Development Contributions - Overview
Stormwater construction
Wellington City Council's Development Contribution Policy came into force on 1 July 2005. It affects most people and companies developing new residential accommodation and commercial, retail or industrial space. Such developers pay a development contribution to the Council.
Council staff will work out the exact amount when your development is assessed.
New Development
When new development occurs in a city - such as a subdivision, apartment building, new commercial office space or even building a new home - it has an impact on the existing infrastructure. New residences and more densely developed commercial districts mean more people and more vehicles. As a result there is an additional demand on Council services, including roading, water supply, waste water, reserves and storm water management.
Contributing to Infrastructure
To make sure existing ratepayers are not burdened with the costs of increasing infrastructure resulting from new development, developers pay development contribution fees.
Reservoir construction
The fees must be paid on any development or subdivision that generates additional demand on services as calculated under the Council's Development Contribution Policy. This is likely to include conversions or extensions to existing buildings or houses, which create additional accommodation units or floor space.
Examples of projects that might require a development contribution include:
- new apartments in old buildings
- flats under houses
- studio accommodation
- granny flats
- retail space
- commercial premises
- office accommodation
- warehouse buildings.
Assessing Developments
The contribution fees are calculated based on the number of equivalent household units (EHUs) created by the project.
In order to determine whether a contribution is required, the Council will assess your project when any of the following are granted:
- building consent
- resource consent (fee simple subdivision only)
- service connection.
The project will be reassessed if changes are made to the project which increases the number of equivalent household units (EHUs).
Payment must be made before:
- a Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) is issued for a building consent
- a section 224(c) certificate is issued for a fee simple subdivision consent
- a service connection is provided or connected.
Development contributions may not be required in the following situations:
- the Council has imposed a condition for a financial contribution (known as a DIF) on a resource consent for the same purpose
- the developer will be providing for network infrastructure upgrades or reserves in agreement with the Council
- the Council receives funding from a third party.
Contesting the Assessment
If you want to contest the Council's assessment, refer to sections 2.5.5 and 2.6 of the Development Contributions Policy.
Development Contributions Policy
Related Links
Department Details:
Planning, Performance and Research
