About 40 people have signed a petition opposing the move, and about 10 of them appeared before the Dunedin City's annual plan hearings committee yesterday.
Two council departments want to swap about 2000sq m of land. The water and waste services department would take over a portion of Brockville Park fronting Dalziel Rd and overlooking the new Mt Grand raw water reservoir, handing over land on the corner of Dalziel and Brinsdon Rds to the parks and reserves department in exchange.
The parks and reserves department could then create a carpark for users of the nearby Frasers Gully walking track.
Cr Teresa Stevenson, who helped organise the petition, said during a break in the annual plan hearings a staff report requesting the land swap went to a council community development committee meeting in November.
Councillors agreed without much comment that the proposal should be investigated further.
It was not until she was contacted by a Brockville resident that she decided to find out more, and was now convinced the swap was not a good idea.
Residents were not told yesterday why the land swap had been suggested.
After the hearings had concluded for the day, council infrastructural services committee chairman Cr Andrew Noone told the Otago Daily Times the land swap had been proposed so a house sited immediately beside the Mt Grand water treatment plant site could be relocated.
The house had been owned by the council and occupied by a water department staff member. It was sold some years ago to the staff member, who later sold it to another person unconnected with the council.
The water department now believed it was unsafe to have a family living in the house because of its proximity to the water treatment plant, and because a driveway was shared between the property owners and plant staff, he said.
Attempts had been made to find the property owner another similar house in the area but that had been unsuccessful, so it had been decided the best option was to relocate the house to the reserve land on Dalziel Rd.
Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin told the residents the council had not yet decided whether the land swap should proceed. If it did, the council would be required to follow the process for land disposal under the Reserves Act, 1977.
That involved a reserve assessment, public consultation, calling for submissions, and convening a hearings committee to consider submissions and recommend a decision to the council.
‘‘If we proceed, you will still have an opportunity to make your concerns known through that consultation process,'' he said.
