Tauranga City Council

Tauranga City Council - Industrial 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 within an Industrial Zone in the Tauranga City District there are some key rules to follow to make sure you comply with to avoid requiring a Resource Consent.  

Tauranga City Plan has four main zones within the Industrial Zone umbrella, all with varying rules.  

• Industry Zone 
• Port Industry Zone 
• Tauriko Industry Zone 
• Papamoa East Employment 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 Tauranga City Plan. 

Permitted Activities  

Permitted activities vary over the Industrial Zones to view the City Plan Table click here 

Permitted Activities Rules 

Building Height 

Industrial Zones 

The maximum height of any building or structure, with the exception of the permitted intrusions shall be 16 metres. 

Tauriko Industry Zone 

• The maximum height of any building or structure, with the exception of the permitted intrusions shall be 16 metres in the Tauriko Industry Zone; 
• Notwithstanding the maximum height permitted all buildings on a site shown in Diagram 10, Section 5, shall be contained within a building envelope measured 8 metres above ground level at the boundary of the Tauriko Industry Zone, the Tauriko Commercial Zone and the Greenbelt Zone, and at an angle of 20 degrees above horizontal into the site to the maximum height applicable for the zone  
• All buildings or structures within the area identified as subject to the '12 metre Height Limit' in Diagram 10, Section 5, as Tauriko Business Estate Area shall not exceed a height of 12 metres above ground level. 

Port Industry Zone 

• The maximum height of any building or structure, with the exception of the permitted intrusions shall be as follows: 

Viewshaft Protection 

No building or structure within any identified Viewshaft Protection Area, with the exception of the permitted intrusions or Port Cranes permitted shall exceed the maximum height identified within the Plan Maps (Part B). 

Building Streetscapes 

Industrial Zones Streetscape 

All buildings and activities on a site in the Industry Zone, Papamoa East Employment or the Port Industry Zone shall be set back at least 5 metres from the road boundary of that site where: 

• The site is directly across a legal road from a sensitive zone; 
• On all such sites frontage landscaping comprising a mix of trees, shrubs and groundcovers shall be provided contiguous to, and to a width of, at least 2 metres measured from the road frontage boundary, exclusive of vehicle accessways.  
• Permitted service station shall be set back at least 1 metre from the road boundary of the site and provide frontage landscape planting contiguous to, and to a width of, at least 1 metre from the road boundary of the site, exclusive of permitted vehicle accessways; 
• All buildings on a site adjoining a Road Widening designation shall have the setback measured from that designation boundary. 
• Tauriko Industry Zone Streetscape 

For all buildings and activities on sites within the Tauriko Industry Zone having a direct frontage to Taurikura Drive specimen trees shall be provided and maintained by, or on behalf of, the landowner(s) on sites adjoining the Taurikura Drive boundary at the rate of one tree for every 10 lineal metres of road frontage or fraction thereof. The trees shall be located within the site and within 10 metres of the front boundary of the site with Taurikura Drive. The trees shall be planted before occupation of a building or start of an activity on site in accordance with the rate of planting specified in this rule; 

For all other sites in the Tauriko Industry Zone, specimen tree planting shall be provided and maintained by, or on behalf of, the landowner at the rate of one tree for every 15 lineal metres of road frontage or fraction thereof. The trees shall be located within the site and within 10 metres of the front boundary of the site. The trees shall be planted before occupation of a building or start of an activity; 

There are specific Permitted Activity rules for scheduled sites, XL Structural team will be able to assist you with your project to ensure you are not breaching these requirements. 

Other rules applicable to ALL industrial zones in Tauranga City Plan 

HAIL and contaminated land 

From experience XL is aware a lot of industrial land may have been developed on contaminated or HAIL land. The Tauranga City 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 

The Tauranga City Plan has rules and policies in place for the various Zones for car parking.  

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. 

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. The Tauranga City 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 Tauranga City Plan here.