Queenstown Lakes District Council-appointed independent commissioners Jane Taylor and Christine Kelly yesterday heard specialist evidence from Kingston Village Ltd (KVL) consultants.
KVL - owned by Australian-based Goodman Holdings Group - plans to build the development on what residents call the "airstrip", a corridor of terraced land between State Highway 6 and the eastern edge of town.
"Kingston's grown organically; it's never had subdivisions. It's a mix of buildings, styles and people - even the street numbering is eclectic - Kingston isn't a corporate development," Ms Robinson said.
"Kingston Village Ltd sounds nice and homely but it's owned by Goodman Fielder Wattie," she said.
Wesney Tce would provide site access but was too narrow to be classified as a road and had no footpaths, which presented further "significant" problems, Mr Jones said.
He made a short submission before the commissioners in which he highlighted Lakes Environmental planner Wendy Baker's recommendation to reject resource consent.
Height marker poles already installed at the site stuck out like "a sore thumb", Mr Jones said.
In 2009, a 88ha joint venture between the council and KVL was approved for residential development on the town's southern outskirts. In that context, Mr Jones questioned the company's wisdom in expansion to the north side.
"Kingston is an eclectic mix of buildings and it derives its character from that fact ... most of its charm derives from that mix," he said.
Commissioner Jane Taylor said she agreed with Mr Jones' description of the town's architecture as "eclectic" and said her memories of Kingston from a previous visit were "delightful".
KVL landscape architect Ralf Kruger said the subdivision was a "logical extension of the township" and the terrace on which the lots were proposed was a "natural" boundary to the town.
KVL lawyer Michael Parker said the proposal was "well thought out and comprehensive," and took "full advantage of the topography of the site, the permitted activities on the site, and the site's proximity to Kingston township - as well as offering positive effects in the form of development to the west of State Highway 6 as envisaged by the Kingston 2020 report, providing a softer edge to the town."
The panel, which visited the site on Thursday, is expected to make a decision within the next month.
