They have recommended a tight planning boundary be implemented around the town.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council yesterday adopted their recommendations, making Arrowtown the first place in the district with a defined urban boundary.
Commissioner Mike Garland said an urban growth boundary could be put in place to say "enough is enough", and that approach was warranted for Arrowtown.
Former Wakatipu Environmental Society committee member and Wakatipu ward candidate Karen Swaine said her phone had been ringing all day with Arrowtown residents delighted with the decision.
"There are smiling people up and down the street, although there will be some people who won't be as happy.
"It's great that council and residents are together on the same side, because the chances are this will go to Environment Court."
Ms Swaine said the decision, which brought a "collective sign of relief", had been about 12 years in the making and she felt people had been given the chance to "speak quite loudly" about what they wanted for the town.
While Arrowtown resident and outgoing Arrowtown ward councillor John R.
Wilson also welcomed the decision yesterday, Cr Lex Perkins, who is standing for the Arrowtown ward in the elections, said there would be "negatives and positives".
"I can certainly understand where the commissioners are coming from - we've never had a solid boundary around Arrowtown before ... but there are also negative sides to it."
One would be a loss of development contributions, which had been used to restore the three historic Buckingham St cottages.
The cost of housing in Arrowtown would probably rise and, as a result, "it will drive the young people out of town".
"It's going to put pressure on the new council ... looking at situations where they identify subdivision sections in the older part of Arrowtown.
"It will put pressure on the older cribs. It will change the face of Arrowtown."
Ms Swaine said it was all about planning and now a boundary had been defined, the council could work to address affordable housing; protecting cribs and watching for infill development.
Another planning matter adopted by the council yesterday was the commissioners' recommendation rejecting the Arrowtown South proposal.
The proposal was to rezone about 30ha of rural land south of Arrowtown to establish a new residential zone between Centennial Ave and McDonnell Rd.
The proposal attracted 504 submissions, and was heard in May.
In their decision, the commissioners said growth could be accommodated elsewhere because Arrowtown was part of the wider Wakatipu.
They said an earlier decision to allow the boundary to extend along McDonnell Rd had been environmentally inappropriate and while "it could be said as a consequence ... the horse had bolted, but we think not".
Ms Swaine said the council could now "hopefully defend this decision - whether it goes to Environment Court or not, there will be challenges to it over the years."
Commissioners were Mr Garland and Andrew Henderson on one plan change hearing, Mr Garland and Crs Gillian Macleod and Lyal Cocks on the second, and Mr Garland and Cr Cocks on the third.
Cr Macleod withdrew from making hearings panel recommendations after questions were raised about her independence.
She had attempted to nominate Arrowtown resident Ange van der Laan for the local government elections.
Mrs van der Laan was a submitter against the Arrowtown South proposal.
Cr Macleod (along with Cr John Mann) also abstained from voting when the council agreed to the commissioners' recommendations.
