If you believe your development contributions assessment has not been undertaken correctly or that the Council has required a development contribution wrongly there are formal reconsideration and objection processes you can enter into.

Reconsideration

The process to apply for a reconsideration of a development contribution assessment is set out in the Council's Development Contributions Policy.  

Section 199A of the Local Government Act 2002 provides that a request for reconsideration may only be made on the following grounds:

  • the development contribution was incorrectly calculated or assessed under the Council’s development contributions policy; or
  • the council incorrectly applied its development contributions policy; or
  • the information used to assess the development against the development contributions policy, or the way the council has recorded or used it when requiring a development contribution, was incomplete or contained errors

Lodging a reconsideration request

A reconsideration may be requested using a Request for reconsideration of development contributions (P-041) [PDF, 57 KB] form.

A reconsideration request must be made within 10 working days of receiving notice from the Council of the assessed development contribution required.

You can request a reconsideration by emailing developmentcontributions@ccc.govt.nz or by writing to Development Contributions Team, PO Box 73014, Christchurch 8154.  

If the Council requires further information from the applicant before it can make a decision, a request for the information will be made in writing to the applicant as soon as possible after the reconsideration request is received.

A reconsideration request will not be accepted by Council if it is received after the 10-day period referred to above, or if an objection has been lodged under section 199C of the Local Government Act 2002.  The applicant will receive written notice if the request for reconsideration cannot be made for one of these reasons.

The Council reserves the right to reconsider an assessment if it believes an error has been made.

Further information on development contributions reconsiderations can be found on the Department of Internal Affairs website(external link).

Objection to development contributions assessment

A formal objection process is available under which a person required to pay development contributions can object to the assessed amount of the development contribution.

Objections are decided by development contributions commissioners appointed by the Council from a register of commissioners.

Under section 199D of the Local Government Act 2002 an objection can only be made on the grounds that the Council:

  • failed to take into account features of a development that, on their own or cumulatively with other developments, would substantially reduce the impact of the development on requirements for community facilities; 
  • required a development contribution for community facilities not required by, or related to, the objector’s development;
  • was in breach of Local Government Act section 200 (limitations applying to requirement for development contribution); or
  • incorrectly applied its developments contributions policy when assessing the development

Objections are lodged with the Council which is then responsible for administering the objection process and selecting and supporting the development contributions commissioner(s) who will consider and make a decision on the objection.

An objection may be lodged using this form Objection to assessment of development contributions [PDF, 93 KB] (P-042).

An objection must be lodged:

  • within 15 working days after the date on which the person lodging the objection receives notice from the Council of the development contribution the Council requires, or notice of a decision on a request for reconsideration; and
  • by completing the form and returning it with all relevant supporting information

The Council has the ability to recover costs incurred by it from the objector, including the costs of:

  • selecting, engaging, and employing the development contributions commissioner(s);
  • secretarial and administrative support for the objection process; and
  • preparing for, organising and holding the hearing

Further information can be found on the Department of Internal Affairs website(external link).