Northlake developer Chris Meehan announced last week plans for a 113-room hotel with a restaurant, bar and gym facilities in the commercial centre of the 1500-home subdivision.
Mr Meehan said the hotel would complement the growing Northlake community and improve Wanaka’s visitor accommodation offering.
A resident spoken to by the Otago Daily Times this week said the hotel had not been mentioned as a possibility at the time she bought her property, and she knew of "quite a few concerned residents".
One of the main concerns was the scale of the proposed hotel which was "different from what all of us thought was going to happen.
"What people had bought into was a small community feel with commercial at the hub.
"The concept of a hotel is another dimension.
"It’s a 113-room hotel, with a big bar restaurant at the end ... and it’s really close to some of the houses."
She was concerned about noise, shading, extra traffic and the size of parking areas for cars and buses.
The media contact for the developer Sonya Fynmore told the ODT in an email yesterday the hotel application was "fully compliant with the town planning rules".
"Visitor accommodation is anticipated by the district plan and provided for in the zone rules.
"The proposal meets the bulk and location criteria for the site (setbacks, height and site coverage), along with the car parking requirements."
Ms Fynmore said a business park had been planned for the site, "however, given the thriving tourism sector and potential airport expansion, the proposed hotel is a better use for the site".
Asked about what consultation there had been with residents, Ms Fynmore said the developers were "always happy to meet with residents and encourage them to make contact on any matter".
"We have regular engagement with our residents and receive constant positive feedback from them."
Ms Fynmore did not respond to a question about whether residents might be allowed to make submissions to the Queenstown Lakes District Council during the resource consent process.
Under Northlake’s sale and purchase agreement’s "no objection" clause, buyers of sections agree they "will not object to or lodge any submission against any planning proposal".
Other parts of the agreement require a buyer to "promptly give its unqualified" written approval to any planning application.
The urban design statement for the hotel says it "fits snugly into its immediate context of a small village hub, aesthetically and programmatically.
"It has an architectural dialogue with the rest of the hub, and with neighbouring houses."
When asked what good a meeting would do, the woman said: "What do you do? Do you sit here and do nothing or do you look at the possibilities?"
