Wellington Regional Council has recommended the creation of a two-tier council to replace the existing nine territorial authorities in the region.
The application for reorganisation, which supports a 22 seat governing body above eight local boards, each with up to nine members, was made to the Local Government Commission on Friday.
Regional Council chair Fran Wilde says consultation has shown that people who support a new model of governance favour a two-tier system.
Ms Wilde says people want big infrastructure decisions to be made regionally and community issues decided locally.
She says it's likely to be more than a year before the commission calls a referendum on governance in the Wellington region.
