The single biggest residential and commercial development in the history of the Queenstown-Lakes district has been recommended for approval by a council hearings committee.
The proposal envisages 1600 houses, a golf course, luxury lodge, a vineyard and a winery on 1253ha of land 10 minutes south of Queenstown Airport, beneath the Remarkables.
The golf course alone would be worth $100 million and the overall scheme has been estimated by the developers to increase Queenstown-Lakes district value by more than $1 billion.
A specially convened full meeting of the council will tomorrow vote on the committee's recommendation, which is to vary the council's proposed district plan and allow residential and commercial development in the Coneburn Downs area, around Jacks Point.
If the council approves the plan change, the three landowners involved in the development would be able to apply for consents to establish a township bigger than Arrowtown.
Most of the housing would be in a 1400-dwelling village in the zone's central valley.
Three parcels of land are covered by the variation: 127ha of Remarkables Station, 420ha owned by Jacks Point Ltd and 706ha by Henley Downs Holdings Ltd, which lies below Deer Park Heights.
Jacks Point Ltd spokesman John Darby said the committee's recommendations were well considered.
"It's been affectively a 10-year planning process and I think the recommendation provides for a comprehensive and very well controlled approach to development of further residential land that is obviously required for Queenstown," he said.
If the council approves the variation tomorrow, parties involved in the plan change hearings would still be able to appeal the committee's recommendations to the Environment Court.
Wakatipu Environmental Society secretary Karen Swaine said they did not want to do that but had sought advice about the option should they be left with no other choice.
The hearings process had thrown up some fantastic ideas but there was still some disquiet about how closely the developers had been involved in drawing up the variation, Ms Swaine said.