Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
for the
Thames-Coromandel
District Plan - Operative in Part
Prepared by:
Bruce Baker
(Thames-Coromandel
District Council)
and
Maxine Day
(Environmental
Planning and
Research)
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
CONTENTS
1. Introduction .............................................................................. 3
2. A Context for District Plan Monitoring and Evaluation ........... 5
2.1 What is ‘Effectiveness’ Evaluation? ............................................................... 5
2.2 The Importance of Monitoring & Evaluation ................................................... 5
2.3 Linking Outcome Monitoring to an Integrated Monitoring System ................. 7
3. Statutory Background and Requirements ............................... 9
3.1 Section 35 – Resource Management Act, 1991 ............................................. 9
4. The Thames-Coromandel District Plan - Operative in Part ... 10
4.1 District Plan Monitoring Strategy .................................................................. 10
Environmental Results Anticipated.............................................................. 11
Indicators to be derived from ........................................................................ 11
Environmental Result .................................................................................... 12
Feasibility ......................................................................................................... 12
5. Monitoring of Outcomes ......................................................... 13
5.1 What is monitoring? ..................................................................................... 13
5.2 The Process of ‘Outcome’ Monitoring ......................................................... 13
6. Implementation of the Monitoring Plan ................................. 14
6.1 A Process for Evaluation............................................................................. 14
6.2 Selection of indicators................................................................................. 17
6.3 Data collection; analysis and interpretation ................................................. 18
6.4 Data management ....................................................................................... 20
6.5 Reporting of results...................................................................................... 20
6.6 Recommendations and review ..................................................................... 20
6.7 Summary ..................................................................................................... 21
APPENDIX I
............................................................................. 23
Section 35 Resource Management Act 1991 ......................................... 23
APPENDIX II
............................................................................. 24
Thames-Coromandel District Council - Monitoring Activities ...................... 24
APPENDIX III
............................................................................. 26
District Plan - Environmental Results Anticipated .................................... 26
APPENDIX IV
............................................................................. 34
District Plan - Environmental Results Monitoring Plan .............................. 34
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
1. Introduction
Thames-Coromandel District Council is preparing to review the District Plan Operative in Part. As part of this review process, and obligations under Section
35 of the Resource Management Act, the Council is preparing a Monitoring
Plan to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of the District Plan.
The purpose of the Monitoring Plan is to:
Set out a process for determining the effectiveness of the ThamesCoromandel District Plan in achieving its intended environmental
outcomes.
‘Effective’ policies, rules, or methods are those that work, i.e., that produce the
anticipated outcomes. Council needs to assess whether policies, rules, or
methods are effective before assessing whether they are efficient1.
A Monitoring Plan has been developed to:





set out the statutory requirements for district plan monitoring,
outline and implement a process for undertaking monitoring and
evaluation,
provide a rationale and context for monitoring the effectiveness of the
District Plan,
provide a summary of the 'Monitoring Strategy' set out in the ThamesCoromandel District Plan, and
summarise the range of issues that have already been monitored for
the purpose of determining the effectiveness of the District Plan
The monitoring that has been carried out has been related to specific issues
and matters relating to 'process issues' in the District Plan. To date Council
has not carried out significant or comprehensive monitoring of the District Plan.
Whilst in an ‘ideal world’ a full monitoring report should be completed before
review of the District Plan, this would be a considerable piece of work and
would not be able to be completed quickly. For this reason staff propose to
undertake District Plan monitoring on a ‘priority/data availability basis’. This
involves determining those issues within the Plan that attract the most
development challenges, relate to resources of significant value and/or are
known to be operating sub-optimally. In addition, the issues to be monitored
will be determined to some extent by the level of data available to determine
the effectiveness of the District Plan.
1
Adapted from Laurian et al 2008
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
The primary purpose of this document is to set out the processes for
undertaking monitoring and evaluation of the District Plan – Operative in Part
as part of the District Plan Review (2010/2012). Monitoring the effectiveness
and efficiency of plans is a statutory obligation under s.35 of the Resource
Management Act. This guide, therefore, may also be useful at a future date as
further plan monitoring is undertaken.
While this document provides a context for district plan monitoring within an
integrated monitoring framework, it does not provide guidance on compliance
monitoring, state of the environment monitoring, complaints monitoring or
community outcome monitoring.
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
2. A Context for District Plan Monitoring and
Evaluation
2.1 What is ‘Effectiveness’ Evaluation?
In determining if the District Plan – Operative in Part has been effective,
Council must understand if and how the Plan has influenced environmental
outcomes. Hence, in the field of environmental planning ‘effectiveness’
evaluation is often called ‘Environmental Outcome Evaluation.’
Environmental outcome evaluation focuses on establishing a link between
what a plan intended to achieve and what is found ‘on the ground’. This type
of evaluation helps make explicit the cause-effect relationships intended by the
plan through the policy interventions (i.e. rules, standards, permitted baselines,
non-regulatory approaches etc). By understanding this relationship the difficult
questions surrounding ‘attribution’ can begin to be answered – that is, did the
plan achieve what was intended, or did other non-plan factors affect the
outcome?
2.2 The Importance of Monitoring & Evaluation
Section 35 of the Resource Management Act (1991) sets out the statutory
obligations to monitor and report on plan effectiveness every five years (see
section 3 of this document), however, monitoring and evaluation of district plan
performance is also an inherent component of good policy development.
Figure One: Plan Monitoring in the Plan Making Process
Monitoring is a critical component in the policy making cycle of planningimplementation-monitoring- policy review and has an important role in
providing public confidence in the district plan. Interventions applied through
the plan (such as standards and rules) oftentimes impose restrictions on
property rights and it can be important for the public to see that such
restrictions are working towards achieving a defined goal or outcome.
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
In more contentious circumstances, the results from evaluation can provide a
rationale for change or where appropriate, maintaining the status quo. It may
also be important to use the results to justify the cost of contentious
interventions by demonstrating that the rules or policies are achieving the
desired outcomes.
Monitoring and evaluation are terms often used interchangeably within the
policy environment to describe the process of measurement and
assessment, respectively.
For the purposes of determining the ‘effectiveness and efficiency’ of district
plans, both methods of monitoring and evaluation are best applied, as
evaluation cannot be achieved without information from monitoring.
However, monitoring alone can only convey information, and does not
attempt to assign any value to trends or changes.
In deciding to proceed with a monitoring and evaluation plan that focuses on
planning outcomes, Council must be prepared to answer the following five key
questions:
KEY EVALUATION QUESTIONS:
What we need to keep in mind…
 Are we focused on the right issues?

Have we done what we said we’d do?

Have we achieved what we said we’d achieve

How do we know our actions led to the outcome observed?

