Selwyn District Council

Selwyn District Council - Business Zone Planning Rules  

The below guidance is our knowledge of the rules and regulations and is provided to assist you in your assessment and early planning but does not constitute official or legal advice.  

When building an Industrial or Commercial building within a Business Zone in the Selwyn District there are some key rules to follow to make sure you comply with to avoid requiring a Resource Consent.  

Selwyn District has 7 main zones within the Business Zone umbrella, all with varying rules.  

• Business 1, 1A and 1B Zone 
• Business 2, 2A and 2B Zone 
• Business 3 Zone 

Areas of Business 1 Zone may also be in “Key Activity Centres” (identified in Appendices 29A/B) which have their own specific requirements to be classed as a permitted activity. 

To help you understand the requirements in each zone we have broken down the key permitted activities and rules below for each different zone.  

Note: There are area specific rules that may also apply to your project, the XL Structural Architectural Team are available for guidance in the rules of the District Plan. 

Permitted Activities

Business 1, 1A, 1B, 2 and 2A Zones: 

Any activity which complies with all of the provisions of rules relating to permitted activities. 

Business 2B Zone: 

• Any industry or goods storage which does not require an Offensive Trade License under the Health Act 1956 
• Retailing of: goods produced on the site, building or plumbing supplies, automotive parts, electrical parts, mechanical parts, gardening supplies, vehicles, boats, caravans, machinery sales, farm supplies, vehicle servicing premises, service trade premises, builders yards and cafes/lunch bars 
• Public utilities 
• Car Parking 
• Hire of Equipment 
• Emergency Services facilities 
• Meteorological activities 
• Offices which are ancillary to permitted activities 

Business 3 Zone: 

• Tertiary education 
•  Research 
• Support services ancillary to the operation of any education and/or research facility 
• Quarantine facilities 
• Residential facilities limited to those existing at the time of public notification of this plan or limited to the operation of, or associated with any education and/or research facility 

If your business falls within these activities, it will likely be a permitted activity with Council.  

If your business operates outside of these categories you will likely require resource consent to build in this zone and the Selwyn District Plan does have specific non-complying activities listed for particular zones, if you are unsure the XL Structural Architectural team will be able to help you confirm. 

Maximum Height of proposed buildings 

Site Coverage 

• The erection of any building in the Business 1A Zone at Castle Hill shall be a permitted activity if the site coverage does not exceed 50%. 
• In the Business 1 Zone at Rolleston bounded by Rolleston Drive, State Highway 1 and Dick Roberts Place, the following shall be permitted activities: 
• The erection of any building, or redevelopment, involving more than 2,500 square metres of gross leasable floor area where the site coverage does not exceed 35%. 
• The erection of any building or redevelopment involving less than 2,500 square metres of gross leasable floor area where the site coverage does not exceed 50%. 

Recession Planes 

There are recession planes specific to individual sites to adhere to if your site adjoins a Residential Zone, the XL Structural Architectural Team will be able to help you confirm. 

Setbacks from Boundaries 

• Any building which complies with the minimum setback distances from site boundaries as set out below shall be a permitted activity. 
• In Precinct 2 (Retail Fringe) at Rolleston  
• Rolleston Drive - 3 metres 
• Boundaries where Precinct 2 adjoins any Living Zone - 12 metres  
• In Precinct 3 (Office) at Rolleston a 10 metre setback from Rolleston Drive applies  
• In Precinct 4 (Commercial Fringe) at Rolleston a 3 metre setback from Rolleston Drive applies 
• Any building on the West Melton Business 1 Zone shall be located a minimum of 3 metres from any Living zone boundary 
• Business 1A Zone 
• Road Boundaries: 6 metres 
• Internal Boundaries: 6 metres (only where adjoining Lots 1 & 2 DP 22544) 
• Business 2 Zone (excluding area at Rolleston depicted on the Outline Development Plan and which is depicted on the Landscape Development Plan  
• Road Boundaries: 2 metres 
• Internal Boundaries: 2 metres (where adjoining a Living Zone) 
• Business 2A Zone
• Road Boundaries: 10 metres
• Internal Boundaries: adjoining a rural zoned property 
• 10 metres, except that this requirement shall be 
• 15 metres in the locations identified on the Outline Development Plan 
• Business 2B Zone
• Road boundaries: 5 metres
• Internal Boundaries adjoining a rural zoned property: 3 metres or adjoining the Living Z zone: 50 metres as identified on the Outline Development Plan 
• In that part of the Business 2 Zone located south of Jones Road, Rolleston, as depicted on the Landscape Development Plan 
• Road boundaries: 2 metres
• Internal boundaries: 10 metres (only along the common boundary of the Business 2 Zone and the railway reserve).
• In that part of the Business 2 Zone located south of Jones Road and adjoining Hoskyns Road, Rolleston, as depicted on the Outline Development Plan 
• Road boundaries: 2 metres
• Internal boundaries: 5 metres (only along the common boundary of the Business 2 Zone and the railway reserve).
• Business 3 Zone
• Road Boundaries: 10 metres
• Internal Boundaries: 10 metres, (only where they adjoin a Living zone).
• In that part of the Business 2 Zone located at the corner of State Highway 73 and Creyke Roads, Darfield, as depicted on the Outline Development Plan
• Road boundaries: 10 metres
• Internal boundaries adjoining a residential zone: 40 metres  

Other rules applicable to ALL industrial zones in Selwyn District

HAIL and contaminated land 

From experience XL is aware a lot of industrial land may have been developed on contaminated or HAIL land. The Selwyn District Plan has rules and policies in place for contaminated land. 

XL Structural will be able to assist you with your project to ensure you are not breaching these requirements. 

Carparking and Landscaping 

The Selwyn District Plan has rules and policies in place for the various Zones for car parking and landscaping. If providing car parking, you will still need to comply with NZS 4121:2001 and provide 1 accessible car park per 1-20 spaces.  

It is also important to consider the surrounding environment and where your staff working within your new building will park if limited spaces are provided. 

There are also minimum dimensions for car parks depending on the layout you choose to use on your site, along with turning circle and road width requirements. XL can work through the best car park layout for your site with you. 

Landscaping requirements differ for each zone with regard to depth, spacing and species of planting. 

The Selwyn District Plan also has further rules for Small Scale Commercial Developments designated as LESS THAN 450 sq. metres and Large-Scale Commercial Developments as 450 sq.  or more. 

These are the main rules which your building needs to comply with to avoid needing a resource consent, it is important to understand there may be further rules to comply with. Selwyn District Plan can be challenging to navigate, we would recommend reaching out to the XL Structural team who will be happy to conduct a concise and detailed preliminary planning review for your project. 

You can find the full Selwyn District Plan here