The council yesterday agreed to delay hearings on the draft developments contribution policy until July, following noisy criticism from developers.
Development contributions are charges paid by property developers to meet demands on infrastructure such as water and wastewater, roads and reserves.
Under proposed changes, developments placing additional demand on infrastructure could attract extra charges.
If applied at 100%, those could range from $5944 for a new house in outlying parts of the city to $40,650 for one in West Taieri.
That would mean the council could collect up to $46 million over the next decade, compared with about $11.8 million under the existing policy.
The policy was originally to have been considered as part of the annual plan process, in May.
Last week, two meetings of Dunedin property developers heard the policy would make projects unviable, bring development to a halt, and suppress the construction industry.
One major concern at the meetings was people wishing to make submissions on the policy for consultation had only until April 12 to do so.
At a full council meeting, a report from policy analyst Hamish Orbell recommended the submission period be extended to April 26.
Cr Colin Weatherall said he had received a letter from the Otago Chamber of Commerce asking for more time than that.
He argued the process needed to be "crystal clear" and correct, as it was likely to be subject to judicial review.
Cr Richard Thomson said he would prefer a special consultative procedure for the issue, rather than it getting "mixed up" with other issues under the annual plan process.
The council voted to shift the hearings to July and August, and to separate the consultation from the annual plan process.
Mayor Dave Cull said last night the council had responded to the concerns raised.
The final date for submissions would be decided, and there would be a "major communications effort" so people wishing to make submissions would be able to do so.
Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie said last night he was "very happy" with the decision made.
He hoped the council would also agree to the chamber's request for a working party to consider what he said was a complex issue.