Have we achieved that outcome at reasonable cost (could we
have achieved it more cheaply)?
(from, RPS Evaluation Guide, Enfocus 2009)
While environmental monitoring and evaluation can be a complex, timeconsuming, and at times costly task, organisations with public accountability
have an inherent responsibility to evaluate their activities and associated
expenditure. The process of balancing the cost of evaluation against the
requirements for transparency and accountability inevitably leads to a
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
compromise on what would be an ‘ideal’ evaluation exercise, and what is
‘possible’.
Prioritisng the activities or issues is a key task in developing a monitoring and
evaluation plan. The priority assigned to evaluation of issues may vary
depending on factors such as:
- political or public demand for protection/use of significant resources,
- unanticipated environmental/population pressures,
- environmental sensitivity/risk,
- in-house expertise (i.e. staff knowledge of poor plan performance),
- substantive change within an area or surrounding an issue since the
Plan was written (i.e. development challenges),
- changes to legislation,
- data availability and/or
- cost.
In some cases, it may be appropriate for staff to determine which part/s of the
Plan have priority over others, or in other case, politicians and/or the
community may drive the prioritisation process.
2.3 Linking Outcome Monitoring to an Integrated Monitoring
System
The following schematic diagram (Figure Two) illustrates how District Plan
monitoring fits within an integrated environmental monitoring and reporting
system. The linkage between District Plan monitoring, which is but one
component of the integrated monitoring system and the other components, is
important. Each monitoring activity will contribute separately to the state of the
environment report which will inevitably provide feedback from this monitoring
to the District Planning Process. This cyclic process is continuous and on
going and experience should improve.
State of the environment monitoring should over time, provide information on
environmental changes and development pressures that enables the
identification of new issues of significance that need to be addressed through
the District Plan. It may also reveal that issues already identified in the plan
require re-evaluation.
State of the environment monitoring is an on-going process that will continue in
response to changing environmental conditions and development pressures. In
this way, the planning procedures contained in the District Plan should alter
over time to better enable the planning process to address the purpose and
principles of the Resource Management Act.
Further integration with monitoring requirements under the Local Government
Act may be useful where district planning outcomes and community outcomes
align. The development of an integrated model for monitoring both sets of
outcomes should be undertaken by Council as a mechanism for achieving
efficiencies in fulfilling statutory obligations for monitoring under both the RMA
and LGA.
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
District Plan Monitoring
1.
Internal Consistency
within the Plan
2.
Implementation of
planning policies and
methods
3.
Effectiveness and
Suitability of planning
provisions
Complaints Monitoring
1. Breaches of the RMA, the District Plan and Resource
Consents
Figure Two: Integrated Monitoring System
Source: Adapted from the Whangarei District Council Monitoring Strategy
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
3. Statutory Background and Requirements
3.1 Section 35 – Resource Management Act, 1991
The Thames-Coromandel District Council is obliged under Section 35 of the
Resource Management Act 1991 to monitor and compile results for public
review of the effectiveness of its District Plan at intervals of not more than 5
years (See Appendix 1 – S.35 RMA). The substance of Section 35 has not
been altered by the 2009 amendments to the Act.
In summary section 35 (2) requires that Council shall monitor:




the state of the environment of the whole or part of the District;
the efficiency and effectiveness of the policies, rules and other
methods of the District Plan;
the exercise of any transferred or delegated powers; and
the implementation and performance of resource consents.
The monitoring of the District Plan contributes towards the first bullet point
above and achieves what is required under the second bullet point.
Regulatory staff will report on the monitoring transferred and delegated
powers, and matters relating to resource consents.
The Resource Management Amendment Act 2003 introduced a requirement
for Councils to, at intervals of not more than five years, to compile and make
available to the public a review of the results of monitoring the efficiency and
effectiveness of the District Plan.
Such monitoring is mandatory, as is the requirement to gather information and
have it available for the public. Council does not have any discretion in regard
to carrying out monitoring but can determine the indicators and process to
perform the task.
The monitoring duties identified above as obligatory are linked to Councils
duties under Section 32. Section 32 of the Resource Management Act imposes
a duty on territorial authorities to assess the suitability of planning procedures
adopted in planning documents and to consider alternatives. Information
provided by monitoring should assist Section 32 duties, particularly when
reviewing the district plan or undertaking plan changes.
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
4. The Thames-Coromandel District Plan - Operative in
Part
Following amendments to s.75 of the RMA in 2003, the content of district plans
must include the objectives for the district, policies to implement objectives and
rules to implement policies, and may include other matters including inter alia
environmental results expected. A district plan can also include the procedures
for monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of the policies and methods
mentioned in the plan which essentially addresses the plan monitoring
responsibilities of Council. Whether these optional matters are included in the
District Plan or not, the process and documentation of monitoring is still
required under s.35.
4.1 District Plan Monitoring Strategy
In accordance with section 75 of the Resource Management Act, the ThamesCoromandel District Plan - Operative in Part contains a 'Monitoring Strategy' in
Section 3. This states that the following monitoring programmes are to be
carried out by Council:

Compliance monitoring
o Compliance with conditions of resource consents and licenses issued
under Crown Minerals Act 1991
o Suitability of consent conditions
o Impact of activities on environment

Incident and Issue monitoring
o Complaints about unauthorised or activities investigated
o Breaches of rules and undesirable environmental effects
o Enforcement action

Trend monitoring
o Demographic and peak population surveys
o Subdivision and land use monitoring
o New buildings

State of the environment monitoring
o Baseline information on the environment
o Trends in environmental phenomena
o New issues identified
o Integrated monitoring strategy focussed on these four issues

Protection of indigenous and fauna

Waste generation and disposal
Septic tanks

Urban form and development
Rural area development
However, for the purposes of monitoring the district plan’s effectiveness in
accordance with s.35 of the RMA, this monitoring plan concentrates on ‘plan
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
outcome evaluation’. This approach allows the performance of the plan to be
assessed and can draw on the other forms of data collected under the points
above (i.e. trend monitoring and State of the Environment monitoring).
There are environmental results anticipated stated in Section 2 of the District
Plan for each significant resource management issue. These are presented in
table form and appended to this document (Appendix 4). The tables show
where indicators will be derived from to provide information to assess whether
the environmental results anticipated are being achieved. These tables differ
slightly from those in the District Plan in that they state the environmental
results anticipated and omit the sources for obtaining relevant data. An
example for the issue of Biodiversity is shown below.
211 Biodiversity
Environmental Results Anticipated
Indicators to be derived from
No further loss of significant indigenous
vegetation or significant habitats of
indigenous fauna.
 Extent of cover or abundance of fauna
Growth in peoples appreciation of all
natural resources indigenous vegetation
and fauna.
 Status of different areas in the District
 Clearance rates
 Public perception
 Number of applications to plant or clear
 Community surveys
Increased planting
vegetation.
of
indigenous
 Extent of new cover
 Number of applications
 Extent of Conservation Zone
 Environmental surveys
To recognise the quality and intrinsic
values of ecosystems, indigenous
vegetation and fauna habitat and
enhance
these
values
where
appropriate.
 Status of areas of indigenous vegetation or
fauna habitat
 Funding changes to DOC
 High level of
Regional Plans
protection
afforded
in
It should be noted that the indicators for each environmental result anticipated
have not been developed and would require further work to develop these. A
discussion on indicator selection is presented in the following section.
The feasibility of undertaking monitoring on all the district plan environmental
results anticipated also requires careful consideration. The costs and time
associated with developing indicators, and gathering and analysing data for
each result has been broadly assessed as part of this monitoring plan and the
results of this assessment are provided in Appendix 5. An example of the
feasibility assessment is shown below:
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
219 District Waterbodies (abridged)
Environmental Result
Indicators to be derived Feasibility
from
The intrinsic, scenic, 
recreational
and
ecological values of
water bodies preserved

for future generations.
Change in landscape $$-$$$
character
and ◘◘- ◘◘◘
management
►►►
Extent
of
riparian
management

Water quality

Review Plan following
preparation
of
iwi
resource
management
plans
District
waterbodies 
with a conservation
purpose are retained.

Degree of development $$
and modification
◘◘
Types
of
activities ►-►►
associated
with
the
waterbody
Streams and rivers are 
sufficiently vegetated to
provide good shading
along their margins.
Change in land
activities
modifications
use $$-$$$
and ◘◘-◘◘◘
►►-►►►
Key:
$ - $$$
◘ - ◘◘◘
►- ►►►
Cost (based on the need for staff time through
to engaging external experts)
Time (based on analysis (desktop) through to
waiting for data to be collected and analysed.
Data Availability (Data existing through to new
work commissioned)
The analysis looks at the feasibility of monitoring the Environmental Results
listed, only in terms of collecting and analysing information for the purpose of
determining the effectiveness of the District Plan.
No analysis of the suitability or appropriateness of the Environmental Results
or the list of ‘Indicators to be derived from’ has been undertaken. Ideally, this
would be undertaken when each issue/environmental result was monitored.
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
5. Monitoring of Outcomes
5.1 What is monitoring?
Monitoring is the regular collection and analysis of information on chosen
environmental indicators. Environmental monitoring involves the measuring
and collecting of information or data and the subsequent analysis of the results
of this information. This will provide phenomena and collecting data.
“Monitoring is about checking that we are achieving what we want to achieve and
having information available from which to make sound… decisions”.
(Quality Planning)
Monitoring is a systematic process. Monitoring assists decision-making by
continuing the 'plan – do – monitor – report - review' cycle (refer Figure One)
and provides the Council with checks to ensure things are on track.
5.2 The Process of ‘Outcome’ Monitoring
Outcome monitoring is a process that helps determine whether the District
Plan is achieving the desired outcomes and anticipated environmental results
identified in the Plan. Monitoring will indicate whether the methods employed
are the most appropriate to achieve these outcomes and whether the policies
and methods are actually being implemented effectively. This in turn will
enable decisions to be made on whether planning procedures need to be
altered to better accomplish those objectives.
A three phase approach to district plan outcome monitoring is required and is
comprised of:

Evaluation of the district plan’s internal consistency to deliver the
environmental results anticipated (using a process called Plan-Logic
mapping)

Evaluation of whether the planning procedures contained in the plan
are actually being implemented effectively (this ties in with resource
consent monitoring).

