The society has made no secret of its financial difficulties this year but has fought off suggestions it would dissolve. It had $8898 in the bank in June when it renewed its resolve to continue fighting inappropriate rural development.
Secretary Julian Haworth said the NBR 2010 rich list status of Damper Bay Estates Ltd directors Craig Heatley ($200 million) and Trevor Farmer ($380 million), both of Auckland, was not a factor when deciding this week to oppose a three-lot, six-house development on 193ha of former pastoral lease land on the western shores of Lake Wanaka.
The third director is Queenstown Airport Corporation chairman Mark Taylor.
"It makes no difference who it is. We will still oppose it," Mr Haworth said.
The site has an outstanding natural landscape designation, so the district plan's strictest planning rules apply.
" . . . Damper Bay is a very, very sensitive site. It is a very beautiful place. At least five of the houses would be visible from the Te Araroa Track . . . It is a disaster. This is one of the prettiest little bays and now it has development looming over it," Mr Haworth said.
One of the more startling suggestions in the application is to relocate part of the just-completed 15km section of the Te Araroa Trail/Millennium Track, built for $550,000 by the Queenstown Lakes District Council and the Otago Regional Council.
The application prepared by Mitchell Partnerships of Dunedin acknowledges the houses would be visible from many places on the track.
"While planting will in time screen most views of houses from the walkway on the eastern side of the bay, the relocation of the walkway to a lower level would be a more immediate form of mitigation," the application says.
Upper Clutha Tracks Trust chairman Tim Dennis yesterday said while he was aware of the suggestion to shift the track, the councils would make the call.
The application says sites have been chosen on either side of a central flat paddock rather than on vulnerable glacial landforms.
Each lot has a principal house and a guest house but consent is not being sought for visitor accommodation.
The houses have been designed "in harmony with the landscape", the application says.
The site is being farmed. Some grazing would be continued alongside an ecological restoration programme.
Consents exist for a deer shed and a dwelling, neither of which has been built.
The dwelling consent was approved by the Environment Court after mediation between the society and former owners Don and Vicky McRae and the society.
It would be given up if the application was granted.
Mr Haworth said the society's position remained unchanged and not even two or three houses would be acceptable.
"One house is OK, as agreed in the Environment Court settlement . . . They should not take it below a density of one per 100ha," Mr Haworth said.
Further, the 2020 community forums eight years ago did not support development west of Wanaka, he said.
Submissions close on September 23.
