Pre-application meetings

Pre-application meetings are highly recommended for more complex applications, and some applications which may be straight forward may also benefit from a pre-application meeting. To determine whether this process would benefit you or your project, please first discuss your proposal with one of our duty planners, as your questions may be easily and quickly answerable.

The meeting process is confidential to encourage discussions at the early stages of a project. Formal decisions cannot be made during or on the basis of the pre-application meeting; and any representations made by the council are not legally binding.

After you have spoken to a duty planner to determine if a meeting is right for you, please complete a pre-application meeting form (available on the Application forms and fees page):

• Hand deliver: drop the form in to the Shotover Street office reception.

• Email: resourceconsent@qldc.govt.nz

• Post: Resource Consents, Queenstown Lakes District Council, Private Bag 50072, Queenstown 9348.

The first hour of QLDC staff time spent on pre-application meetings, including the review of information submitted prior to the meeting, will be free. After that first hour any time spent including site visits, reviewing material and meetings, will be charged at standard hourly rates.

The first hour of all QLDC officers time is free, however if an external person such as a landscape architect or technical specialist such as a noise expert is required, their time will be charged. This will be invoiced at a later date.

A QLDC planner will organise the meeting, with the appropriate specialists (for example, urban designers or traffic engineers) indicated by the applicant in the form and/or based on the information you provide us. The appropriate specialists will be included to ensure we can answer your questions and are able to raise any potential issues or concerns early on.

To make the most of the process, at least three days before the meeting you should:

• Provide the planner with details on your project, proposal overview and concept plans (If information has not been submitted with the application form).

• Let the planner know who will be attending the meeting from the applicant’s side.

• Let the planner know if there is anything in particular you wish to discuss.

The more information provided prior to the meeting, the more beneficial the meeting will be, and the Council planner will be able to ensure the correct specialists attend, if any.

Please note, at this meeting the planner cannot determine if your resource consent:

• Will be approved.

• Needs to be notified.

• Has any affected parties.

We will advise on those points after we’ve received and assessed your application.

The QLDC planner will circulate minutes of the meeting to the applicant, which will be kept on file (confidentially) at QLDC. As a proposal at pre-application stage may never eventuate into a resource consent application, or may change prior to lodgement of an application, it is not appropriate for any initial information to be given to interested parties. This is because we want to encourage meaningful, productive confidential discussions at the preliminary stage of an application.

If you give more information or make changes to the application after the meeting, it may impact upon QLDC's view of your application.

Please quote your pre-application reference number in your resource consent application form.