Evaluation of whether the policies and methods in the plan have
delivered the anticipated environmental outcomes (this includes an
analysis of why results have or have not been achieved).
Each step is explained in more detail in the following section on implementing
this monitoring plan.
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
6. Implementation of the Monitoring Plan
6.1 A Process for Evaluation
This section of the monitoring plan sets out the actions required to determine
the effectiveness of the District Plan. In summary these are:
1.
Prioritise Issues for Monitoring; and
1.a Preliminary Systems Assessment and Feasibility Analysis for Prioritised
Issue/s;
2.
Evaluate District Plan’s Internal Consistency – Plan Logic mapping
exercise;
3.
Evaluate Implementation of District Plan;
4.
Evaluate District Plan Outcomes;
Each of these processes are explained in more detail below, and are followed
by some guidance on indicator selection, data collection, data management
and reporting.
1. Prioritise Issues for Monitoring
It is important that a clear process is undertaken to prioritise those
aspects to be monitored and/or evaluated ahead of others. The priority
assigned to evaluation of issues may vary depending on factors such as:
- political or public demand,
- environmental/population pressures,
- environmental sensitivity/risk,
- in-house expertise (i.e. staff knowledge of poor plan performance),
- substantive change within an area or surrounding an issue since the
Plan was written,
- changes to legislation,
- data availability and/or
- cost.
In some cases, it may be appropriate for staff to determine which part/s of
the Plan have priority over others, or in other case, politicians and/or the
community may drive the aspects of the plan to be evaluated. In either
case, the Plan document should clearly indentify either what the priorities
for monitoring are, or provide clear guidance on determining priority.
1.a Preliminary Systems Assessment and Feasibility Analysis for
Prioritised Issue/s
In determining the extent to which an issue can be monitored it may be
useful to undertake a preliminary desk-top assessment of the ‘system’ in
which the environmental issue occurs. This can quickly show the likely
influences on an outcome (i.e. the plan interventions, regional policy,
economic change etc), indicate the degree of complexity of the evaluation
process and the feasibility of undertaking it. The outcome of this may
determine the need for an adjustment of timeframes, budgets, data
collection methods or that an in-depth evaluation may have little value. In
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
the latter case a quicker, assumptions-based approach may be more
appropriate.
2. Evaluate District Plan’s Internal Consistency – A Plan Logic
Mapping Exercise
The first step tracks the logical sequence between plan goals or issues,
objectives, policies, implementation and outcomes, which we call ‘plan logic
mapping’. The aim is to determine whether the Plan is logically capable of
achieving the anticipated outcomes through its provisions.
This
assessment may require analysis of other documents if implementation is
intended to occur by way of activities outside the plan (e.g. LTCCPs,
engineering codes of practice etc).
It is important to ensure the Environmental Results Anticipated in the Plan
have some logical means of being achieved through the interventions
described in the preceding sections of the Plan. In some cases where the
Environmental Results Anticipated are too vague or are not consistent with
the objectives and policies it may be necessary to re-interpret them to
better reflect the intention of the objectives and polices. In other cases, the
Environmental Results Anticipated may need to be re-worked to provide
measurable boundaries for achievement, i.e. setting timeframes, or
geographic constraints.
3. Evaluate Implementation of District Plan
The second step of the process requires an assessment of the Plan’s
implementation. That is, have the plans objectives, policies and methods
been carried through in practice? While there are a number of methods for
implementing plans, a common approach is to concentrate on resource
consents as an indicator of implementation. Implementation of ‘permitted’
activities needs to be picked up through State of the Environment or Trend
monitoring.
Evaluation of consents and in some cases, non-regulatory methods, can
largely be desk-top exercises. The size of the sample needs only to be
large enough to be representative of the activity relating to those
rules/methods.
This phase of the evaluation process assumes good internal consistency
within the plan and involves determining how each policy and/or rule will be
implemented through resource consents.
The consents are then assessed for the presence or not of conditions or
decision making that reflects the provisions of the plan. In practice, it
requires a good knowledge of the respective techniques available to be
applied to avoid, mitigate or remedy environmental effects associated with
activities or subdivision. One source of information on this method is the
‘Monitoring Plan Implementation in New Zealand – Planning Practice Guide
2’ (M. Day et al, 2005).
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Plan implementation evaluations alone do not, however, indicate whether
or not good environmental outcomes have been achieved. This is the
function of plan outcome evaluations.
4. Evaluate District Plan Outcomes
The third step involves environmental data collection and draws on the
results from the previous two steps to establish a link between what the
District Plan intended to achieve and what is found on the ground.
This type of evaluation helps make explicit the cause-effect relationships
intended by the plan through the policy interventions (i.e. rules, standards,
permitted baselines, non-regulatory approaches etc). By understanding
this relationship the difficult questions surrounding ‘attribution’ can begin to
be answered – that is, did the plan achieve what was intended, or did other
non-plan factors affect the outcome?
Attributing outcomes to policy interventions can be a complex task, but is a
very important step in determining the effectiveness of objectives and
policies. Without undertaking this form of assessment it is difficult to know if
(1) it was the plan that caused a particular outcome, or other factors, and
(2) the plan interventions are necessary or appropriate. Various methods
are available to undertake outcome evaluation, ranging from highly
quantitative to community-based qualitative methods. The methods chosen
for each issue will depend on the type of data available, budget, and
timeframes.
A full evaluation would involve undertaking the process described in Figure
Three below. However, in circumstances where there are restrictions on
timeframes or data availability a priority approach can be adopted. This
involves assessing the feasibility, internal consistency and/or necessity of
undertaking ‘outcome evaluation’. More detailed evaluation of an issue
may occur at a later stage when data, resources and time permit.
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
1. Scope and Define Methodology and Research Methods
- define issues/areas of plan for review
- review of outcome evaluation theories
- limitations of research methodologies
- methodological approach chosen and rationale confirmed
2. Scope Plan, Env Results Anticipated (ERA’s) and
Data for Environmental Results
- limitations and barriers of plans, ERAs and data
- test internal consistency of plan
- develop ‘shadow’ ERAs if necessary
- indicator selection
- preliminary test of robustness of data for selected
topics
2a. Modelling the system
- environmental and plan systems
modelling (modelling the intervention
theory of the Plan)
3. Data Analysis and Evaluation of ERA Achievement
- Data collection and analysis
* use of local and expert opinion to
calibrate model
3a. System Evaluation of ERA
achievement
4. Attribution and Explanatory Factors
- Plan factors (activity status, non-regulatory methods, other)
- Non-Plan and External factors (asset plans, community action, legislation, LTCCPs, population,
economy, climate change etc
Figure Three - Plan Outcome Evaluation Process
6.2 Selection of indicators
A critical component of monitoring outcomes is selecting appropriate
indicators. One or more monitoring indicators need to be selected for each
issue. These indicators are monitored or measured regularly to detect any
changes. Importantly, the selection of indicators should be guided by the goals
and logic of the plan and its Environmental Results Anticipated, and use
existing monitoring frameworks where available. In particular, indicators should
be able to show changes in the selected outcome areas.
In selecting indicators, a ‘SMART’ process can be applied:
1. Specific: The indicator clearly and directly relates to the relevant
subject and is not an indicator for other factors.
2. Measurable: The indicator and results can be unambiguously
measured
3. Achievable: It is realistic and achievable to collect data through the
indicator
4. Relevant: The indicator is relevant to the evaluation
5. Time-bound: The indicator provides data that be tracked in a costeffective manner at a desired frequency for a set period.
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Most importantly, the indicators need to be discriminating. Discriminating
indicators reveal “unambiguous, predictable, verifiable” relationships between
plans and outcomes; are sensitive to planning processes and changes; and
reflect the long term outcomes of plans2. They need to be able to show
changes to the environment that are directly associated with the plan
provisions being implemented.
Data should ideally, be able to show changes from a time period directly before
the plan provisions became operative, and then from a reasonable time
thereafter (the relevance of the time gap will vary from issue to issue). The
purpose is to establish a ‘before plan’ and ‘after plan’ state3.
6.3 Data collection; analysis and interpretation
A range of data gathering methods will be required to identify and explain
relevant environmental outcomes. In some cases desk-top analysis of existing
reports may be appropriate. In other instances, field research may be
required. The examples set out below include some guidance for desk-top and
field-based research, and include guidance on sampling, standardised
observation, document analysis, interviews/questionnaires. These examples
have been extracted from the Planning Practice Guide 4 – Evaluating the
Effectiveness of District and Regional Plans (Day, et al 2009).
(i) Sampling
It may not be necessary to monitor every aspect of the issue being
evaluated. The aim is to obtain enough information to understand the
strengths and weaknesses of a plan, its implementation, the extent to
which key outcomes are achieved and the contextual factors that assist
or impede its performance. Consequently, sampling procedures are
useful for gaining a representative sample of the issue under evaluation.
Sampling is a means of selecting a manageable number of ‘units’
(consents, properties, activities etc) which, when analysed, provide
reliable data about plan effectiveness. The goal is to ensure that the
sample is sufficient to allow the evaluation findings to be generalised to
the whole plan, but not so large as to demand unrealistic time and
resources to complete.
There are a number of suitable sampling techniques, such as stratified
random sampling, which is useful for selecting individual items from a
list (e.g., consents granted, items on a plan schedule), and cluster
sampling which is useful for choosing properties from a large area, e.g.
in a particular zone or policy area. The extent to which relevant
