Mr Whiting made his allegations during a public forum before this week's council meeting in Wanaka.
His comments regarding plan change 10 (dealing with improvements to the high-density zone in central Queenstown) sparked a sharp response from mayor Clive Geddes, who said he would order an immediate inquiry.
Mr Geddes said he took allegations of corruption and poor practice very seriously.
"What will be the result will be a formal inquiry by council into these [allegations] so we can understand if there is a basis for them. I'm sure you as an officer of the court understand how serious these are," Mr Geddes told Mr Whiting.
Mr Whiting said he had made his comments in a public forum because he felt the issues were serious and the public needed to know.
Mr Geddes said Mr Whiting should raise allegations the council had not used the correct procedure for the plan change with the Environment Court. He was not interested in that process.
"I am only interested in the accusations of corrupt practice and I will treat that very seriously," Mr Geddes said.
The issue arose from a council decision to classify land in Thompson and Glasgow Sts and Lomond Cres as part of the high-density residential sub-zone C.
There are three sub-zones in the plan change: A, B and C. They have different rules concerning building coverage.
Two parties have appealed the plan-change decision to the Environment Court, seeking a change to sub-zone B.
Mr Whiting, in making a submission to the resource consent application, is a section 274 party to the appeals. He lives in Thompson St and represents a group of residents who want to remain in sub-zone C.
He received a letter from the council's lawyers last month saying that, after discussions with the appellants, the zoning would be changed.
Mr Whiting said he felt excluded from the process; a council officer knew he was representing a group and had representative status in the court, and the council should have consulted more people in its attempts to resolve the appeals.
Mr Whiting believes the change would allow developer One Mile Ltd to apply for a non-notified resource consent to build a 30-unit apartment building in Thompson St.
