Hundreds of signatures have been collected by a group trying to save Saddle Hill from what they believe is destructive quarrying.
Dunedin City Council staff began investigating quarrying activities on the hill last year after Taieri residents raised concerns the quarry was about to expand further into the profile of Jaffrays Hill, the smaller of the two Saddle Hill peaks.
One of the petition's organisers, Les Cleveland, said it had been circulating for a few weeks to urge the council to stop any quarrying which threatened the hill's outline.
A management plan was drawn up with the quarry's owners 15 years ago to ensure the hill's profile remained protected, but the council had lost it, he said.
"What we are saying is `no you cannot destroy any of the contour areas around the mountain itself'."
A "few hundred" people had signed the petition so far, which would go to the council at the end of the month.
Council resource consents manager Alan Worthington said staff were still working with the owner to clarify his legal right to keep quarrying and it might be mid-year before the matter was settled.