information can be accessed from a council’s information management
system may also influence the sampling procedure used.
2
3
Hockings, et al., 2000
Day et al., 2009
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Qualitative sampling methods are also useful, e.g. for selecting cases
from the main sample for further examination4. Such methods are
valuable when faced with time and/or resource pressures because they
allow only a small number of cases to be chosen for detailed
investigation. For instance, ‘intensity sampling’ enables resource
consents that led to very good and very poor outcomes to be selected
and studied in-depth, thereby exposing, intensely, the strengths and
weaknesses of the plans and of the implementation process5.
(ii) Standardised Observation
Once a sample is selected, outcomes arising from plan implementation
(for both permitted and consented activities) can be assessed, which
inevitably requires making judgments based on observation. The
standardised observation approach involves using an observation
schedule to enable the outcomes to be judged against the relevant
assessment criteria from a district or regional plan. In other words, the
scope of the exercise is confined to evaluating the degree of fit between
the observed outcomes and a plan’s decision-making criteria.
The use of a standardised evaluation form allows a consistent measure
of outcomes. It can also be used to record non-compliant or
unconsented activities. When aggregated, the data obtained from the
observation schedules provides a useful picture of the extent to which,
overall, the plan’s outcomes are being achieved or not achieved.
To further ensure a consistent and high quality assessment, the
observation schedules should be completed by appropriately qualified
specialists who understand the values associated with the resource
under assessment, and who can meaningfully apply the plan’s
assessment criteria in a post hoc appraisal of outcomes.
A
considerable amount of quantitative information is gathered through this
process and suitable software, such as SPSS, may be needed to assist
with collation and analysis.
(iii) Document Analysis
Analysing a wide range of documents is necessary to identify the
activities that have been undertaken for the sample properties and to
investigate the plan implementation process.
Such documents include:
 the district or regional plan under evaluation, including relevant
documentation such as section 32 reports;
 resource consent applications;
 assessments of applications by council staff and any
commissioned reports;
 section 94 reports;
4
For a wide range of qualitative sampling techniques see Patton, M., 2002.
The sampling methods mentioned are explained and applied in Mason, G., 2008 (in particular Chapter
4).
5
19
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
 section 104 reports;
 details of any complaints, enforcement or Environment Court
proceedings;
 correspondence relating to any of these matters.
Additionally, photographs (GIS maps, historical aerial photographs )
provide another form of documentary evidence that can be used in the
analysis process.
(iv) Interviews/Questionnaires
Interviews and/or questionnaires enable information to be gained to help
understand the ways in which plan implementation influenced
outcomes. A key focus is to know ‘what worked in terms of plan
implementation and in what circumstances?’ (and vice versa), in order
to reveal the factors that supported and restrained successful plan
implementation. Relevant informants will consist of those who operate
on the ‘development side’ of plan implementation, that is landowners
and their professional advisors, as well as those from the ‘control side’,
including council decision-makers, planners and specialist staff. Others
involved in the management of the issue or as observers, such as
government agencies, community groups, NGO’s and iwi may also be
involved.
Information about the state of and trends in the environmental issue
being scrutinised can also be sought from key informants. This
information can then be used to help attribute the evaluation results to
the plan interventions or other factors.
6.4 Data management
Data collected needs to be stored and managed in an efficient way so that
information is readily accessible in a form useful for analysis and reporting
purposes.
6.5 Reporting of results
Presenting the results of monitoring to both council and the community in a
form that is easy to understand.
6.6 Recommendations and review
Reviewing and revising planning and monitoring procedures to improve
planning outcomes. The results of the monitoring programme need to be linked
back to the planning process to enable the review of planning procedures in
place. Monitoring may confirm the appropriateness of the existing provisions or
20
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
it may identify the need to make changes to planning procedures in order to
improve their on-going effectiveness.
6.7 Summary
Implementation of the monitoring plan and information from this will feed in to
the future review of the Thames-Coromandel District Plan. The use of plan
logic mapping will provide information on the linkages from the objectives
(what will be achieved) in the District Plan through to the policies (courses of
action to achieve objectives). From this the methods are assessed to see if the
rules are being implemented to achieve the anticipated outcomes that are
stated in the District Plan.
There are 62 'environmental results anticipated' stated in the 'Significant
Resource Management Issues' of the district. This is a large number of
outcomes to monitor. Therefore a priority list of the issues and the outcomes
that should be monitored has to be established. Ideally all environmental
outcomes would be monitored but resources will need to be targeted at the
specific outcomes that will give the best results on the effectiveness of the
District Plan.
The analysis of the results from this plan logic monitoring the District Plan will
show what parts of the plan are effective in achieving the environmental results
anticipated. Other monitoring activities will also build a 'picture' of the district
as a precursor to an eventual report on the district's 'state of the environment'.
In summary, monitoring involves:
 Planned and repeated data collection,
 Analysis,
 Interpretation,
 Reporting on the results of monitoring,
 Recommendations for action, and
 Taking and reviewing actions.
Monitoring can indicate:
 The measure of progress made towards desired outcomes,
 The performance of the Council in achieving its work programme,
 The effects of policies and activities,
 Changes to the community and its environment,
 Issues that may need to be addressed through policy and operational
activities.
Information from implementation of the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan should
be reported to the Policy and Planning Committee to enable the committee to
make recommendations to Council on relevant matters to with maintaining and
enhancing the environment.
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Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
BIBLIOGAPHY
Crawford, J., Day, M., et al Achieving anticipated environmental outcomes: how
effective is the district plan? (2007) PUCM Summary Report to Papakura District
Council, Hamilton: The International Global Change Institute, The University of
Waikato.
Day, M., Mason, G., Crawford, J. and Kouwenhoven, P.(2009)Evaluating the
Effectiveness of District and Regional Plans Prepared Under the Resource
Management Act – Planning Practice Guide 4
Enfocus, (2008) Evaluating Regional Policy Statements and Plans – a guide for
Regional and Unitary Authorities.
Gilg, A. W. (2005). Planning in Britain: Understanding and Evaluating the Post-War
System. London: Sage.
Hockings Marc, with Sue Holton and Nigel Dudley. Adrian Phillips Series Editor. 2000
Evaluating Effectiveness. A Plan for Assessing the Management of Protected Areas
Laurian, L., Crawford, J., Day, M., Kouwenhoven, P., Mason, G., Ericksen, N., and
Beattie, L: “Can Effectiveness of Plans be Monitored? Answers from POE – a New
Plan Outcome Evaluation Method,” Planning Quarterly No. 179 pp.26-30,
September 2008.
Laurian, L, Crawford, J, and Day, M, with Peter Kouwenhoven, Greg Mason, Neil
Ericksen and Lee Beattie (Forthcoming) Evaluating the Outcomes of Plans: Theory,
Practice, and Methodology. Accepted for publication by Journal of Environmental
Planning and Management B, April 2008.
Leggett, M. (2002). Assessing the Impact of the RMA on Environmental Outcomes:
Final Report. Auckland: URS New Zealand Limited.
Mason, G. (2008). Evaluating the Effectiveness of Conformance-Based Plans:
Attributing Built Heritage Outcomes to Plan Implementation under New Zealand’s
Resource Management Act. PhD Thesis, University of Waikato
Inform Planning Ltd (2008). Review of Auckland Regional Council’s Regional Policy
Statement: Scoping Study on Historic Heritage Monitoring by Auckland Local
Authorities. Unpublished report commissioned by Auckland Regional Council
Morrison, N., & Pearce, B. (2000). Developing indicators for evaluating the
effectiveness of the UK land use planning system. Town Planning Review, 71(2),
191-211.
Pathfinder Project (2003) Guidance on Outcome Focused Management: Building
Block 3: Intervention Logic. Wellington, State Services Commission. Available at
http://io.ssc.govt.nz/pathfinder/documents/pathfinder-BB3-intervention_logic.pdf
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (3rd ed.).
Thousand Oaks: Sage.
22
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
APPENDIX I
Section 35 Resource Management Act 1991
Section 35 of the Resource Management Act states:
" 35. Duty to gather information, monitor, and keep records
(1) Every local authority shall gather such information, and undertake or commission
such research, as is necessary to carry out effectively its functions under this Act.
(2) Every local authority shall monitor—
(a) the state of the whole or any part of the environment of its region or district to
the extent that is appropriate to enable the local authority to effectively carry out its
functions under this Act; and
(b) the efficiency and effectiveness of policies, rules, or other methods in its policy
statement or its plan; and
(c) the exercise of any functions, powers, or duties delegated or transferred by it;
and
(d) the exercise of the resource consents that have effect in its region or district, as
the case may be; and
(e) in the case of a regional council, the exercise of a recognised customary
activity in its region, including any controls imposed under Schedule 12 on that
activity,—
and take appropriate action (having regard to the methods available to it under this
Act) where this is shown to be necessary.
(2A) Every local authority must, at intervals of not more than 5 years, compile and
make available to the public a review of the results of its monitoring under subsection
(2)(b).
(3) Every local authority shall keep reasonably available at its principal office,
information which is relevant to the administration of policy statements and plans, the
monitoring of resource consents, and current issues relating to the environment of the
area, to enable the public—
(a) to be better informed of their duties and of the functions, powers, and duties of
the local authority; and
(b) to participate effectively under this Act..."
23
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
APPENDIX II
Thames-Coromandel District Council - Monitoring Activities
This section sets out the monitoring of issues already undertaken as part of, or
contributing to, the future District Plan review (2010/2012).
This section will be updated as monitoring occurs and reports are provided to
the Policy and Planning Committee.
District Profile Information:



