The council announced in June it was considering the idea and more than 300 public submissions were received, evenly split between those in favour and those opposed.
The council was initially to have made its decision in August, but that was delayed after councillors and Mayor Jim Boult asked council staff to investigate three matters: the level of contribution to the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust, how to prevent speculation in vacant sections and what other large tracts of land were available for affordable housing in the district at a suitable cost.
In a report to the council, planning practice manager Blair Devlin said a commissioned assessment of the appropriate level of contribution had found a contribution ''higher than 10%'' of any development cost could be considered.
''The results of the assessment show quite clearly that there is significant potential to increase the contribution asked of the developer under all but the most pessimistic development scenarios, with only very minimal financial implications for the developer, given the context of the large profits this type of development will make.''
However, ''too high a contribution could result in increased risk for QLDC and unintended consequences, including an SHA proposal not being proceeded with'' if a developer felt the costs outweighed the benefits of the process.
The subsequent review found a contribution of 10% would be ''reasonable'', noting any increase above that carried increased risk for the council and ''levels at circa 20% are considered unacceptable''.
Mr Devlin's report said there were also considerable benefits from a ''fairness perspective'' in having a consistent 10% threshold across the district.
A separate report looking at methods to prevent or reduce speculators found a stakeholder deed could be signed between the council and the developer under which the developer could perform some, or all, of three options.
One was a means-tested eligibility criteria, where developers agreed to sell a percentage of properties to people who met certain criteria, for example, being a New Zealand citizen and first-home buyer with a gross household income that did not exceed the Queenstown Lakes median.
The second was to restrict the on-sale of bare sections by developers registering an instrument, like a caveat or covenant, on the land, preventing the on-sale until a residential dwelling had been constructed and a code compliance certificate issued for it.
The final method was a vetting process requiring developers to put in place a process prospective purchasers had to go through before being given the chance to submit an offer for a property.
A similar approach was being used in the Shotover Country subdivision and had reduced turnover in sections there, the report said.
None of the mechanisms was perfect, but there were tools available that could be put to use at Ladies Mile.
Mayor Jim Boult, in August, asked for officers to investigate other tracts of land within the district that could be available for affordable housing at a suitable cost.
Various areas had been considered, but only two, Hanley Downs and Tucker Beach Rd, were viable options at this stage.
Mr Devlin estimated ''2000+ residential units'' could potentially be established at north Hanley, and 1300-plus at Tucker Beach but, ''overall, both were less 'ready to go' compared with the Ladies Mile''.
