Updated 11 September 2018
The City contains an extensive number of archaeological sites which reflect pre-European and post-European occupation of the Tauranga area. Although a large number of archaeological sites have already been discovered through development within the City it is inevitable that as development continues more archaeological sites will be unearthed. Given the proliferation of archaeological sites within the City it is not considered practical nor necessary for the Plan to afford protection to all archaeological sites, particularly when the provisions of the Historic Places Act 1993 make it an offence to modify, damage or destroy any archaeological site without an authority from the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
Therefore the primary purpose of the Plan in this instance is to identify the City's significant archaeological areas to ensure their values are appropriately managed through subdivision, use and development. The City's significant archaeological areas identified in the Plan are located in the following areas:
- Areas located and spatially defined within Residential Zones, the Rural Zone and the Industrial Zone;
- Areas located and spatially defined within Open Space Zones; and
- Areas located within the Te Tumu Future Urban Zone.
As such the Plan incorporates specific responses for each of these areas that recognises the purpose of these zones and the obligations of the Historic Places Act 1993, whilst enabling existing approved uses and minor activities to occur where they are unlikely to adversely affect the values of an archaeological site to a degree that would require those effects to be managed through a resource consent
Definitions in this section
activity/activities
archaeological site
the city
open space zones
the plan
residential zones
significant archaeological area
subdivision