Included in the council’s draft long-term plan are options to recoup the money spent on the CBD upgrade and arterial road projects.
The preferred options are for the wider CBD, which includes residential properties, to pay 65% of each, through targeted rates, over the next 35 years.
It would mean the area would pay almost $13 million of the $69m for the CBD upgrades, and almost $23m for the first stage of the controversial arterial route, which effectively acts as a CBD bypass.
They were the hot topic of conversation during yesterday’s long-term plan submissions hearings in Queenstown, at which former Queenstown Lakes mayor Sir John Davies said while it did not affect him, "I don’t think it’s fair".
"I think it’s where you could have a class action."
Beetham St resident Justine Byfield was vehemently opposed to the targeted rate for the arterial road, noting it was something "we’ve already paid very dearly for".
"We are still paying full rates on approximately 240 square metres that has been permanently designated, without our knowledge.
"The very people who have paid the most are being asked to pay the most.
"I would like you to explain to me why the town centre people are being targeted over and above other ratepayers for something that I really think the council itself would not have undertaken had they taken the time to do risk assessment and costs — there isn’t even now a handle on what the road is going to cost."
She feared hiking the rates for the wider CBD would have a knock-on effect of increasing rents for businesses, further undermining their viability.
"This is our shopfront window", she said.
We’re going to be a shanty town."
Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sharon Fifield said the chamber’s 600-plus members were also opposed to both targeted rates.
She estimated about 400 car parks had been lost over the past five years, so while the town centre had been beautified, it was less accessible.
On the arterial road, she said the benefit to any ratepayer was "questionable in its current state of development".
Additionally, CBD ratepayers had already been forced to endure "significant costs and disruption and loss of access to their business premises".
"Retrospectively, picking up the tab for cost overruns is unacceptable and therefore should not be left to one specific area of the district to shoulder", Ms Fifield said.
Hospitality New Zealand head of membership Darelle Jenkins said members were frustrated by the proposed targeted CBD rate, given the disruption ongoing work had caused had resulted in "less visitation, severely impacting revenue".
As to asking them to contribute to the lion’s share of the arterial route — a road which would divert traffic from the CBD — Ms Jenkins said that was comparable to asking a paying customer to eat a meal they had prepared.
Skyline Enterprises Ltd was also opposed to the proposals.
Property and accommodation group manager Alastair Clifford said there was no prior indication CBD ratepayers would be left holding the can, and, regarding the town centre upgrades, it was unfair to impose the budget blowouts on a segment of the community that had already endured years of "enormous" disruption.
"It just feels unfair to ask CBD businesses and residential ratepayers to cover the cost of these works after completion, especially since the CBD drives tourism and benefits the entire Wakatipu Basin."
Councillors will hear submissions in Wanaka today, before deliberations tomorrow in Queenstown.
