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Rural
Boundary
Re-locations, Adjustments and
Subdivision
Originally
Published in Nelson Marlborough Farming
March 2011
Over the years we have had a number
of clients who have successfully made money
from subdividing and otherwise rearranging
boundaries of rural properties. Generally
most property developers focus on
residential or rural residential properties
however a small number have recognised the
potential of undertaking developments in
rural areas.
The advantage of developing in
rural areas include minimal servicing
requirements, long settlement times and
sometimes less complex consent processes.
Often the preferred type of development is a
boundary adjustment or relocation where an
existing boundary is moved or an entire
title is relocated. In these situations the
number of titles does not change, councils
see little or no impact on the environment,
generally financial contributions are not
paid and minimal conditions are imposed by
the local authorities.
Typically this sort of project
involves rearranging the boundaries of
existing titles to maximise their value.
This might involve, for example, taking two
titles that are neither productive, or
attractive as a potential lifestyle block,
and creating a smaller title with an
attractive building site and leaving the
rest as a block with better productive
values. These sorts of resource consent
applications are generally discretionary
meaning Council can turn them down, if so
inclined, however the rule of thumb that I
use is that if we can demonstrate that what
we are doing is done for sound land
management reasons then councils will look
upon such applications favourably.
Another way that rural land can be
developed is to purchase a larger block that
has sufficient area so that they can be
subdivided as of right down to the minimum
block size prescribed by the relevant
district plan of the Council. Because
additional titles are being created these
sorts of subdivisions can attract more
council conditions and financial
contributions than a boundary
relocation/adjustment.
As well as developers buying land
specifically to develop landowners often
undertake subdivisions, or if they, own more
than one title, boundary
relocations/adjustments in order to free up
capital and rationalise one's landholdings.
The desire to free up capital is not
something Council resource planners get too
excited about, however landowners are the
ones who best know the potential of their
property and usually the rationale behind
rearranging, or creating new boundaries is
quite defensible.
Generally all subdivisions (which
includes boundary relocations/adjustments)
require resource consent, and the
bureaucracy involved in obtaining
subdivision consent (a type of resource
consent) is growing by the day. Never the
less there are still situations where a
simple proposal can be submitted to Council
that makes absolute sense and consent is
issued with a minimum of drama.
The key to this is not only the way
way it is presented to council but also
making sure the proposal stacks up in the
first instance. While these days there are
many different people sticking their oar
into the resource management cauldron, land
surveyors have bean dealing with these sorts
of things since the dim mists of time. An
experienced land surveyor with long-standing
relationships with councils is your best bet
to keep it simple and expedite a straight
forward subdivision consent thorough the
local authorities consent process.
This article is
general in nature and should not be a
substitute for specific advice from a
suitable professional. John Cotton
specialises in rural surveys and is a
Director of Cotton and Light Ltd a survey
firm that worksthroughout Nelson, West Coast
and Marlborough. |
