(1) Apart from those areas specifically zoned as Conservation, Coastal, Karangahake or Reserve Zones most of the land outside of the towns and townships of the District is within the Rural Zone.

(2) The Rural Zone is almost exclusively a farming area covering the fertile Hauraki Plains and Waihi Basin areas, the western foothills of the Hapuakohe Range, the eastern hills of the Waihi Basin and the foothills of the Coromandel and Kaimai-Mamaku Ranges. Predominantly dairy farming is concentrated on the plains area. Horticulture is predominantly located in the Waihi Basin. Extensive grazing and production forestry occurs in the hill country. The rural land resource is one of the most valued of the natural and physical resources in the District. Important mineral resources are located within the Rural Zone.

(3) Most of the land in the Rural Zone is in pasture or under cultivation. Areas of commercial forestry are located particularly on the western ranges, and extractive industry occurs in a number of locations. In other locations within the Rural Zone, protection of public water supply sources, water and/or soil conservation and land management considerations require that the land either remain undeveloped or the current ground cover remain undisturbed, or that the land is carefully managed.

(4) There are significant natural areas (eg stands of indigenous vegetation), outstanding natural features and landscapes and district amenity landscapes within the rural area, that require protection from adverse effects of some activities. The protection provisions for indigenous biodiversity of significance in the Rural Zone are supplemented by other general provisions relating to less significant indigenous biodiversity.

(5) The Rural Zone is of a generally open character, with buildings mainly limited to dwellings and other buildings directly associated with rural production activities.