricted Discretionary. Marae = Permitted (A15). The zone background (H27.1) states it 'provides for a higher density and greater range of [activities]' than the Maori Land provisions, and enables 'dwellings for papakainga, marae and [associated activities]'."
  source_location: "Table H27.4.1 Activity table; H27.1 Background"
- claim: "ON-SITE WASTEWATER IS PERMITTED (Table E5.4.1, verbatim) - reversing the national EPS exclusion. '(A1) Discharge of treated domestic type wastewater onto or into land within a site via a land application disposal system' = Permitted. '(A3) Discharge ...from one dwelling without a permanent power supply...' = Permitted (off-grid expressly provided for). '(A4) ...one or up to three land application disposal systems within a site...' = Permitted. '(A5) Discharges of up to 6m3 per day...' = Restricted Discretionary. Permitted-activity standard E5.6.2: 'The wastewater design flow and actual flow must not be greater than 2m3 per day' and 'The ratio of site area to wastewater discharge volume must be equal to or greater than 1.5m2 per litre per day', TP58-compliant, six-monthly servicing. Background note: 'includes discharges from small communal on-site treatment and disposal systems that service more than one dwelling on different sites.' Contrast: the national wastewater EPS (REG_013) EXCLUDES on-site domestic systems - Auckland's district plan permits them as of right."
  source_location: "Table E5.4.1 Activity table (A1-A6); Standard E5.6.2 permitted-activity standards; E5.1 background"
- claim: "WATER TAKE (Table E7.4.1, verbatim thresholds). '(A1) Up to 20m3/day of water from a [source]' = Permitted (in some zones). '(A2)/(A4) Up to 5m3/day of freshwater' = Permitted. '(A6) More than 20m3/day and no more than 100m3/day' = Restricted Discretionary / Discretionary / Non-Complying by zone. '(A15) Up to 20m3/day, when averaged... [up to] 5000m3/year' = Permitted. So a small community's domestic/stock water take (<20 m3/day) is within the permitted envelope. NOTE: the per-zone column headers were not transcribed - thresholds are verbatim, the zone-by-zone activity-status mapping is indicative."
  source_location: "Table E7.4.1 Activity table (A1-A6, A14-A15)"
- claim: "STRUCTURE & CURRENCY. The Auckland Unitary Plan is a single combined UNITARY plan (Regional Policy Statement + regional plan + district plan), 'Operative in part'. Rolling plan changes: PC114 (operative 12 June 2026, per the filed document title); PC120 (immediate legal effect provisions under s86B(3)(f) RMA, cited in E39). SCOPE NOTE: E29 'Emergency management area - Hazardous facilities and infrastructure' is a PROXIMITY OVERLAY around existing major hazardous facilities (activities sensitive to them = Prohibited inside the overlay) - it is NOT a per-site community fuel-store rule; a community's own diesel store stays governed by the national HSW Hazardous Substances regs (REG_016)."
  source_location: "Chapter footers 'Operative in part'; E39 s86B PC120 note; Table E29 (A1)"

Neobiome Intelligence relevance

Auckland is the mirror image of QLDC

Rural pathway	Community-density position	Status
General rural (H19.8.2)	2 dwellings <40 ha = NC; 3+ <100 ha = NC	🔴 Restrictive — clustering foreclosed
Countryside Living subdivision (E39)	~2 ha min lot, Discretionary → ~1 dwelling/2 ha	🟠 Moderate — density via subdivision
Māori Land (E20)	10 dwellings Permitted / 20 RD	🟢 Enabling — Māori land only
Māori Purpose Zone (H27)	3 dwellings P / 4+ RD	🟢 Enabling — Māori land only

Where QLDC’s Rural Residential zone was more enabling than the national default (1 dwelling/0.4 ha, REG_020), Auckland’s general rural zones are more restrictive (multi-dwelling = Non-Complying). In both districts the genuinely enabling community-density pathway is the Māori-land instrument. This is the third independent council confirmation of the spine finding.

Scope boundary (project rule, 2026-07-15) — observed, not accessible

E20 / H27 are recorded here strictly as observed regulatory design — “this is the density model NZ law actually enables.” The Neobiome project is not papakāinga and is not Māori, and makes no claim to access this pathway. It is evidence about how the law is shaped, not a route the project asserts for itself.

The wastewater reversal

The national wastewater EPS (REG_013) excludes on-site domestic systems, leaving RMA s15 consent as the standing gate. Auckland’s district plan reopens it: E5 makes on-site land-application discharge a Permitted activity (≤2 m³/day; off-grid no-power dwellings expressly permitted; communal systems ≤6 m³/day = RD). This is a concrete instance of the D_003 thesis — the national gate is council-reopenable via a district plan’s own s15 rule.

Research targets

Documents to retrieve

• None new. The remaining D_003 councils (Selwyn/Waimakariri, Gisborne/Far North) are tracked under D_003, not as RT_docs.

Research gaps

• Auckland Council Code of Practice for Land Development (Q8, engineering CoP) is known-to-exist (NZS 4404-derived, cf. OT_103) but not sourced — held at unverified in the profile. Low priority.
• E7 per-zone activity-status columns not transcribed (thresholds are verbatim).

Notes

Primary — the operative Auckland Unitary Plan chapters, read verbatim. data_quality: verified. Multi-file source: the whole set is filed under the page-stem subfolder; sha256 covers the primary raw (H19). ⚠ Currency: Operative in part with rolling plan changes — re-confirm the operative status of cited rules (esp. any under active plan change) before the deliverable relies on them.

Connections

Links to

Sources (3): OT_103 · REG_013 · REG_020

Decisions (1): D_003: Council profiling — a purposive 5-counc…

Referenced by

Concepts (2): Council Planning Profiles (D_003 five-council … · Regulatory Consenting for Off-Grid Communities…

Sources (1): REG_022