The Queenstown Lakes District Council received 362 submissions on the resource consent application for the Olive Leaf Centre project by last Friday's deadline.
Of those, 214 were in support, one indicated qualified support and 147 were opposed.
The Fred van Brandenburg-designed building, which is intended to be a multi-purpose parish and community centre, would feature a roof shaped like an olive leaf. Its supporters want the project to be funded by grants and donations.
The proposal has proved controversial and a group of residents has formed the NoLeaf Incorporated Society to campaign against the proposal.
The Arrowtown Promotion & Business Association chairman Scott Julian, among those submitting against the project, said the building's scale would set a precedent for future ''inappropriate development'', put pressure on parking in the neighbourhood, and require the demolition of a 90-year-old cottage to the east of the church that was of ''historical significance''.
Arrowtown resident Wayne Hulls said it was ''outstandingly arrogant'' to attempt to impose a structure on the community and environment that did not confirm to district plan rules, Arrowtown's design guidelines or the ''wishes of the community''.
Its unusual leaf-shape form, materials, height, amount of glass, Gaudi-style decoration and location within a few metres of the church did not fit with those rules and guidelines, he said.
Heritage New Zealand's submission said the development would have adverse effects on the heritage values of the church and the nearby Blessed Mary McKillop Cottage.
It would also pose a risk to the ''structural integrity and ongoing conservation'' of both buildings, and have detrimental effects on residential amenity in the township, including visual effects and increased traffic and parking.
Supporting the proposal, Arrowtown resident Ralph Hanan said buildings such as the Sydney Opera House and the glass pyramid in front of the Louvre Museum in Paris had become ''treasured'' icons despite their inconsistency with the heritage form of their surrounding buildings.
The centre would also appeal to younger people who might provide a ''foundation for growing the congregation'' of the church.
Speargrass Flat resident Graham Wilkinson said the centre's ''stunning'' design could become one of the region's must-see tourist attractions, while also serving as a community amenity.
Oral submissions are expected to be aired at a hearing in November or December.
