A frustrated hotel developer has returned to the drawing board and submitted new plans for a multimillion-dollar hotel in the Wānaka town centre.
Rooms have been reduced from 145 to 125, more land at 4 Little St has been bought to create access, car parks have been increased from 73 to 101 and there will be a new loading bay.
The facade design has been modified so the retail areas on the main street frontage are stepped and the building appears to "cascade" down the site, reducing the overall visual impact.
Roof forms and shapes have been changed.
Hotel balconies have been removed and a rooftop bar has been relocated to another area of the building.
Wānaka Central JV Ltd planner Mark Vinall, of Tattico, Auckland said the design at street level had also been refined.
The changes "bring a much more appropriate human scale to the street edge," Mr Vinall said in documents on the Queenstown Lakes District Council eDocs website.
In December, Wānaka Central JV Ltd developer Tony Gapes, of Auckland, asked the QLDC to put the consent application on hold, after learning the development was likely to be publicly notified.
He and his team had hoped the original plans would meet district plan rules for the Wānaka town centre zone, avoiding a public submission process.
At the time, Mr Gapes claimed the council planners had not raised significant concerns with his team and a demolition contractor had already been engaged because "we thought we would have consent by now".
Since then, Wānaka Central JV Ltd and the council have been working through their issues.
The developer bought 4 Little St this year.
The price has not been disclosed but it last sold for $1.6 million in 2021, according to the One Roof website.
Mr Vinall has indicated the developer still hopes for a non-notified consent.
The new designs require a suite of resource consents, mostly controlled, discretionary and restricted discretionary activities.
The only non-complying activity is an infringement of 8m and 10m height rules at various places on the roof ridge line.
The largest infringement is 3.580m.
Mr Vinall said the amendments were "positive and result in less than minor effects overall" and the revised application could be processed without public or limited notification.
"[Public] notification of this application is not mandatory, precluded or required and there are no special circumstances that warrant notification ... Limited notification is not required as adverse effects on directly adjoined persons is concluded as less than minor," Mr Vinall said.
