The plea came from Wakatipu Environmental Society member Karen Swain who, along with several others, made submissions opposing the recommendation in the report to issue a notice of requirement, allowing the proposal to be publicly notified and the council to receive public input.
Ms Swain referred to the portrait of Margaret Templeton, a founding member of the Wakatipu Environmental Society and of the Guardians of the Gardens, while making her impassioned plea.
"Look at her portrait. Look her in the eyes. Remember the future generations she spent 30 years fighting for".
"Will you make her proud today, or will you leave her turning in her grave?"
Ms Swain said she had several issues with the depot, including a lack of consultation by the council with users and the public, and the storage of hazardous chemicals in the proposed depot.
"This is not about misinformation for me. I feel like I know the issue quite intimately.
"This is about industrial use of recreation reserve land.
"This is probably our community's biggest asset... [The council is] talking as developer in this case.
Each of you are wearing the developer hat; each of you are potential developers.
"This is public land: it is in the gardens proper."
Ms Swain said the 1330sq m required for the two-storey depot - one level of which would be seen above ground - was "twice as big" as was allowed, and was not using land previously subdivided but land that was designated as within the gardens.
"Industrial activities on recreation land [is] not a good look. Your decision today could put us all on a path straight to the Environment Court... How embarrassing would it be if [the council] perhaps lost the battle?"
Guardians of the Gardens member Jay Cassells also made a submission opposing the recommendation, saying it was symptomatic of the council's approach to the gardens in general, which was not as consultative as it should be.
"Effectively making the council the developer of the gardens... is going to diminish it to the community.
Please don't make any decision today; at least [wait] until there's been some consultation."
However, the council did make its decision yesterday, adopting the recommendation as it stood.
QLDC community services manager Paul Wilson admitted consultation had been lacking in respect of the depot, but defended its size and design, and said it was being built for the future.
"I acknowledge that consultation for this project... could have been better.
"The project has been going for some time... [but] really, until council resolves it, it can't move forward."
Mr Wilson also said the establishment of the depot would clean up many other areas of the gardens, where dilapidated sheds and storage space existed.
The proposed depot would not increase because growth was already factored into the design, and the "hazardous chemicals" were nothing more than RoundUp, rose sprays and fertilisers, he said.
While another option at Gorge Rd had been part of an initial investigation, it was not only impracticable, but also, gaining resource consent to build it was virtually impossible, he said.
Crs Kath Gilmour, Vanessa Van Uden, John S.
Wilson and Lyal Cocks voted against the recommendation, which was adopted by the remaining councillors.