Demographic Profile: Thames-Coromandel District (2003)
Usually Resident Population; Projected Population; Demographics (age,
occupation, income, etc); Dwellings; etc.
Demographic Profiles: Main Settlements (2003)
Usually Resident Population; Projected Population; Demographics (age,
occupation, income, etc); Dwellings, etc.
Peak Population Studies (2003/04 & 2006/07)
Peak Population (Main Settlements & District); Traffic Counts; etc.
Community Outcomes Monitoring:

Thames-Coromandel Community Outcomes Benchmark Report (2008)
Natural Environment (vegetation cover, water quality, etc); Natural
Values of Coast and Beaches (coastal bathing water quality, protection
of natural character and coastal values, etc); Healthy Communities
(deprivation index, health indicators, housing affordability, etc); Diversity
and Character (attractive towns, special character of Peninsula
protected/valued, etc); History Valued and Preserved (buildings & sites
protected, etc); Local Economies (industry, events, etc); Planning &
Infrastructure (water, wastewater, waste, reserves, roading, etc); etc.

Snapshot 2009 - Monitoring Progress Towards Community Outcomes
(2009)
Various Indicators relating to: Natural Environment; Natural Values of
Coast and Beaches; Healthy Communities; Diversity and Character;
History Valued and Preserved; Local Economies; Planning &
Infrastructure; etc.
District Plan Monitoring:

Settlement Strategy (2007)
Effect of Development; Satisfaction with District as a Place to Live;
Serviced Settlements - Number of Dwellings; etc.

Landowner/Council Conservation Covenants (2007 & 2009)
Conservation Covenants - Uptake; Size; Location; Covenant Monitoring
2006 & 2008 (Owner Commitment, Covenant Condition); etc.

Urban Form, Density & Design (2008)
Settlement character analysis (design themes/features); Effectiveness
of resource consent process in facilitating good urban design outcomes
24
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan





(scale, density, amenity, landscape, etc); Design outcomes comprehensive developments, subdivision patterns; etc.
Industrial Zones and Policy Areas (2009)
Land zoned Industrial within each Planning Area; Vacant industrial land.
Areas of Zones and Policy Areas (2009)
Area of District (ha and % of District) in each Zone/Policy Area.
Heritage Review (Heritage Register & Policy Areas) (to be completed;
2009?)
Condition of buildings/items on the Heritage Register; Effectiveness of
resource consent process in managing heritage resources/sites; etc.
Landuse Resource Consent "Triggers" (to be completed; 2010)
2004-2009 Landuse consent triggers (by Zone/Policy Area); Lot sizes;
Earthworks; Heritage; Natural Hazards; Travellers Accommodation; etc.
Subdivision Resource Consent "Triggers" (to be completed; 2010)
1998 -2009 Subdivision consent triggers (by Settlement/Zone/Policy
Area); Additional Lots; etc.
25
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
APPENDIX III
District Plan - Environmental Results Anticipated
211 Biodiversity
Environmental Results Anticipated
Indicators to be derived from
No further loss of significant indigenous
vegetation or significant habitats of
indigenous fauna.
 Extent of cover or abundance of fauna
Growth in peoples appreciation of all
natural resources indigenous vegetation
and fauna.
 Status of different areas in the District
 Clearance rates
 Public perception
 Number of applications to plant or clear
 Community surveys
Increased planting
vegetation.
of
indigenous
 Extent of new cover
 Number of applications
 Extent of Conservation Zone
 Environmental surveys
To recognise the quality and intrinsic
values of ecosystems, indigenous
vegetation and fauna habitat and
enhance
these
values
where
appropriate.
 Status of areas of indigenous vegetation or
fauna habitat
 Funding changes to DOC
 High level of
Regional Plans
protection
afforded
in
212 Landscape and Natural Character
Environmental Result
Indicators to be derived from
Landscapes with a high degree of
natural character and outstanding
natural features protected in perpetuity.
 Extent of protection
Landscape character maintained and
enhanced throughout the District.
 Extent of protection
 Zoning and reserve status
 Zoning
 Public perception
 Extent of landscape research
Activities and development reflect the
landscape character of different parts of
the District.
 Landscape assessment
 Public perception
 Extent of landscape modification
26
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Settlements with extensive natural
vegetation and healthy ecology.
 Extent of trees
 Number of trees on a register
 Public perception
213 Settlements and Amenity Values
Environmental Result
Indicators to be derived from
Comprehensively
planned
and
contained settlements in strategic
locations throughout the District.
 Extent of urban growth or sprawl
 Demand for services
 Environmental change
 Plan changes
Adequate infrastructure and services
appropriate to the character of the area.
 Demand for services
 Type of services
 Scale of development
 Environmental change
 Development pressure
 Expenditure on infrastructure
 Plan changes
A coastline of distinct contained
settlements with areas of continuous
open space and natural character.
 Development pressure
 Environmental change
 Loss of vegetation
 Landscape analysis
Rural areas with distinct contained
settlements
and
extensive
rural
character.
 Landscape analysis
 Development pressure
 Environmental change
 Loss of vegetation
High standards of residential amenity,
building and subdivision design.
 Extent of trees/vegetation
 Building design
 Investment
 Property value
 Subdivision design
Urban settlements with vibrant town
centres.
 Extent of investment in Town Centre
 Housing density
 Heritage protection
 Town themes
27
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
214 Heritage Resources
Environmental Result
Indicators to be derived from
Protection of District character areas of
historical and cultural interest.

