Nelson City Council

June 2010 Building Nelson Newsletter

Posted by Building Nelson on 9 June 2010

Booking a Duty Building Officer

A Duty Building Officer is available at the Customer Centre daily from 8.30am – 5pm. Appointment bookings can be made for the Duty Building Officer through the Customer Service Centre and is recommended to avoid waiting times when the officer is busy with other customers.  A reminder also, that Pre-lodgement meetings for a Commercial consent must be booked through the Customer Centre to ensure an appropriate applications officer assists you.

Process for commercial building consents

In January we introduced a new process for commercial building consents which many of you are following. To familiarise yourself with this process please see process below. For those who do not understand the process you will be politely asked by the customer service officers to make an appointment.  Commercial consent applications will not be accepted unless an appointment is made with the Duty Building Officer. To avoid disappointment please book ahead and have the necessary documents ready.

Step 1 - Pre-lodgement meetings

Pre-lodgement meetings for commercial projects and/or a change of use will be required a minimum of 3 weeks before the formal lodgement of the building consent with Duty Building Officer. The aim of this process is to make gaining a building consent more efficient by ensuring any foreseeable issues with the project are identified and discussed before submitting the documentation for consent.

Step 2 - Lodgement of Commercial Building Consents

All commercial building consents will require a booked appointment time with the Duty Building Officer.  This will ensure a technical staff member from the Building Unit can carry out the initial pre-vet of documentation.  We believe this will make the building project more efficient from start to finish.  Please contact the Duty Building Officer on 546 0200 to make an appointment.

Commercial building consent applications

A new checklist and Building Consent application form has been developed and is now available online at the council website. Advice notes are also available for alterations (section 112, BA 2004) and change of use (section 114, BA 2004). These outline our expectations on how you should evaluate your project to allow for a smooth process when your Building Consent is lodged. Click here for all building consent forms and guides plus other  useful information on the Earthquake Prone Policy and more about Compliance Schedules.

New Guidelines for providing Property Information

Guidelines have been developed to outline what information can be provided by Customer Service Officers and Duty Building Officers at Nelson City Council. These are outlined below.

What information a Customer Service Officer can provide:

• Fees and Charges information.
• Provide forms E.G. Resource Consent application form, submission form, Building Consent applications, PIM’s and LIM’s etc.
• Provide information on statutory time frames.
• Access to Publicly Notified Consents.
• Provide information leaflets.
• Provide Drainage Card information and Drainage As-Built plans.
• Provide the NCS General Property Information Screen printout.
• Provide non-technical information.  FAQ’s etc.
• Book appointments with the Duty Planner and or Duty Building Officers.
• Take Resource and Building Consent (residential and pre – paid) applications
• Take COA applications, Unauthorised Works Reports & Exempt building works applications
• Receive Pim’s & Lim’s
• Commercial Building Consent applications must be lodged with a Duty Building Officer.
• Provide access to:
  • Site files
  • Building Consents
  • Resource Consents
  • Subdivision Consents
• Copy information from a Site file or provide files electronically.

What a Duty Building Officer can provide

• Information on what is required when applying for a Building Consent
• Building Consent process and procedures.
• Time Frames & statutory interpretation.
• Help with interpreting further information requests.
• Provide information on the Commercial Building Consent process and receive commercial applications.
• Pre – application meetings, discussion about active consents (rfi’s)
• Earthquake Prone Policy information.
• Information on existing Building Consents.
• Where to access the Building Code.

What Council cannot provide: 

• Advice on proposed developments.
• Technical design advice and solutions.
• Advice on whether a Consent application would be successful or not before an application is received and processed.
• Advice on whether a Resource Consent would be notified or not before an application is received and processed.
• Access to New Zealand Standards other than those held at the Library.
• Access to Certificate of Title information and easements and covenants registered on the CT.
• Advice on whether a property should be purchased or not.
• Advice on whether works have been carried out without the appropriate consents.
• Technical discussions on Exempt work.  We recommend you contact an appropriately qualified and or experienced consultant for this advise (see below for Building Consultants)

Useful sources for building and property information

Where useful property information can be obtained

• Council Website: Link to Building section of the Nelson City Council website
• Planning Consultants advice on:  Resource Management issues and Resource Consent applications and whether Resource Consent may be required.
• Department of Building & Housing New Zealand website
• Building Consultants advise on: Building Act requirements, Pre-purchase inspections, Building Consent applications, council site file checks, unauthorised building works and Certificate of Acceptance applications.
• Surveyors, Engineers
• Community Law Centre
• Designers & Architects
• Lawyer / Solicitor / Legal Executive
• Real Estate Agents
• Valuers
• Internet

Where useful Building information can be obtained

Codewords http://dbh.govt.nz/codewords-index

Building Control Updates  http://dbh.govt.nz/bc-update-index

Technical Reports  http://dbh.govt.nz/technical-reports

Accessing Geo-tech reports held at Nelson City Council

If you need to access a geo-tech report held on file at Nelson City Council use this handy online geotech report request form.  You should receive your report within two working days. For more information on geotech reports please email.

Fees and Charges

There have been some small changes to the Building Unit’s Fees & Charges schedule, mainly involving the pre-paid consents, building inspections, pre-lodgement meetings for commercial consent applications and meeting with the Duty Building Officers.  Click for more information on the Building Unit changes to  fees and charges.

