During the virtual reply, McDonald’s representatives called out an opposition submitter for being "distasteful" before the commissioning panel.
The corporation's lawyer, Jeremy Brabant, singled out Wānaka’s Three Parks developer, Willow Ridge, for an email they had sent several months earlier which he felt represented their true intentions.
"It is expressed from their email that they are taking issue with McDonald’s if it is located anywhere other than somewhere where they can make money from it.”
Mr Brabant also addressed other issues that had been raised during the hearing by residents and businesses.
The fixation on whether the location could be defined as being more urban than rural was disregarded by Mr Brabant as ‘‘not helpful".
He then asserted the restaurant would not take away from the natural magnitude of Mt Iron.
"Mt Iron will continue to be a dominant feature,” he said, referring to the changes that have been made to the building’s design to accommodate visual concerns.
Mr Brabant highlighted the recessive colour palette, decreased lighting during non-operational hours and ‘‘significantly less signage" than what is found on a normal McDonald’s building.
Chief commissioner Helen Atkins said they hoped to have their decision by the end of January. However, they reserved the right to extend that deadline.
- By Rawan Saadi
