The scope for development in areas designated rural visitor zone will come under scrutiny at a future district plan review, after the Queenstown Lakes District Council strategy committee yesterday decided to take the suggestions in a council report into consideration.
QLDC senior policy analyst Daniel Wells said in his report several areas of rural land in the district could be subject to intense development, with limited control under the current zoning.
The areas with rural visitor-zone status included Cardrona Village and Mount Cardrona Station between Wanaka and Queenstown; Windermere near Wanaka Airport; Arthurs Point near Queenstown; Blanket Bay, Cecil Peak and Walter Peak along Lake Wakatipu; and Arcadia Station north of Glenorchy.
The council has limited control over, for example, how densely sites can be developed in areas classed rural visitor zone.
"Looking at the sheer size of the zones, there is room for substantial development," Mr Wells told the committee.
"There is thought to be potential for more residential dwellings in the rural visitor zone than what exist in the entire district," Mr Wells said.
Looking at examples of real estate advertising for development sites in these zones, as presented in the QLDC report, Crs Gillian Macleod and Lex Perkins raised the question of which direction the council should take"Do we want to continue down this track of potentially intensive development, or should we pull the brake?" Cr Perkins asked.
Mr Wells recommended a thorough process involving the consideration of various zoning options or considering changes to the existing zon-ing.
"There are a lot of factors to consider. I would not suggest we go through major plan changes right now to change the zoning without comprehensive consultation. Instead, I suggest it is done as part of the more comprehensive review of the district plan," Mr Wells said.
