Cutting red tape to make it easier and cheaper for some types of development in Queenstown Lakes are some of the key changes to the council's proposed district plan.
At a media briefing on the plan, which is out for public consultation, planning and development manager Marc Bretherton said the 10-yearly review was seen as an opportunity to make it ''really meaningful and responsive to some of the issues the district faces''.
The council was preparing an application to the Environment Court to give some rules ''immediate legal effect'' - a move he described as ''innovative''.
District plan manager Matthew Paetz said it was not something done before in the district and, historically, it was a step taken by councils to give legal effect to more restrictive rules ''to prevent a gold rush''.
In this case it was being used to give legal effect for rules where none existed - for example, in relation to new medium density and business mixed use zones, as well as some proposed ''lower impact changes''.
Those included changes to rules on residential flats. While previously a residential flat had to be attached to an existing property, the proposed plan removed that requirement.
Within low density residential areas, some infill development would be allowed, provided other rules, including total site coverage, were met.
Mr Paetz said while seeking an immediate legal effect decision from the court - which could be issued within six weeks - was a ''novel'' approach, he believed it was justified.
Mr Bretherton said there was an element of urgency associated with the application.
''This is to fix a problem that we know exists in the district.
''We'd hope, because the need exists [and] we're looking to fix a problem ... there's a [need] seen by the court and the community sees the need as well.''
The proposed district plan had been streamlined and simplified and in some cases made less restrictive.
Last year the district processed 1026 resource consent applications; Wellington city processed about 1000.
''That says there's something not quite right with our district plan,'' Mr Bretherton said.
Drop-in sessions
• Drop-in sessions to discuss the proposed plan will be held on September 29 from 11am to 1pm at the Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall, Queenstown Events Centre and the Cinema Paradiso foyer and at the Queenstown Memorial Centre on September 30 from 11am to 1pm.
• A second round of sessions will be held at the Athenaeum Hall, Events Centre and Lake Wanaka Centre from 5pm to 7pm on October 6 and at the Queenstown Memorial Centre from 5.30pm to 7.30pm on October 7.
• The first round of submissions on the plan close on October 23.
