Planning & Resource Management Act

The Resource Management Act (RMA) is the central piece of legislation that gives Local Authorities the ability to manage the effects of land use activities within their communities.

Each Local Authority must put into place the requirements of the RMA by developing a District Plan in consultation with the local community.

In relation to liquor licensing, the Sale of Liquor Act (SOLA) and the RMA were designed to have separate, but complementary, jurisdictions.

The licensing process outlined in the SOLA assumes that questions over the impact or effects of licensed premises have been considered in the resource consent process through the District Plan. Land use activities and the impact of these on communities such as hours, density and location of licensed premises are common community concerns that can be considered within the scope of local District Plans.

To date, interpretations of the RMA and the subsequent development of District Plans have tended to focus on the management of natural and physical resources, with little consideration for the social impacts of licensed premises on communities.

Planning for Alcohol in the Community (The Local Government Toolkit) (537KB PDF) looks at how the liquor licensing and resource management processes can be better aligned to increase communities' involvement in decision-making processes around licensed premises.

Section 5 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) states:
(1) The purpose of this Act is to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources.
(2) In this Act sustainable management means managing the use, development, and protection of the natural and physical resources in a way or at a rate, which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural well-being and for their health and safety while:

(a) sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources (excluding minerals) to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; and
(b) safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil, and ecosystems; and
(c) avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment.