The issue of visitor accommodation rules in the Queenstown Lakes District has entered a new phase of consultation, QLDC senior planning analyst Scott Figenshow said.

"The focus is now on achieving the right balance between the needs of visitors and residents, within the limitations of District Plan tools," Mr Figenshow said.

Previous consultation over the definition of visitor accommodation controls had enabled good progress on the issue with 107 submissions received on the September options and issues paper.

"That feedback made it clear that we needed to do more work and we needed to talk further with the community," he said.

The second options and issues paper, titled ?Visitor Accommodation and Residential Amenity? is open for feedback until November 30. The paper discusses five issues:

• Amenity (site design/appearance and loss of privacy).
• Traffic (more traffic, people coming and going, tour operators dropping people off and picking them up and lack of sufficient onsite parking).
• Residential coherence / cohesion (Loss of neighbours/residential feel, reduced sense of safety, large number of empty units during off peak season).
• Growth Management (Residential market being ?crowded out? of the wider CBD area by visitor accommodation developments, CBD dominated by visitors, too much demand on traffic and transport).
• Economic Wellbeing (Economic Development/need for more visitor units, Affordability of residential units, Commercial Accommodation development and its relationship to other employment related activities

Earlier submissions made in September would be fed into the second feedback process, and those submitters were welcome to make further comment.

Options for addressing these issues included: different development controls on visitor accommodation; the loosening up of provisions to encourage more visitor accommodation to locate away from high density residential zones; the option to refrain from a plan change and instead enforce existing planning provisions and the use of economic tools to influence the location of visitor accommodation.

"We have developed a feedback form that asks people to comment on the issues, and to combine different options that can address their concerns," Mr Figenshow said.

The feedback form also asked for ideas on how council could improve the way it collected information on visitor accommodation, for example how many people were letting out their homes for this purpose.

The second options paper was not the last opportunity for community participation.

"If the council does go towards a plan change option then the next step is preparing a pre plan change report called a section 32 report, which has to show that the plan change is necessary and can achieve the desired purpose. Then that has to be approved by the council, and then the plan change has to be publicly notified and formal consultation undertaken," he said.

"At the moment we are not advancing any one option but what is recognised is that visitor accommodation is important to the long term growth of the economy," Mr Figenshow said.

Drop-in sessions for any interested members of the public were scheduled, on Monday 13 November from 3-5pm in the Wanaka QLDC offices and on Tuesday 14 November from 10am-12pm at the Queenstown Council offices.

ENDS

For further information please contact Scott Figenshow 03 441 0499.

By: Sarah