Hoardings Guidance for political parties.
We have decided to release the information you have requested; please see our answers below from the Planning team, in blue.
Please also refer to Elections.nz – election signs for guidance which in some instances supersedes the District Plan - ie total sign size of 3 square metres.
Request:
I’m emailing to ask what your council’s rules are around erecting both election and non-election hoardings for political parties.
Below is a list of the information I need:
1. The permitted dimensions of hoardings inside and outside of the election period.
Under the District Plan, Election Signs are temporary signs under SIGN-R4 and are a permitted activity (do not require resource consent) subject to the standards (SIGN-S1-S4) outlined below being met. Any election sign that does not meet these standards, would require a resource consent.
The District Plan specifies that temporary elections signs can only be:
- erected for a maximum of two months
- have a maximum area of 5.8m2, and
- contain the name and contact details of the person who erected the sign.
No dimensions are specified within the District Plan for temporary election signs.
Refer to the following link for the details of rule SIGN-R4, and standards SIGN-S1-S4.
2. How long they can be erected for.
As specified within SIGN-R4, election signs can be erected for a maximum of two months, and must be removed within 7 days of completion of the activity.
3. Where they can and can’t be erected.
4. Public vs Private property
The District Plan does not directly specify where election signs can and can’t be erected or whether they can be erected on private or public property but Standard SIGN-S1 specifies general requirements around the erection of signs including election signs.
5. Election vs non-Election hoardings
All non-election signs would need to meet the applicable rules and standards within Part 2 – District-Wide Matters / General District-Wide Matters / SIGN – Signs
Link to the District Plan SIGNS rules and standards is provided above.
6. Any other guidance or relevant info such as signboards, specific zones, unique rules etc.
Any other guidance or relevant info with regard to the District Plan requirements for signs can be found within the District Plan link provided above.
Appreciate that much of this will already be on the website, but if you could specifically outline what the rules are for political parties both in and outside of the election period for me here – or at least direct me to the most up to date policy document, that would be great. A lot of the information on election rules is currently on your website, but much of the information around general signage rules outside of the regulated election period (say for if we wanted to advertise a public meeting or put a sign up about public policy) is a bit more confusing – so, any help with this side of things is what I’m particularly after.