DCC general manager services and development Simon Pickford said it had been the council's ''consistent view'' that they wanted clarity around quarrying rights on Saddle Hill.
"This interim decision indicates there are limits,'' he said.
Counsel for Saddle Views Estate Ltd, Trevor Shiels QC, said he would be considering all options with his client, SVEL director Calvin Fisher, before another round of submissions is considered later in the year.
The High Court ruled in late 2014 the quarry had resource consent from 1960 to quarry Jaffray Hill, when Downer began using an existing quarry for material used to build Dunedin Airport at Momona.
The court heard arguments from the council and Saddle Views Estate last May after the two parties failed to agree on the extent of conditions and the scope of the quarrying.
The dispute has run through various courts and has attracted public anger since the 1960s. Concerns have centred on the loss of the profile of the prominent landmark.
• More in tomorrow's Otago Daily Times.
