The Waitaki District Council has "its fingers crossed" a proposal to create a residential subdivision on Cape Wanbrow in Oamaru will survive Parliament's select committee process, council chief executive Michael Ross says.
The council was one of three groups which made submissions on the Reserves and Other Land Disposal Bill which includes clauses lifting reserve status over land on which it has established its Forrester Heights subdivision.
The other two submissions were from the Friendly Bay Society and Concerned Citizens and Ratepayers of Waitaki.
Parliament's primary production select committee was hearing submissions on Thursday on the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill.
Mr Ross and Waitaki deputy mayor Gary Kircher appeared before the committee in Wellington and Mr Ross said the council received a good hearing from the committee.
"Originally, we were allocated 15 minutes but it was the best part of half an hour," he said.
The council concentrated on technical issues surrounding the reserve status, including that the reserve status was an error which occurred in the 1930s.
However, the committee was also interested in the future reserve status of Lookout Point and has requested further information from the council.
The select committee has until September 10 to report back to Parliament on the Bill.
The council in 2004 decided to subdivide 5.84ha on Cape Wanbrow into 27 sections to help pay for community projects, including the $10 million redevelopment of the Opera House.
Over half of the sections had been sold, at more than $300,000 each - the most expensive of their type for residential land in Oamaru - but the council cannot issue titles nor go ahead with selling the rest until the reserve status is lifted.
The council thought it had clear title to the land, but in 2006 found it had been designated reserve.
The council then asked Parliament to address the error and it was included, with other land throughout New Zealand, in the Bill now before the select committee.
In its submission to the select committee, the council said there had been "some local opposition" to the subdivision, which the council had considered.
It had also consulted through its community plans and its procedures had been reviewed by legal advisers and the Offices of the Auditor-general and Ombudsman, who had cleared the council's processes.
