A private plan change was lodged with the Queenstown Lakes District Council yesterday, which, if approved, will enable urban growth on a parcel of land along the southern edge of the town.
Arrowtown South, bounded by Centennial Ave, the Arrowtown Golf Course and The Hills Golf Course on McDonnell Rd, is proposed by eight landowners.
The detailed plan change provides for up to 215 homes on the 17ha of land, with 12ha being used for publicly accessible open space and a 1ha "community hub" featuring a village store, child-care centre and other facilities.
Arrowtown South planner John Edmonds said the private plan change had been lodged so it would proceed in tandem with the QLDC's notification of two other council plan changes.
Plan Change 29 looks at the concept of providing an urban boundary around Arrowtown, while Plan Change 30 considers district-wide initiatives for urban growth including the concept of urban boundaries as a strategic growth management tool.
Submissions on both plan changes close on October 9.
Mr Edmonds said Arrowtown South fully supported the establishment of a growth boundary because its landowners did not want to see unmanaged growth.
However, he said, council should carefully consider the location of any boundary.
"Plan Change 29 is right in principle, because it adopts an urban growth boundary for Arrowtown rather than relying on zoning and individual resource consent decisions.
"But Plan Change 29 is flawed in detail because it only satisfies predicted growth for the next six years, and not for the next 20-year planning period as with the Arrowtown South proposal."
The largest landowner involved is Arrowtown farmer Roger Monk, who has owned and worked his land since 1964.
Mr Monk said he had a "loose long-term plan" for the land for several years.
"When I first came here, Arrowtown was very basic - home to a few cribbies and locals, and you couldn't see a single street light or house from this farm.
"Now there are residential areas encroaching on it.
"Re-zoning this land from rural to a new special residential zone will allow Arrowtown to extend towards its natural boundaries, surrounded and protected by a green belt of land that includes The Hills, Arrowtown and Millbrook golf courses, and extensive river reserve.
"As landowners on the edge of Arrowtown, in the only natural area for growth, we have a responsibility to make sure this land is used efficiently."
A copy of the plan change is available to view on www.arrowsouth.co.nz and feedback via the website is encouraged.
