Two Queenstown housing developments will not be fast-tracked, after councillors voted against submitting them as special housing areas.
The Queenstown District Lake Council held an extraordinary meeting yesterday to consider whether to recommend the Waterfall Park and Glenpanel proposals to the Government for special housing area (SHA) status.
Council planner Anita Vanstone recommended both proposals be turned down, citing concerns about infrastructure provision and the impact on the rural character of the sites.
Councillors voted unanimously to accept Ms Vanstone’s recommendation not to submit the two sites to Housing Minister Nick Smith for SHA status.
During the public forum, which lasted more than a hour, Waterfall Park developer Chris Meehan told councillors many millions of dollars had been spent purchasing the Waterfall Park land off a Chinese investor, and many more hundreds of thousands of dollars had been spent developing the area so the public had access again.
An agreement between developers and the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust had been reached and seven complete three-bedroom homes would be given to the trust, Mr Meehan said.
All the boxes in relation to the SHA had been ticked and it was a "no brainer" the council should recommend the development to the minister.
During discussion before the vote, Cr Mel Gazzard said he would like to some some type of development take place in the area but not through the SHA.
Cr Cath Gilmour said there had been no confirmation of the price of units on the development, so there was no way to tell if any would be affordable.
Kristan Stalker, from Maryhill Ltd, said almost 200 submissions had been made in favour of the Glenpanel development which showed the need for new housing.
It was incredibly difficult to find land to build on in the Queenstown area and the developers had worked hard to find a site which was workable, Mr Stalker said.
In her recommendation to the council, Ms Vanstone noted there was insufficient information in Glenpanel’s submission for the council to determine if the site could be adequately serviced.
Cr Merv Aoake said there was a need for development in the area between Lake Hayes and Frankton, where the proposed development would be located, and it was an area the council should revisit.
Mayor Vanessa van Uden agreed with Cr Aoake but said the council was not at a stage where it could recommend the development plan.
Cr Gilmour said there was not enough information available about the impacts of the Glenpanel development for it to be submitted to the minister.
Mr Meehan declined to comment when contacted by the Otago Daily Times yesterday and Glenpanel developers Sharyn and Grant Stalker could not be contacted.
