This project is a review of Part 3: Fire and Smoke Nuisance of the Wellington City Consolidated Bylaw 2008 (the ‘Fire and Smoke Nuisance Bylaw’).

The Local Government Act 2002 requires this bylaw to be required within ten years of the previous review. While updates to the bylaw were made in 2018, the last full statutory review was in 2015.

The purpose of the Fire and Smoke Nuisance Bylaw is to protect the public from the nuisance arising from fire and smoke, in regard to aspects other than fire safety.

The current bylaw prohibits fires, smoke, or noxious fumes which create a nuisance, health risk, or safety risk to any person or property (excluding safety risks to which the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017, or regulations made under that Act, apply). The bylaw enables Council officers, if required, to take reasonable steps to abate (decrease, diminish, or lessen) the nuisance.

We have reviewed the Fire and Smoke Nuisance Bylaw to ensure it is operating as intended. Our review found that the bylaw is functioning well and is fit for purpose. The bylaw is working smoothly and continues to be an effective tool for managing fire and smoke nuisance in the city.

There is evidence that fire and smoke nuisance remains an issue in Wellington. Since June 2020, the Council has received about 120 fire and smoke nuisance service requests. These often relate to smoke from residential fireplaces or backyard burns drifting into nearby properties. There are occasional complaints about smoke from commercial buildings impacting neighbours or the public.

The Council’s Public Health team responds to the majority of the fire and smoke nuisance issues. Where fires are causing a safety risk, they are referred to Fire and Emergency New Zealand as the agency responsible for fire safety. Fires or smoke causing potential environmental risk are responded to by Greater Wellington Regional Council, which monitors air quality and responds to air pollution concerns.

More information is available in the Statement of Proposal.

We are proposing to retain the Fire and Smoke Nuisance Bylaw due to the evidence of fire and smoke nuisance issues in Wellington City. The evidence to date also confirms that the bylaw is functioning well.

In addition, we are also proposing to make a small number of changes to the bylaw. These are mostly because the bylaw is currently part of the Council’s Consolidated Bylaw, and we propose making it a stand-alone bylaw instead. We are also suggesting some changes to make information in the bylaw clearer.

The proposed changes are:

• updating the title of the bylaw
• moving some existing information from the preamble into a new, non-regulatory explanatory note
• including in the explanatory note references to fire seasons and fire permits
• noting in the explanatory note that fires in public places can be managed under the Council’s Public Places Bylaw
• adding new definitions for person, owner, and the Council in the ‘Interpretation’ section
• clarifying in the interpretation section that nuisance or risk means an unreasonable inconvenience or risk, actual or potential, and is at the discretion of an Authorised Officer following an assessment
• addition of clause 5.2 regarding continuous offences
• addition of section 6: Penalties to show penalties for breaching the bylaw
• addition of section 7: Bylaws revoked
• minor updates throughout the bylaw to improve readability, clarity, and flow.

More information is available in section 5 of the Statement of Proposal.

Consultation is open from Friday, 13 June to 5pm Tuesday, 15 July 2025.

To provide your feedback, you can:  

• click the 'fill in the online form' button below
• download a submission form from this page and email it to policy.submission@wcc.govt.nz  
• send a hard copy of the submission form to:  

Freepost 2199

Wellington City Council

Fire and Smoke Nuisance Bylaw Review

Policy Team

PO Box 2199

Wellington 6140 

Hard copies of the Statement of Proposal are available:  

• at Wellington City Council libraries and Council-run community centres
• by emailing policy.submission@wcc.govt.nz
• by phoning 04 499 4444 to request a copy.