Our team members have acted as Commissioners on a wide range of resource consents and plan change proposals. This experience includes both presiding over hearings individually and chairing panels alongside elected members and specialist experts.
We are well-versed in managing the hearing process and crafting clear, justifiable decisions. The scope of our hearings experience spans large-scale projects, such as wind farms and irrigation schemes, major plan changes, and District Plan reviews, as well as smaller projects with more focused hearings involving a limited number of submitters. In some cases, decisions are made ‘on the papers’ without the need for a formal hearing.
We have a number of Commissioners available for work: Justine Ashley, Dean Chrystal, Jonathan Clease, Sam Flewellen, Matt Bonis, Michael Durand, Cassino Doyle and Susannah Tait.
Planz has served as Commissioners for a diverse range of hearings, covering various aspects of urban and rural development.
Recent examples include:
- District Plan Reviews: Queenstown Lakes District Plan Review, Horowhenua District Plan Review
- Canterbury Regional Plan
- Catchment Allocation chapters Waipara and Pareora
- Large-Scale Projects: Central Plains Water irrigation scheme, North Canterbury wind farm, Christchurch Adventure Park mountain biking facility
- Residential and Rural Development: Various dwellings on undersized rural lots, health facilities, cafes, and preschools in residential areas, rural contractors’ yards.
- Environmental and Subdivision Decisions: Notification of applications for farming, land use, and irrigation. Notification and substantive decisions for stream realignment, earthworks, groundwater interception, and stormwater discharges associated with subdivision developments. Notification and substantive decisions for region-wide discharges to land, water, and the coast from municipal stormwater networks, including the future development of catchment management plans.
We have also served as hearing commissioners for several councils across New Zealand.
