What is the Councils involvement with frost fans?

So why is the Council copping so much grief over the issue of frost fans? 

The information below is taken from the Marlborough District Councils web site that outlines their role from a regulatory standpoint. 

The Marlborough District Council is responsible for administering a wide range of regulatory functions, powers and duties conferred by Acts of Parliament.

The council's Regulatory Department administers more than 40 different statutes and regulations.

These statutes include the Resource Management Act (RMA), the Building Act and the Health Act. Generally these involve the council authorising certain activities, e.g. marine farming, and building construction. Having approved consents for such activities, the council monitors them to ensure on-going compliance.

The council's role also includes the investigation of complaints.

The council is required to develop plans that set out policies and rules for the sustainable management of Marlborough's natural and physical resources.

In short, they are responsible for ensuring that the laws of the land that are outlined in Acts of Parliament are observed on a local scale with respect the management of the environment and managing the safety and health of the population. 

They do this via a District Plan. This takes the relevant laws and ensures that a framework for following them is maintained at a local level. 

For the purposes of frost fans, the Council are bound to ensure the following in accordance with the Resource Management Act (these are not the full sections, just some juicy bits). 

Section 3:

Meaning of effect 

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the term effect includes— 

(d) Any cumulative effect which arises over time or in combination with other effects 

Section 16: 

Duty to avoid unreasonable noise 

(1) Every occupier of land (including any premises and any coastal marine area), and every person carrying out an activity in, on, or under a water body or the coastal marine area, shall adopt the best practicable option to ensure that the emission of noise from that land or water does not exceed a reasonable level. 

Section 17:

Duty to avoid, remedy, or mitigate adverse effects 

(1) Every person has a duty to avoid, remedy, or mitigate any adverse effect on the environment arising from an activity carried on by or on behalf of that person.

Section 326: 

Meaning of excessive noise 

(1)  In this Act, the term excessive noise means any noise that is under human control and of such a nature as to unreasonably interfere with the peace, comfort, and convenience of any person (other than a person in or at the place from which the noise is being emitted) 

Likewise, the Health Act; 

Section 29 

Nuisances defined for purposes of this Act 

Without limiting the meaning of the term "nuisance'', a nuisance shall be deemed to be created in any of the following cases, that is to say:  

(ka) Where any noise or vibration occurs in or is emitted from any building, premises, or land to a degree that is likely to be injurious to health:] 

Section 30:

Penalties for permitting or causing nuisances-

(1). Every person by whose act, default, or sufferance a nuisance arises or continues, whether that person is or is not the owner or occupier of the premises in respect of which the nuisance exists, commits an offence against this Act. 

So the Council Set the Rules in the District Plan.

For frost fans they have a set of rules under section 1.4.3.2.

So why is there a problem?

Well, if a developer wants to install a frost fan that exceeds any of those rules, they have to apply for and be granted a resource consent to do so.

Problem here is that there is a history that suggests a failure to comprehend the implications of some of the applications and in some cases a failure to understand basic physics.

In short frost fan resource consent applications typically get approved. 

Aside from the issue of incompetence in dealing with the resource consent process, there is a fundamental problem that has plagued the Council for years.

They can’t / don’t / won’t enforce their frost fan rules or consents with regard noise.

It really is that simple. If a neighbour complains that a frost fan is exceeding the noise limit in the District Plan, the Council have no mechanism in place for ensuring compliance.

None. 

So this is why the Council are copping grief.

Annoyed neighbours of frost fans that are kept awake see no possibility for a resolution to their problem.

The Council have applied a policy that they cannot measure compliance of and cannot monitor.