The land, long mooted as an area for residential development, has had three housing projects rejected in recent years.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council has shortlisted four planning consultants, out of a possible seven, to produce a masterplan to ensure council control of the size and type of development in the area.
Initially, the council had earmarked two lots of $700,000 — one paid from this year’s budget and the other from next year’s — for consultants to develop the plan.
However, the proposals accepted ranged from $960,000 to $1.4million over a shorter period of nine months.
Councillors will therefore be asked, during a full council meeting tomorrow, to approve an additional $450,000 to be debt-funded this financial year.
Any further payment needed — up to $250,000 — would be paid in 2021-22 subject to review of the long-term plan.
If approved, 50% of the total project will be paid for by a central government Housing Infrastructure Fund loan, and the remaining costs will be absorbed by the local planning and development budget.
Council senior planner Liz Simpson said in her report the proposals received from consultants during the tender process combined the masterplan with preparing Resource Management Act documentation.
This had not initially been considered when the budget was set, but would later make it easier to apply to the Environment Minister for a streamlined planning process.
Ms Simpson said "potential to limit appeal rights of interested and affected parties" through this procedure could reduce the overall costs of the project.
The meeting is scheduled for 1pm at the council chamber in Gorge Rd, Queenstown.
