Setback / yard

Walk every boundary

Front, side and rear setbacks control the space between the proposed building and site boundaries. Other rules can create yards beside water, infrastructure or hazards. Rear and access sites can make even the name of the boundary less obvious.

A fence may be old or misplaced. Eaves, gutters, bays and porches may be treated differently under different rules, so a wall exactly on the setback line is not automatically a safe design answer.

The same site can have two rulers

The NES-DMRU sets national boundary standards for its planning pathway. Schedule 1A separately requires an exempt dwelling to be at least 2 m from legal boundaries and other residential buildings.

A more lenient district-plan rule may help the planning result without changing Schedule 1A. Record which rule each dimension is proving.

Make the site plan auditable

Show legal boundaries, existing buildings, easements, water edges, service corridors and the proposed dwelling at its widest dimensions. Label every required distance and the two points used to measure it.