Visual amenity

Heritage Register
Improved awareness and increased
community appreciation of the District's
heritage significance.

Use of heritage buildings

Heritage committee
Development, modification and use
which occur in harmony with historic
and cultural heritage.

Visual amenity
Increased interest by visitors and
residents in Thames' and Coromandel's
heritage resources.

Use of heritage buildings

Tourism
In some cases, the retention of
significant buildings purely for their
historical and archaeological value as
good examples of their kind.

NZ Historic Places Trust
No
unnecessary
archaeological sites.
modification
of
215 Tangata Whenua Issues
Environmental Result
Indicators to be derived from

review
plan
following
Iwi
environmental/resource
management
plans

audit resource consent and application
process

maintain watching
boundary issues
Acknowledgment, implementation and
community awareness of the principles of
Treaty of Waitangi.

monitor Treaty claims

review Plan following any settlements
Recognition and protection of ancestral
lands, water, sites, waahi tapu and
taonga.

review Plan following iwi environmental/
resource management plans

audit resource consent and application
process
Enhanced communication, consultation
and understanding between Council, the
public and tangata whenua.

opinion survey of stakeholders

audit resource consent and application
process

convene workshops to rate performance
Resource management decision making
which is sensitive to Tangata Whenua
values and interests.
brief
on
cross
28
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Development by tangata whenua of their
lands
and
resources,
increased
involvement in decision making and
recognition of the kaitiaki role.

number and type of resource consent
applications

implementation of management plans

implementation of Sections 33 & 34
RMA

opinion survey of stakeholders

maintain watching brief on jurisdiction
issues with Regional Council and
Government Departments.
216 Transportation
Environmental Result
Indicators to be derived from
Transportation facilities and roads function
safely and efficiently.

Change in accident rates

Extent of
alignments

Extent of facility operations


Location of new facilities.
Change in operations, frequency,
volumes, etc.
Extent of landscape modification
and degradation.
Noise
Water quality
A reduction of adverse effects of the
transportation
infrastructure
on
the
environment.



The adverse effects of activities on
transport infrastructure avoided, remedied
or mitigated.
road
re-

Extent of loss of significant
indigenous vegetation and habitat
of significant indigenous fauna


Location of new facilities.
Change in operations, frequency,
volumes, etc.
Extent of landscape modification
and degradation.
Noise
Water quality

Adequate off street parking and service
lanes to meet most parking, loading and
access requirements of activities.
unplanned



Extent of loss of significant
indigenous vegetation and habitat
of significant indigenous fauna
217 Public Works and Utilities
Environmental Result
Indicators to be derived from
A safe and efficient network of public works
and network utilities.
 Extent and type of infrastructure
present
Public works and network utilities that are
co-ordinated and environmentally sensitive.
 Location and type of infrastructure
present
29
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Public works and network utilities consistent
with amenity values and character areas
within the District.
 Location, extent and
infrastructure present
type
of
Communities with adequate infrastructure
and facilities.
 Location, extent and
infrastructure present
type
of
Fair and equitable provision of services and
facilities.
 Costs to community versus costs to
developers
 Benefits received by community
Increased awareness of the Treaty of
Waitangi and a positive relationship with
tangata whenua.
 Return of surplus lands
 Iwi Liaison Committee meetings
 Voluntary return of land
 Waitangi Tribunal claims
218 Community Water Supplies
Environmental Result
Indicators to be derived from
Adequate volumes of the appropriate
standard of water will be available to meet
the foreseeable needs of:




Public health
Firefighting
Peak population
Future generations
The supply of water to settlements will be:
 Cost-effective and sustainable

Human health: disease, infection,
medical problems

Establishment of water tanks

Number and frequency of Water
shortages

Availability of future water supply
sources
 Establishment
systems
of
community
 Reliable through summer
 Water shortages
 Potable drinking water
 Human health; disease, infection,
medical problems, human health
Urban levels of service provided in seven
serviced settlements only. Outside these
areas settlements are self-sufficient and
sustainable with their own systems.
 Water
quality
infrastructure
Water supply catchments identified on
Planning Maps and managed carefully.
 Extent of vegetation cover
Uncontaminated water supply aquifers.
 Human health, medical problems.
Increased use
techniques.
 Number and frequency of water
shortages.
of
water
conservation
Adequate funds available to Council for the
upgrading of water supply infrastructure.
and
type
of
 Type of vegetation cover.
 Extent of upgrading
 Funds collected
219 District Waterbodies
Environmental Result
The
intrinsic,
scenic,
Indicators to be derived from
recreational
and

Change in landscape character and
30
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
ecological values of water bodies preserved
for future generations.
management

Extent of riparian management

Water quality

Review Plan following preparation
of iwi resource management plans

Degree
of
modification

Types of activities associated with
the waterbody
Streams and rivers are sufficiently
vegetated to provide good shading along
their margins.

Change in land use activities and
modifications
Increased public appreciation of the
District’s
waterbodies,
estuaries and
harbours.

Voluntary protection

Involvement in resource consents

Public access
District waterbodies with a conservation
purpose are retained.
development
and
220 Waste Management
Environmental Result
Indicators to be derived from
Environmentally safe waste management
including:
 Quantities of waste to be disposed

Minimum waste produced;

Maximum possible recycling of waste;

Avoidance of environmental effects;

