Arrowtown resident Don Spary says the Queenstown Lakes District Council's decision this week to adopt commissioners' recommendations and create a boundary around the town would not get "to the root of the problem".
At an extraordinary council meeting on Monday, the council adopted independent commissioners' recommendations on Plan Change 30: Urban Boundary Framework; Plan Change 29: Arrowtown Boundary and Private Plan Change 39: Arrowtown South.
The decision means Arrowtown is now the first place in the district to have a defined urban boundary and a proposal by landowner Roger Monk to develop a 31ha site along McDonnell Rd has been rejected.
Cr Lex Perkins, who is seeking election for the Arrowtown ward, said at the meeting there were negative sides to the decision, which included pushing the price of housing up and making it difficult for young people to live in the town.
Mr Spary, who has lived in Arrowtown for 41 years and spoke in support of Arrowtown South during a three-day hearing in Arrowtown this year, said he agreed with Cr Lex Perkins' comments.
"The one thing you can't escape from, is the success Arrowtown has got is as much because of Arrowtown as the development of the Wakatipu basin and the areas closer to Arrowtown.
"Drawing a line around Arrowtown [alleviates] nothing and we've done nothing about trying to solve the overall problem - the demand.
"You have got to provide the chance for people to live here ... you can't just say, `You can't come here'."
Mr Spary said "every generation" needed the opportunity to live in Arrowtown, but one of the dangers of a boundary would be to create an exclusive township, which could push housing prices up and "drive young people out".
"You don't want it to be only old people like me here.
"The council has a role to make sure people have an opportunity to live here".
