Luxury living could come to Cromwell if a ‘‘comprehensive’’ marina-style development on Lake Dunstan gets the go-ahead.
Fulton Hogan Ltd has applied to Central Otago District Council (CODC) to rezone 118ha of land at Parkburn Quarry to be developed for a combination of residential, business and industrial uses.
Initial designs for the project, Junction Terraces, filed to the council showed more than 300 residential lots, a retail centre, moorings and waterfront apartments.
There was also a zone for a school.
At a meeting in Alexandra last week, council approved the notification of a private plan change — Plan Change 21 — moving the proposal one step closer to reality.
A report from CODC principal policy planner Ann Rodgers said the purpose of the proposed plan change was to provide for a more efficient and appropriate use of the site post-quarrying activities by providing for a range of urban zonings.
The proposal adopted the provisions of the proposed Plan Change 19 — a suite of changes to the way the district’s residential areas are zoned and managed — and included 81.15ha of low density residential area.
It also included amendments to the business and industrial areas distinct to the Parkburn site.
The proposed business zone was specific to neighbourhood-type activities — convenience retail, cafes and limited travellers’ accommodation, while the industrial zone would reflect current activities, the report said.
Addressing the meeting, Ms Rodgers told councillors the decision they faced was whether the plan change met the tests under the Resource Management Act — not the merits of the plan change.
‘‘The grounds on which we can reject them are quite narrow,’’ she said.
‘‘I’m of the opinion there’s no reason to reject this proposal.’’
Councillors had three options of how they could proceed with the request under the RMA: process as a resource consent, adopt it as a council-initiated plan change with council stumping up the associated costs or agree to it being notified as a private plan change — the latter of which they agreed to.
Deputy mayor Neil Gillespie said the request was ‘‘pretty much a procedural thing at the end of the day’’.
‘‘There’s no grounds identified of which we can say no,’’ he said.