Tangata whenua values taken into
account.
Public awareness and implementation of
the waste management hierarchy.
 Quantities of waste to be recycled
 Environmental
degradation/contamination
 number of on-site wastewater
systems that meet the standards
 Extent of composting
 Reduction in consumption
 Extent of recycling
221 Land Disturbance and Earthworks
Environmental Result
Indicator to be derived from
The amenity values of communities, the
landscape character of areas are retained
and enhanced.
 Complaints
 Extent of land modifications
 Restoration/ rehabilitation of sites
 Public perception
Activities involving land disturbance or
earthworks are carried out in a way or at a
rate that is appropriate to the surrounding
environment.
 Extent of land modifications
 Environmental damage
31
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
The risks to the community of environmental
pollution or contamination are avoided.
 Use of bond money
 Environmental damage
 Extent and type of activity
 Public perceptions
Community water supply catchments
identified on planning maps are protected in
perpetuity.
 Environmental change
 Landscape modification
 Public perceptions
222 Natural Hazards
Environmental Result
Indicators to be derived from
A secure and safe community that avoids
the effects of natural hazards.
 Extent of damage
 Loss of life
 Social interruption during hazard
events
Natural hazard management that reflects
the character and environmental values of
the area.
 Extent of landform modification by
“hard” structures
A
well-educated
community
that
understands the risk from hazards and the
relationship that exists between people and
natural events.
 Extent of opposition to
approaches
 Extent of beach care/land care
programmes
Council
 Involvement in hazard management
programmes
 Involvement
exercises,
programmes
in
Civil
meetings
Defence
and
223 Hazardous Substances
Environmental Result
Indicators to be derived from
Hazardous substances managed safely.
 Extent of hazardous spills, leaks,
disasters
 Extent of facilities that have gone
through HFSP
Unsafe production and disposal facilities
avoided.
 Scale and extent of facilities located
in the District
 Extent of facilities over the upper
effects thresholds
Least risk of contamination
environment and to human life.
of
the
 Extent
of
hazardous
facilities
bordering on the upper threshold
limits
 Risk assessment analyses
32
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
224 Cross Boundary Issues
Environmental Result
Indicators to be derived from
Effective
resource
management
processes that resolve cross boundary
issues
and
achieve
integrated
management of resources.
 Extent of problems /concerns at the
interface between boundaries
 Extent of communication and liaison
with other agencies
 Resource consents
A good working relationship with regional
and territorial authorities and other
agencies.
 Extent of communication and liaison
with other authorities
Sound environmental
decisions.
 Consent/committee decisions
outcomes
and
 Extent of adverse environmental
effects occurring across boundaries
 Extent
of
landscape
degradation/modification
225 Visitors and the Environment
Environment Result
Indicators to be derived from
Visitor numbers are catered for without
degrading the environment.
 Extent and type of facilities
 Environmental degradation
 Peak population
Visitor facilities and facilities are located and
designed in a manner that reflects the
landscape character of the area.
 Location and type of facilities outside
the urban areas
A wide range of diverse experiences based
on the environment are enjoyed by
residents and visitors alike.
 Variety of visitor activities
 Environmental impacts
 Peak population
33
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
APPENDIX IV
District Plan - Environmental Results Monitoring Plan
This analysis is looking at the feasibility of monitoring the Environmental
Results listed, in terms of collecting and analysing information for the purpose
of determining the effectiveness of the District Plan.
No analysis of the suitability or appropriateness of the Environmental Results
or the list of ‘Indicators to be derived from’ has been undertaken. Ideally, this
would be undertaken when each issue/environmental result was monitored.
Key:
$ - $$$
Cost (based on the need for staff time through to
engaging external experts)
◘ - ◘◘◘
Time (based on analysis (desktop) through to
waiting for data to be collected and analysed.
►- ►►►
Data Availability (Data existing through to new
work commissioned)
Feasibility assumes information to be collected from indicators is
for full evaluation exercise. Assessment of time, cost and data has
primarily focused on the ‘Indicators to be derived’ list rather than
the ER’s themselves, as there can at times be significant disparity
between these two lists. The indicators list has been used as it
provides a more specific indication of the areas to be monitored.
*Note Feasibility has not been assessed on those Environmental
Results already assessed as detailed in Section 5 of the Plan.
34
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
211 Biodiversity
Environmental
Results Anticipated
Indicators
to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
No further loss of
significant indigenous
vegetation or significant
habitats of indigenous
fauna.
 Extent of cover or
abundance of fauna
Growth
in
peoples
appreciation
of
all
natural
resources
indigenous vegetation
and fauna.
 Status of different
areas in the District
 Clearance rates
$$
Underway
◘◘
►-►►
 Public perception
 Number
of
applications to plant
or clear
$$
Underway
◘◘
►-►►
 Community surveys
Increased planting of
indigenous vegetation.
 Extent of new cover
$
 Number
applications
◘◘
of
 Extent
of
Conservation Zone
Underway
►
 Environmental
surveys
To recognise the quality
and intrinsic values of
ecosystems,
indigenous vegetation
and fauna habitat and
enhance these values
where appropriate.
 Status of areas of
indigenous
vegetation or fauna
habitat
$
Underway
◘
►
 Funding changes to
DOC
 High
level
of
protection afforded
in Regional Plans
35
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
212 Landscape and Natural Character *
Environmental Result
Indicators
to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
Landscapes with a high
degree
of
natural
character
and
outstanding
natural
features protected in
perpetuity.
 Extent of protection
$
 Zoning and reserve
status
◘
Landscape
character
maintained
and
enhanced throughout
the District.
 Extent of protection
$
 Zoning
◘
 Public perception
►
Underway
►
Underway
 Extent of landscape
research
Activities
and
development reflect the
landscape character of
different parts of the
District.
 Landscape
assessment
Settlements
with
extensive
natural
vegetation and healthy
ecology.
 Extent of trees
$
 Number of trees on
a register
◘
 Public perception
 Extent of landscape
modification
 Public perception
$
Underway
◘
►
Underway
►
36
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
213 Settlements and Amenity Values
Environmental Result
Comprehensively
planned and contained
settlements in strategic
locations
throughout
the District.
Indicators
to
be
deri
ved
from
 Extent
of
urban
growth or sprawl
 Demand for services
 Environmental
change
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
$$- $$$
Underway
◘◘
►►►
 Plan changes
Adequate infrastructure
and
services
appropriate
to
the
character of the area.
 Demand for services
$$
 Type of services
◘◘
 Scale
development
of
Underway
►-►►
 Environmental
change
 Development
pressure
 Expenditure
infrastructure
on
 Plan changes
A coastline of distinct
contained settlements
with
areas
of
continuous open space
and natural character.
 Development
pressure
$$
Underway
◘◘
 Environmental
change
►►
 Loss of vegetation
 Landscape analysis
Rural areas with distinct
contained settlements
and extensive rural
character.
 Landscape analysis
$$
 Development
pressure
◘◘
Underway
►-►►
 Environmental
change
 Loss of vegetation
High
standards
of
residential
amenity,
building and subdivision
design.
 Extent
trees/vegetation
of
 Building design
 Investment
$$$
Underway
◘◘
►►-►►►
 Property value
 Subdivision design
Urban settlements with
 Extent of investment
$$
Underway
37
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
vibrant town centres.
in Town Centre
 Housing density
 Heritage protection
◘◘
►►
Technical
done
work
 Town themes
38
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
214 Heritage Resources
Environmental Result
Indicators
to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
Protection of District
character
areas
of
historical and cultural
interest.

Visual amenity
$ - $$

Heritage
Register
◘ - ◘◘
Improved
awareness
and
increased
community appreciation
of the District's heritage
significance.

Use of heritage
buildings
$

Heritage
committee
►-►►
Development,
modification and use
which occur in harmony
with
historic
and
cultural heritage.

Visual amenity
$$-$$$
Increased interest by
visitors and residents in
Thames'
and
Coromandel's heritage
resources.

Use of heritage
buildings

Tourism
In some cases, the
retention of significant
buildings purely for their
historical
and
archaeological value as
good examples of their
kind.

NZ
Historic
Places Trust
No
unnecessary
modification
of
archaeological sites.
Underway
►-►►
Underway
◘
Underway
◘◘◘
►►►
$
Underway
◘◘
►►
$
Underway
◘
►
$
Underway
◘
►
39
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
215 Tangata Whenua Issues
Environmental Result
Indicators
to
derived from
be Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical
done

review
plan $$
following
Iwi
environmental/re ◘- ◘◘
source
►
management
plans

audit
resource
consent
and
application
process

maintain
watching brief on
cross boundary
issues
Acknowledgment,
implementation
and
community awareness of
the principles of Treaty of
Waitangi.

monitor
claims

review
Plan
following
any ►
settlements
Recognition
and
protection of ancestral
lands, water, sites, waahi
tapu and taonga.

review
Plan $
following
iwi
environmental/ ◘
resource
►
management
plans

audit
resource
consent
and
application
process

opinion survey of $
stakeholders

audit
resource
consent
and ►
application
process

convene
workshops
to
rate performance
Resource management
decision making which is
sensitive
to
Tangata
Whenua
values
and
interests.
Enhanced
communication,
consultation
and
understanding between
Council, the public and
tangata whenua.
work
Treaty $
◘
◘
40
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Development by tangata
whenua of their lands
and resources, increased
involvement in decision
making and recognition
of the kaitiaki role.

number and type
of
resource
consent
applications

implementation
of management
plans

implementation
of Sections 33 &
34 RMA

opinion survey of
stakeholders

maintain
watching brief on
jurisdiction
issues
with
Regional Council
and Government
Departments.
$-$$
◘- ◘◘
►-►►
41
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
216 Transportation
Environmental Result
Indicators to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
Transportation
facilities
and roads function safely
and efficiently.
A reduction of adverse
effects
of
the
transportation
infrastructure
on
the
environment.

