13. Use of the Coastal Environment Volume One in the coastal environment, having regard to the purpose and principles of the RMA and to the provisions of the NZCPS. The NZCPS has been important in forming the basis for the management framework as the Council must give effect to the provisions of the NZCPS in the MEP. The issues in this chapter include use of both land and the coastal marine area. Interconnections between the two reflect the need for integrated management, which is effectively the role of a regional policy statement. In many cases, use or development extends across the high tide mark; for example in the operation of ports and marinas. In other situations, a use may be solely within the coastal marine area but will still have a connection with land; for example, via a mooring or jetty to allow access to an adjacent dwelling. Conversely, in addition to requiring a jetty or mooring for access, a dwelling on land may also have implications for water quality in terms of the discharge of domestic wastewater to land. Therefore, the importance of recognising and providing for the interconnections between activities on land and water cannot be understated. Due to the interconnections described above, the management framework in this chapter is also supported by policy in other chapters, including landscape, biodiversity, natural character, public access and resource quality. Collectively, these policies help to define: • where subdivision, use or development may be appropriate; • the form that any subdivision, use or development should take; • whether limits should be applied; and • where activities should be avoided. Issue 13A – Trying to identify appropriate subdivision, use and development activities in Marlborough’s coastal environment while protecting the values of the environment. The preamble to the NZCPS recognises a range of challenges in promoting the sustainable management of the coastal environment, including: • “the natural and recreational attributes of the coast and its attraction as a place to live and visit combine with an increasingly affluent and mobile society to place growing pressure on coastal space and other resources; and • there is continuing and growing demand for coastal space and resources for commercial activities…” At times it can be difficult to determine ‘appropriate activities’ in the face of these challenges (and others identified in the NZCPS) as users have competing demands and place different values on the resources of the coastal environment. This can also be compounded by the dynamic (or changing) nature of that environment. While the NZCPS gives clear direction through its policies about the adverse effects that are to be avoided, this must be determined in the context of the particular qualities and characteristics of Marlborough’s coastal environment and the uses and activities that already occur there. Therefore, the management framework established through Objectives 13.1 and 13.2 (and their subsequent policies and methods) describes the qualities and characteristics that are important in determining whether a particular subdivision, use or development activity is appropriate. These matters must be considered in all applications for resource consent and are important in terms of giving effect to the NZCPS and to the principles of the RMA. 13 – 2