At its final regular meeting yesterday before the local body elections end on October 8, the Queenstown Lakes District Council approved a plan to seek public feedback on potential uses of the site.
The site is bordered by Stanley, Shotover, Henry and Beetham Sts, and is reserve land owned either by the council or the Crown.
It is leased by Queenstown Playcentre, the Wakatipu Potters Group, Queenstown Arts Centre, the Jigsaw service for people affected by abuse and the Queenstown Performing Arts Centre Trust.
Mayor Vanessa van Uden said the council had not done an adequate job of informing the public about its intentions.
It wanted to work with the lessees and had no intention of terminating their leases abruptly.
"The danger is it becomes rumours, innuendo and conspiracy theories."
The plan provoked a strong reaction from two arts community stalwarts when it was revealed by the Otago Daily Times earlier this week.
Sue and Spike Wademan, who were instrumental in setting up the Queenstown Arts Centre, said it would "die" if moved to a less prominent site.
The land has been recommended as suitable for a new council building and is earmarked for a car park building and CBD bypass.
Ms van Uden told council strategic projects manager Paul Speedy to expand his contact list to as many people with ties to the site as possible.
Cr Cath Gilmour said the call for public feedback was not something to "chuck out in the ether and wait for people to respond".
In the case of Queenstown Playcentre, the council did not even own the land.
"It’s a long way down the track before anything happens."
Cr Scott Stevens said most of the groups were on relatively short leases, so the call for ideas was an opportunity for them to secure a long-term future on the site.
