Cr Cull, who chairs the Harbour Cone steering group considering future uses of the block the Dunedin City Council took possession of almost a year ago, said council staff would soon be working on a draft plan for the land.
It could be September before the draft plan was completed, and might be October or November before it went to council.
Community consultation would follow that.
The group had been collating information on the block's heritage sites, biodiversity, geography and areas of bush.
By using this it was determining what it wanted in terms of protection and public access.
Cr Cull said the council had also made it clear at the time it purchased the $2.6 million block that it wanted to get a "good deal" of the money back.
The report from council staff was also expected to show how that could be achieved.
Cr Cull did not wish to give more detail at this stage.
However, he agreed that one of the options was selling parts of the block.
Any such sales would have to ensure the values the community wanted preserved were protected, and allow for public access, Cr Cull said.
"As long as we are protecting everything, issues such as ownership may not be as important," he said.
The steering committee, which now included an extra member, Rhys Millar, an environmental consultant, had been able to agree quickly on its goals, Cr Cull said.
The tensions between protecting the environment and using it for economic purposes were not confined to the Harbour Cone block.
Issues raised about the block would have a wider relevance, particularly in the light of the review of the district plan.
So far the council had opened several walking tracks on the site.
Cr Cull said these had proved popular, particularly at weekends.
Some people had asked if they could take dogs on the property, but there was a strict ban on that, and suggestions that double-fenced walking tracks be introduced so dogs could be allowed were impractical, expensive and " wouldn't look that flash", Cr Cull said.
Brendon Cross, the farmer who has leased the block from the council, said there had been a few instances of walkers inadvertently leaving gates open, and stock had got on to the road.
However, this had been overcome by the recent installation of stiles.
He expected the tracks would prove more popular as they became more widely known.
He reminded people wishing to use them that they would be closed during lambing from August to October.
Maps of the tracks can now be seen on the Dunedin City Council website.