Building Unit Statistics

Building consents situation

For the first quarter of this year the total value of works ($38,439,535) has remained constant with the last two quarters – the total value of works from June to December 2009 was $78,646,872. Compared to the same period last year ($23,250,172), the value of works has increased approximately 60%.

Statutory timeframes fell slightly in January and February due to staff absences and a significant increase in the number of residential consents submitted.

Building Consent Authority Statistics for three months ending 22 March comparing 2009 and 2010 results

Date range	Total number submitted	Total value $	% completed within 20 working days	Average processing days
Jan – March 2010	482	38,439,535	83	11
Jan – March 2009	276	23,250,172	80	11

The number of building consents for house alterations has increased approximately 100% over the past three months. Whereas, the number of consents for new houses remains the same as the previous six months. This is consistent with nationwide statistics for the housing sector. Commercial consents have decreased approximately 40% over the last three months.

Building Consent Authority Statistics for three months ending 22 March comparing 2009 and 2010 results

Date range	Total number submitted	New Houses	Alteration to Houses	Commercial New & Alterations
Jan – March 2010	365	56	255	22
Jan – March 2009	261	17	210	18

The Inaugural Nelson City Building Industry Salon

(A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, to increase the knowledge of the participants through conversation.)

It is a informal gathering to discuss the Building Act 2004, Building Regulations, Building Code and all relevant New Zealand Standards and how the mutually revered documents impact on us across the building industry.

It is a free and frank forum to foster an open relationship between the BCA and the design and building sector. It is not an opportunity to discuss particular building consents or pet projects, but an opportunity to keep up to date of changes and to pose questions about interpretations, processes and trends in the industry, particularly in the Nelson region.

It is hoped that the Building Industry in Nelson forges a collaborative approach to achieve a mutually agreed and desirable outcome.  Something along the lines of  “We all strive to ensure buildings in Nelson will be the safest, healthiest and comparably the best quality in New Zealand.”

Mark your calendar with time and place to be

17 June 2010,  4.30pm

Nelson City Council Chambers

Email David Curl with RSVP and Agenda Items by: 15 June 2010

There are some rules

1. Everyone has the right to an opinion and to express that opinion.
2. Attendees will strive to work towards the mutually agreed goal of the Salon.
3. An agenda will be provided to all invitees prior to the salon. Items are required to be lodged no later than 10 working days before the salon. Non agenda times may be discussed if time allows.

The first will be combined construction/design. We will ask for feedback analysis of the Salon and if it is felt it is better to separate the two to achieve then we will definitely do so. Also a decision will be made on whether neutral territory, rather than Council Chambers, is needed for subsequent Salons.

We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to improve the relationship and communication lines for the benefit of all participants.

New Staff

Marie Albertson, Consents Administrator

Hi All. My name is Marie Albertson and I have recently become a permanent member of the ‘super’ NCC Building Team as a Consents Administrator.  Born a coaster but I have lived mainly in various North Island towns as an adult.  Now I have returned to the South I plan to settle in Nelson.  I am enjoying the beautiful outdoors in a gentle rather than extreme way, tennis is the sport I love most and I am a volunteer ambulance officer with St John. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all.

Steve Elliot, Building Inspector

After 3 years enjoying myself and seeing some of the amazing places and doing some of the fantastic things Nelson and Top of the South has to offer I have returned to the fold once more as a Building Inspector with NCC. There is still so much more to see and do hence I am only part time.  For those of you who don’t know me I arrived in this wonderful town from Scotland with Susan, my wife and 4 boys almost 4 years ago with no regrets whatever. I am now an ardent Nelson Suburbs and All Whites fan roll on June 11.

And now for some housekeeping

Please ensure when you complete an application form on behalf of the owner that you do actually put the owner details on the application form, not the owners c/o your address. Incorrectly completed application forms lead to incorrect statutory forms (Building Consent and Code Compliance Certificate). There may be many times Council need to contact the owner during the building project which you as the agent/first point of contact may not like to be involved in, for example following-up an unpaid account or check the status of the building work (section 93 of the Building Act). Your help in keeping our database correct is appreciated.

We have started to write to owners or agents when a request for further information has gone unanswered for three months. Our letter requests a response if the project is to continue, and also states that if there is no response within a certain timeframe the Building Consent will not be granted and an invoice for the staff time to-date will be sent.

Product Assurance Framework Seminars

As you may be aware, the Department of Building and Housing have just released a new document entitled “Using the Product Assurance Framework to support Building Code compliance – A guide for manufacturers and suppliers of building products”

BRANZ fully support this initiative to bring clarity to the building product market and would like to encourage you to be fully conversant with the details of this document. We expect the framework outlined in this document will become increasingly important as manufacturers / suppliers of products will be required to understand the risk profile of their products and then be able to validate that profile through independent testing and assurance when required by a Building Consent Authority.

The Department of Building and Housing and BRANZ have joined together to present a series of free seminars outlining the document and what significance it has for both Product Manufacturers / Suppliers and Building Consent Authorities. 

As above we believe that a framework for the Building product market will greatly assist to bring clarity and assurance to our market and encourage you to read the document and attend the seminar.

Best Regards

Richard Arkinstall
Marketing Manager – BRANZ

Sign up for a BRANZ product seminar

Click to BRANZ website for seminar registration

Download the BRANZ Product Assurance Framework guidance (PDF @ 900K)

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Nelson City Council contact details

Civic House
110 Trafalgar Street

PO Box 645 Nelson 7040

Phone: +64 3 546 0200

Fax:  +64 3 546 0239

RAD 926818