News
Preserving a piece of New Zealand paradise
The challenges of sustainably managing New Zealand's natural and physical resources was the focus of this year's annual resource management law conference.
The 15th annual conference organised by the Resource Management Law Association (RMLA) was held in Hawkes Bay from October 4-6 and had as its theme 'My Own Piece of Paradise', on the premise that everyone has their own piece of paradise, determined to a large extent by the use, development or protection of natural and physical resources.
The conference addressed a range of issues around the challenges to sustainably managing resources against a backdrop of diverse, dynamic and often unpredictable situations.
Bell Gully senior partner David McGregor and senior associate Marija Batistich, with Craig Mallett from the Ministry for the Environment and Alan Limmer of Stonecroft Wines, presented a session on reverse sensitivity, the term used to describe the vulnerability of an established activity to complaint from a new land use.
They looked at examples such as wine industry and horticulture where tensions arise as lifestyle development meets the rural zone. New lifestyle block owners, often with a romantic vision of rural life, find themselves among the realities of productive land such as harvesting, spraying and bird scaring devices.
The presentation discussed the mechanisms available to address cross-boundary effects including planning provisions and the use of no complaints covenants.
More information about no complaints covenants is available in the Bell Gully Winegrowers' Legal Guide.
Bell Gully sponsored a keynote address session at the conference which included a panel discussion on water allocation, chaired by David McGregor and hosted by Chris Laidlaw. Panellists representing iwi, energy, local government and wine industry interests discussed issues around competing demands on scarce water resources outstripping sustainable supply.
To view a copy of the presentation Reverse Sensitivity: Issues and Mechanisms to address Cross-Boundary Effects click here.
