Wellington City Council officers deemed the consent could be granted without public consultation because the sign met district plan guidelines.

Taken from stuff.co.nz article

If you want to build a deck close to a boundary, start a business from home, or subdivide your property then you may need to get a resource consent and go through a consultation process. 

According to the WCC’s own guidelines, the classification they use for sending out a notification to effected parties is

There are three potential scenarios:

1. Non-notified - if you have all written approvals required or the effects of your proposal are ‘less than minor’

2. Limited notification - if the effects are ‘more than minor’ and localised

3. Public notification - if the effects are ‘more than minor’ and not localised

So some egg in the planning department deemed the effects of the proposal as “less than minor” when they viewed it against the district plan. 

I haven’t got time to read the whole thing, but it sounds to me like the WCC district plan needs reworking. 

I thought the purpose of the RMA was 

The RMA protects land and the environment. Just because you own a piece of land doesn’t mean you can do what you want on it or with it. The RMA recognises that our neighbours and others in our communities can be affected by our ideas for using land and other resources – just as we can be affected by the plans of others. By protecting the environment, the RMA also ensures we consider theinterests of the community and future generations of Kiwis.

Silly me.