The question
I was curious about how surface lot car parks interact with Wellington City Council’s vacant/derelict rate differential. If a property in the central city is vacant or derelict (think a land banked empty gravel pit), it pays 5x the general household rate.
However, if that gravel pit has an “active use”, it can avoid that penalty and pay less. That means if it is consented as a car park, it can still be land banked.
So, I asked Wellington City Council about what defines an active use, how the Council approves surface parking lots in the centre of town, and data on the rates bill for surface car parks in Wellington Central alongside the (very few) properties paying the vacant/derelict rate differential.
Read the full question and response:
Access the LGOIMA data
The LGOIMA response
Classification criteria
The criteria and evidence the Council uses to determine whether a rating unit has an "active or consented use" for the purposes of the Vacant land / Derelict building differential.
Active use means the rating unit is used in a way that demonstrates an ongoing and substantive use.
Evidence of a consented use may include a valid resource consent or building consent relating to the property, while evidence of an active use may include information demonstrating that the land or building is currently being used for a residential or commercial purposes (e.g., as a commercial carpark).
When identifying properties that may be subject to the Vacant Land / Derelict Building Differential, the Council initially relied on property use codes provided by its valuation service provider. Council staff then contacted each affected ratepayer and provided an opportunity for them to submit evidence demonstrating that the property had an active or consented use and therefore should not be subject to the differential.
Is land operated as a commercial surface car park treated as having an "active use" and therefore excluded from the Vacant land / Derelict building differential? Please provide any documented basis for that treatment.
Yes, land that is actively operated as a commercial surface car park would generally be considered to have an active use and would therefore not be subject to the Vacant Land / Derelict Building Differential.
The basis for this treatment is the Rating Policy itself. The Vacant Land / Derelict Building Differential excludes properties that have an active or consented use. A commercial surface car park represents an ongoing commercial activity and therefore constitutes an active use of the land. In many cases, such an activity would also be supported by an applicable resource consent.
What minimum thresholds (like occupancy rate, revenue, formalisation, sealing or marking, or licensing) does the Council apply before a car-parking use is accepted as an "active use"?
The Council does not apply a prescriptive test in every circumstance. Rather, it considers the facts of each case and any supporting information provided by the ratepayer to determine whether the property meets the intent of the Vacant Land / Derelict Building Differential and whether an active or consented use exists. General factors that may be considered include the nature of the activity occurring on the property, the extent to which the land or building is being utilised, and any relevant resource consents, building consents, leases, business operations, or other evidence demonstrating current use.
Category counts and values
For the most recent rating year, within the Downtown Targeted Rate area: (a) the number of rating units in the Vacant land / Derelict building differential; and (b) the number of rating units in the Commercial, Industrial and Business differential whose principal use is car parking (surface or car parking buildings).
For the same area and year, the total general-rates revenue collected from (a) rating units in the Vacant land / Derelict building differential, and (b) commercial rating units whose principal use is car parking.
For the above questions, please see attached spreadsheet Carparks and Vacant Derelict accounts for 2026-27.
District Plan status
Whether a standalone commercial car park (at-grade / surface parking as the principal activity, rather than parking accessory to another use) is a permitted activity or does it require resource consent in the central-city and Te Aro zones?
Resource consent approval is required for a standalone carpark in the City Centre Zone where parking is being provided at the ground-floor level (with the exception of parks for people with disabilities). Above ground/below ground carparks are Permitted. Rule CCZ-R18 applies.
CCZ-R18 Carparking activities
- Activity status: Permitted, where the activity involves:
- i. Provision of carparks above ground floor level; or
- ii. Provision of carparks below ground floor level; or
- iii. Provision of parking spaces for people with disabilities; or
- iv. Provision of ground floor level carparks that form part of a building specifically constructed and used for carparking purposes and that complies with CCZ-S8; or
- v. Provision of ground floor level carparks that form part of a building, are located to the rear of the site, comply with CCZ-S8 and are not visible from the street; or
- vi. Provision of carparks on a road; or
- vii. Reconfiguration of an existing carpark area (including where that reconfiguration results in a change to the type and/or number of parking or loading spaces provided) within the existing site boundary, provided that the existing carpark area within the site is not expanded.
- Activity status: Discretionary, where compliance with the requirements of CCZ-R18.1.a is not achieved.
In the City Centre Zone, a standalone commercial car park (at-grade / surface parking) requires resource consent approval under CCZ-R18.2.a, as a discretionary activity.
a lil description so people can find it
In a LGOIMA response dated 1 September 2026 (ref 26-0632), Wellington City Council confirmed that land operated as a commercial surface car park is treated as having an "active use" and is therefore excluded from the Vacant Land / Derelict Building rating differential. The Council applies no minimum threshold for occupancy, revenue, sealing or licensing, and decides each case on the evidence the ratepayer supplies. Under District Plan rule CCZ-R18, a standalone at-grade car park in Wellington's City Centre Zone is a discretionary activity that requires resource consent.
