505 Saddle Hill Road - SUB-2016-90 & LUC-2016-459 - subdivide into 5 lots

Council has received an application to subdivide Lot 2 DP 19043 of 505 Saddle Hill Road into five lots. Proposed Lots 1 to 4 will be sites having areas of 4800m2 to 1.1ha, and will be positioned along the Saddle Hill Road frontage of the subject site. New residential activity is to be established on each of Lots 1 to 4 within proposed building platforms. Proposed Lot 5 will be amalgamated with the balance of the title to create a balance site of approximately 80.6ha containing the existing dwelling.

The application is supported by ecological, geotechnical and landscape reports.

The subject site is zoned Rural in the Dunedin City District Plan, and the proposed house sites are all to be situated within the Saddle Hill Landscape Conservation Area. The general area is identified as being subject to an ‘unknown’ hazard risk.

Subdivision of a Rural-zoned site into lots smaller than 15.0ha is a non-complying activity pursuant to Rule 18.5.2 of the Dunedin City District Plan. The proposed residential activity is also considered to be a non-complying activity pursuant to Rule 6.5.7(i) as the District Plan requires 15.0ha of site area for a residential activity. The proposed building platforms will serve as Landscape Building Platforms for the purposes of Rule 14.6.4(a), allowing future dwellings to be constructed as controlled activities.

The Proposed Second Generation District Plan (“the Proposed Plan”) was notified on 26 September 2015. Rules 16.7.4 (minimum site size for rural zones) and 16.9.5.5 (assessment of subdivision performance standard contraventions – minimum site size) were given immediate legal effect pursuant to section 86D of the Resource Management Act 1991 at the time of notification. Accordingly, the Proposed Plan rules also need to be considered alongside the Dunedin City District Plan rules.

The subject site is zoned Rural - Coastal in the Proposed Second Generation Plan, and is in a Wahi Tupuna Site 55. Portions of the site are subject to land instability risk. The proposed residential lots will be within the Saddle Hill Significant Natural Landscape.

Rule 16.7.4 specifies a minimum site size of 40.0ha for lots created by subdivision in the Rural – Coastal zone. The proposed subdivision is therefore a non-complying activity pursuant to Rule 16.7.4.3. The land use rules for the Rural zones are not yet in effect or operative. Should the subdivision proceed, it is likely that further land use consent will be required to construct new buildings on the landscape building platforms at the time of development.