Cr Lyal Cocks is advocating a change in the district scheme that would save those installing such systems hundreds of dollars.
Cr Cocks had a photovoltaic (pv) system installed on his own Wanaka house this week. Getting resource consent from the council cost him $750, he said.
Cr Cocks believes while there must be rules on how such systems are installed, the need to obtain resource consent in rural and residential areas was questionable.
"Is that still necessary or could it be a permitted activity with conditions? I'll be pushing for it to change, because that's not encouraging people to do that sort of thing."
Cr Cocks understood that when the district scheme was put in place 10 years ago, the issue with solar panels was colour and reflectivity.
Pointing out that his black panels were going on his dark grey roof, Cr Cocks said the visual effect was "not very huge and the positive effects are quite significant".
Cr Cocks understood his $15,000 investment in photovoltaic panels could reduce by more than half the electricity he needed to buy through the grid.
He considered that was a positive thing for homeowners to do and it was time to "fix" things in the district plan that "we think are no longer necessary or not having positive outcomes and costing the community when it was not necessary".
He also questioned the need for resource consent for composting toilets.
"Why are we discouraged from using that type of concept?"
He noted that the plan was based on the "tried and true ways of dealing with waste". However, the Christchurch earthquake demonstrated waste water was a big issue after a major disaster.
"If the system's damaged, if you've got access to composting toilets, maybe it takes the pressure off.
"It may not work in high-density areas but it's an option."
He believed the council should look at removing the need for resource consent and should consider encouraging "alternative thinking."
