Talks between the Queenstown Lakes District Council and lawyers representing the descendants of the Maori landowners of Sticky Forest are due to start on Monday.
Sticky Forest is a 50ha pine plantation to the north of the town centre, close to the Clutha River, and contains more than 30km of trails built and maintained by Bike Wanaka members and other biking enthusiasts.
It was given to the descendants of the 53 owners of a block of land known as The Neck, which separates Lakes Hawea and Wanaka, as substitute land for settlement redress.
In 2017, landowner representative and descendant Mike Beresford (acting as an individual and who has since died) lodged an appeal with the Environment Court when the council rejected his bid to re-zone 20ha of Sticky Forest to allow residential development.
In their decision to reject the bid, commissioners said if the council wanted to own the land in order to preserve access, it needed to buy it from the owners at a fair value.
There are more than 1000 descendants of the original owners and they had no obligation to allow public recreational use of the site, despite it attracting hundreds of riders a day over the peak summer season.
Council spokesman Sam White said attendees at mediation would include council staff together with legal, planning and landscape experts.
He said he was unable to share further details of the council’s approach because the mediation process was confidential under the control of the Environment Court.
The Wanaka Community Board had not been involved because the delegation to consider and settle appeals "rests with the QLDC Planning and Strategy Committee and through delegations to Council officers", he said.
"The three Wanaka-based councillors are all on the planning and strategy committee, which allows them to provide direction and background on issues relating to the Upper Clutha, as well as the wider district, as they are discussed in committee," Mr White said.
Bike Wanaka spokesman Simon Telfer said that he was continuing to strongly advocate for Sticky Forest to remain rurally zoned.
"This gives the opportunity for the forest’s recreational amenity to be enjoyed for generations to come.
"As Wanaka grows, our urban green space needs to be protected and cherished.
"It’s now in QLDC’s hands and we ask them to remain steadfast in representing the community’s wishes.
"Our planning team advise there’s nothing specific in the district plan that relates to the Sticky Forest site but, as it is presently zoned rural, those general provisions all apply," Mr Telfer said.
