Wanaka farmer Jerry Bell contends proposed rules to protect Wanaka Airport's airspace have "the potential to blight significant areas of his property, Criffel Station, quite unnecessarily", a plan change hearings panel was told this week.
The protective airspace extends more than 6km from the airport and will prohibit landowners from building, planting trees or erecting masts and poles without the airport's approval.
The Civil Aviation Authority would also need to be consulted about potential airspace hazards.
Mr Bell told commissioners Bob Batty and Stephen Chiles he supported the airport's growth and success, and safe aviation, but did not accept his land should be kept in a greenfields state for the airport's benefit.
Nor did he accept he should have to seek the airport's approval every time he wanted to build, plant shelter belts or erect deer fences.
"It seems ridiculous to me that I would need the permission of the airport to construct fences on what has been farmland for well over 100 years," Mr Bell said.
A small part of his 1885ha farm is on flat land and a terrace opposite the airport. Mr Bell said that corner of his property was of no real significance to the rest of his property, and the plan change should have identified it as suited to future airport development and transport purposes.
"This area would be ideal for logistics, offices, storage, car rental facilities, parking and so on ... There is ample room for internal roading to avoid any need to access the land from the state highway."
Mr Bell said he had raised his concerns with the Queenstown Lakes District Council's consultants and had been given "terrain shield" data he was satisfied he could work with. It would allow him to build or plant to certain heights without seeking approval. The plan change should be amended so it contained the terrain shield, he said.
Earlier attempts by Mr Bell to negotiate a side agreement with the council regarding activities within the terrain shield had broken down because he had not wanted to sign a "no objection" covenant in favour of the airport for unspecified future activities.
It was possible the two parties could end up as trade competitors in the supply of land for airport support businesses and he did not want to give the airport a competitive advantage, he said.
Mr Batty said trade competition was not a consideration for the panel.
The Wanaka Airport Management Committee spent at least $3000 surveying Criffel Station to prepare the terrain shield.
It does not want the terrain shield in the district plan, because it would have to expand it to cover other landowners.
The airport is surrounded by rural land, and landowners may not have considered any other land use.
The committee would rather deal with future land-use proposals case by case, the committee's planner, Alison Noble, told the commissioners.
