The plan would put in place a level of stewardship that would have dealt with planning that "could have been done better" in the past, he said.
The draft Pukekura Reserves Management Plan was approved for public consultation on Monday, after a Dunedin City Council vote at a meeting at the Otakou marae.
The issue has a long history.
The area is the responsibility of the Dunedin City Council and the Department of Conservation, which are responsible for aspects of management under various government acts.
Both the Korako Karetai Trust and Te Runanga o Otakou have a historic interest in the area, and the two groups joined to initiate the plan process.
Along with the council and Doc, they formed the Pukekura working group to develop the plan.
Mr Ellison told this week's meeting the area had been a place "chiefs recoiled in times of danger" and was "deeply" important to Maori.
A report by reserves policy and planning officer Paula Gunn said the purpose of the plan was to incorporate four reserves administered by the council and Doc in the one plan "in order to achieve one vision".
The plan would be a "stand alone" plan, not linked to general council policies, and would have a joint management body to look after it.
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull and Cr Fliss Butcher were voted this week to be the council's representatives on a hearings committee to hear public submissions, for a submissions period which would close on October 21.
The plan would incorporate the area's ecological: cultural; historic; landscape; public appreciation and tourism and commercial values.
Its vision would be for sustainable management of the area, protecting its native flora and fauna, and history.
The mana of its stewards would be recognised, as would the area's importance as Dunedin's "premier visitor destination".
Doc representative Robin Thomas said all groups wanted the same outcome; a management plan for the area without the "fences" that were arbitrarily in place.
The council voted unanimously to approve the 39-page document for public consultation.
