Wilding conifer control as part of proposed visitor accommodation and residential development for Mt Dewar Station, would stop the "inevitable" pine blanketing of the entire station, developers say.
Mt Field Ltd is seeking resource consent to build a visitor facility to house up to 20 people, and identify 14 allotments and 12 residential building platforms at the station, which sits between Coronet Peak and Skippers Canyon.
On day one of the two-day hearing yesterday, Mt Field Ltd counsel Warwick Goldsmith outlined the company's submissions. The proposal would allow the residential and lodge lot owners the "right to roam" over the entirety of the 1768ha station, much of which is classified as Outstanding Natural Landscape.
The visitor accommodation building proposed would be 6m high and have a 720sq m footprint - the same dimensions as a woolshed on the site.
An "essential aspect" of the proposal is the proposed eradication of all wilding pines from the station, for which lot owners are each expected to be levied $10,000 per annum.
Commissioners also heard from one of the 13 parties who originally submitted in opposition to the proposal, with more expected today.
Dalefield resident James Hall admitted the views from his family home would be affected by the subdivision, but said his concerns were first and foremost as a concerned Queenstown resident.
"I think part of what makes Queenstown and Arrowtown so special is that valley that runs through it . . . and it's somewhat of a case of killing the goose that lays the golden egg."
He was concerned that granting approval against the Queenstown Lakes District Council's zoning would be the "thin edge of the wedge" for future subdivisions in the area, risking detriment to the area's natural beauty.
Other submitters in opposition to the proposal included NZSki Ltd, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, the Otago Regional Council and the Greenslade family, past owners of Mt Dewar.
Mr Goldsmith said the "crumpled" topography of the station's lower southern slope decreased visibility of the sites, which combined with the wilding eradication, would "maintain and enhance" the area's amenity values and environmental quality.
"While it is accepted that the proposed development will have some adverse impacts on the landscape values of the small part of Mt Dewar Station .. . the development provides for the protection of the wider Outstanding Natural Landscape in which the site is situated."
Mt Field's application said the project would allow the station to diversify and achieve "ongoing viability" in the face of financial difficulty in high-country farming.
Commissioner Trevor Shiels asked whether there would be issues around the enforcement of the annual $10,000 wilding eradication levy.
Citing another development which featured a $20,000 levy, Mr Goldsmith said it would not be an issue for the intended financial bracket of landowners: "It's not part of the affordable housing strategy".
The hearing will continue today .