Change
accident rates

Extent
of
unplanned road
re-alignments

Extent of facility
operations

Location of new
facilities.
Change
in
operations,
frequency,
volumes, etc.
Extent
of
landscape
modification and
degradation.
Noise
Water quality




The adverse effects of
activities on transport
infrastructure
avoided,
remedied or mitigated.
Adequate
off
street
parking and service lanes
to meet most parking,
loading
and
access
requirements of activities.
in

Extent of loss of
significant
indigenous
vegetation and
habitat
of
significant
indigenous fauna

Location of new
facilities.
Change
in
operations,
frequency,
volumes, etc.
Extent
of
landscape
modification and
degradation.
Noise
Water quality





$
◘
►-►►
$$- $$$
◘◘◘
►►►
$$- $$$
◘◘◘
►►►
Extent of loss of
significant
indigenous
vegetation and
habitat
of
significant
indigenous fauna
42
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
217 Public Works and Utilities
Environmental Result
Indicators to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
A safe and efficient
network of public works
and network utilities.
 Extent and type of
infrastructure
present
$
◘
►
Public works and network
utilities that are coordinated
and
environmentally sensitive.
 Location and type
of
infrastructure
present
Public works and network
utilities consistent with
amenity
values
and
character areas within the
District.
 Location,
extent
and
type
of
infrastructure
present
$
Communities
with
adequate
infrastructure
and facilities.
 Location,
extent
and
type
of
infrastructure
present
$
 Costs
to
community versus
costs
to
developers
$
Fair
and
equitable
provision of services and
facilities.
$
◘
►
◘
►
◘
►
◘
►
 Benefits received
by community
Increased awareness of
the Treaty of Waitangi
and
a
positive
relationship with tangata
whenua.
 Return of surplus
lands
 Iwi
Liaison
Committee
meetings
$
◘-◘◘
►- ►►
 Voluntary return of
land
 Waitangi Tribunal
claims
43
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
218 Community Water Supplies
Environmental Result
Indicators to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
Adequate volumes of the
appropriate standard of
water will be available to
meet the foreseeable
needs of:




Public health
Firefighting
Peak population
Future generations
The supply of water to
settlements will be:
 Cost-effective
sustainable
and

Human health:
disease,
infection,
medical
problems

Establishment of
water tanks

Number
and
frequency
of
Water shortages

Availability
of
future
water
supply sources
 Establishment of
community
systems
 Water shortages
 Reliable
summer
through
 Potable
water
drinking
 Human
health;
disease, infection,
medical problems,
human health
Urban levels of service
provided
in
seven
serviced settlements only.
Outside
these
areas
settlements
are
selfsufficient and sustainable
with their own systems.
 Water quality and
type
of
infrastructure
Water supply catchments
identified on Planning
Maps
and
managed
carefully.
 Extent
of
vegetation cover
Uncontaminated
supply aquifers.
 Human
health,
medical problems.
water
$$
◘◘
►-►►
$$
◘◘
►-►►
$
◘
►
 Type of vegetation
cover.
$
◘
►
$
◘
►
(assuming
medical health
problems
reported
and
DHB
releases
information)
Increased use of water
conservation techniques.
 Number
and
frequency of water
shortages.
$
◘
►
44
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Adequate funds available
to
Council
for
the
upgrading of water supply
infrastructure.
 Extent
upgrading
 Funds collected
of
$
◘
►
45
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
219 District Waterbodies
Environmental Result
Indicators to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
The
intrinsic,
scenic,
recreational
and
ecological values of water
bodies preserved for
future generations.
District waterbodies with
a conservation purpose
are retained.

Change
in
landscape
character
and
management

Extent of riparian
management

Water quality

Review
Plan
following
preparation of iwi
resource
management
plans

Degree
of
development and
modification

Types
of
activities
associated with
the waterbody
Streams and rivers are
sufficiently vegetated to
provide good shading
along their margins.

Change in land
use activities and
modifications
Increased
public
appreciation
of
the
District’s
waterbodies,
estuaries and harbours.

Voluntary
protection

Involvement
resource
consents

Public access
$$-$$$
◘◘- ◘◘◘
►►►
$$
◘◘
►-►►
$$-$$$
◘◘-◘◘◘
►►-►►►
$$
◘◘-◘◘◘
in
►►- ►►►
46
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
220 Waste Management
Environmental Result
Indicators to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
Environmentally
safe
waste
management
including:
 Quantities
waste
to
disposed
of
be

Minimum
produced;
of
be

Maximum possible
recycling of waste;
 Quantities
waste
to
recycled

Avoidance
environmental
effects;

waste
of
Tangata
whenua
values taken into
account.
Public awareness and
implementation of the
waste
management
hierarchy.
$-$$$
◘-◘◘◘
►-►►►
 Environmental
degradation/conta
mination
 number of on-site
wastewater
systems that meet
the standards
 Extent
composting
of
 Reduction
consumption
in
$$
◘◘
►►-►►►
 Extent of recycling
47
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
221 Land Disturbance and Earthworks
Environmental Result
Indicator
to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
The amenity values of
communities,
the
landscape character of
areas are retained and
enhanced.
 Complaints
$-$$
 Extent of land
modifications
◘-◘◘
 Restoration/
rehabilitation
sites
►-►►►
of
 Public perception
Activities involving land
disturbance or earthworks
are carried out in a way
or at a rate that is
appropriate
to
the
surrounding environment.
 Extent of land
modifications
The
risks
to
the
community
of
environmental pollution or
contamination
are
avoided.
 Use
of
money
 Environmental
damage
bond
 Environmental
damage
$$
◘◘
►-►►
$$
◘◘◘
►►-►►►
 Extent and type of
activity
 Public perceptions
Community water supply
catchments identified on
planning
maps
are
protected in perpetuity.
 Environmental
change
 Landscape
modification
 Public perceptions
$
◘
►►
(NB. Very weak
link
between
indicator list and
ER)
48
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
222 Natural Hazards
Environmental Result
Indicators to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
A secure and safe
community that avoids
the effects of natural
hazards.
 Extent of damage
$$-$$$
 Loss of life
◘◘◘
 Social interruption
during
hazard
events
►►►
Natural
hazard
management that reflects
the
character
and
environmental values of
the area.
 Extent of landform
modification
by
“hard” structures
$
 Extent of beach
care/land
care
programmes
►
A
well-educated
community
that
understands the risk from
hazards
and
the
relationship that exists
between
people
and
natural events.
 Extent
opposition
Council
approaches
of
to
$
 Involvement
hazard
management
programmes
in
Underway
Underway
◘
Underway
◘◘
►
 Involvement
in
Civil
Defence
exercises,
meetings
and
programmes
49
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
223 Hazardous Substances
Environmental Result
Indicators to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
Hazardous
substances
managed safely.
Unsafe production and
disposal
facilities
avoided.
Least
risk
contamination
of
environment
and
human life.
of
the
to
 Extent
of
hazardous spills,
leaks, disasters
$
 Extent of facilities
that have gone
through HFSP
►
 Scale and extent
of facilities located
in the District
$
 Extent of facilities
over the upper
effects thresholds
►
 Extent
of
hazardous
facilities bordering
on
the
upper
threshold limits
$
◘
◘
◘◘
►►
 Risk assessment
analyses
50
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
224 Cross Boundary Issues
Environmental Result
Indicators to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
Effective
resource
management processes
that
resolve
cross
boundary issues and
achieve
integrated
management
of
resources.
 Extent
of
problems
/concerns at the
interface between
boundaries
$$-$$
◘◘
►-►►
 Extent
of
communication
and liaison with
other agencies
 Resource
consents
A
good
working
relationship with regional
and territorial authorities
and other agencies.
 Extent
of
communication
and liaison with
other authorities
$
Sound
environmental
outcomes and decisions.
 Consent/committe
e decisions
$-$$$
 Extent of adverse
environmental
effects occurring
across boundaries
◘
►
◘-◘◘◘
►-►►►
 Extent
of
landscape
degradation/modifi
cation
51
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
225 Visitors and the Environment
Environment Result
Indicators to
derived from
be
Feasibility
Completed/
Underway
Technical work
done
Visitor
numbers
are
catered
for
without
degrading
the
environment.
 Extent and type of
facilities
 Environmental
degradation
$$
◘◘- ◘◘◘
►-►►►
 Peak population
Visitor
facilities
and
facilities are located and
designed in a manner
that
reflects
the
landscape character of
the area.
 Location and type
of facilities outside
the urban areas
$$
 Environmental
impacts
►-►►►
A wide range of diverse
experiences based on the
environment are enjoyed
by residents and visitors
alike.
 Variety of visitor
activities
$
 Peak population
◘◘- ◘◘◘
◘
►
52