Coastguard, boating club and community group representatives consulted Dunedin City Council planning staff about issues affecting use, including orientation of the main jetty, tidal variation in water depth and prevailing winds on the harbour.
Under proposed plans, the existing wooden jetty would be demolished and a longer jetty and two concrete boat ramps installed.
A new Coastguard boat shed would be built and the existing Portobello Boat Club shed relocated to the east, closer to Portobello.
New structures would be on reclaimed land, and the shoreline extended by several metres.
A 2m-wide footpath and 1.4m cycle lanes would be added to a section of Portobello Rd, below Landreth Rd.
Coastguard member Lox Kellas said the jetty would lead to increased access for maritime safety, recreational and commercial vessels.
"[Consent funding] is a step in the right direction. If the DCC approves plans and funding is sourced, it will be of great benefit to community but would also allow Coastguard to house a larger vessel and hold training and education courses in the long term," he said.
The council had allocated about $20,000 to initiate the resource consent, business development team leader Greg Sligo said.
Master of the University of Otago research vessel Polaris Bill Dickson suggested preliminary jetty designs be altered to a "double pier" construction to lessen the risk of vessels being stuck under the wharf structure on a rising tide.
Portobello Community Inc chairman Doug Neilsen said a new jetty would allow increased recreational use of Latham Bay and the Otago Harbour, and enable ferry access to the peninsula from Port Chalmers, a service not offered since the 1950s.
"It could cut two hours off the trip of people arriving on a cruise ship and then being bused to attractions on the peninsula."
Resource consent would also have to be obtained from the Otago Regional Council.
