A Dunedin City Council resource consent committee of Crs Colin Weatherall, Fliss Butcher and Richard Walls was reconvened yesterday to reconsider the plan, and a final decision is pending.
The plan to demolish the buildings is part of a new apartment and retail development by Christchurch developer Luke Dirkzwager.
His business, Prista Apartments, a Christchurch-based firm, wants to demolish buildings from 372 Princes St to 392 Princes St and replace them with 15 apartments, with retail space on the ground floor.
The development is a non-complying activity under the council's district plan, as the area is a protected townscape precinct.
It attracted strong opposition when first proposed last year, 260 people signing a petition and opposition from the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
The developer was asked by the committee to come back with a new design, and that was presented by Mason and Wales architect Regan Johnston.
His design still showed all the facades demolished, and replaced by a modernist design.
The applicant's consultant, Allan Cubitt, said the idea of keeping some or all of the facades was considered early on in the planning process, and was "never deemed possible".
Mr Johnston said his design was intended to be sympathetic to the surroundings, and was consistent in scale and proportion.
Asked by Cr Butcher why he decided on a modernist, rather than a traditional design, he said it was a vibrant, interesting facade, but added there was an "affordability" issue.
The council's consultant architect, John Gray, said Mr Johnston had done "a fairly good job", but he would prefer to see at least some of the facades retained.
While the applicant had argued the facades were in poor condition, Mr Gray said they could be saved, something that would be more palatable for the public and the city.
"It's facadism, but it would allow the facades to remain part of the streetscape."
During public submissions, Dunedin historian Peter Entwisle noted the developer was asked by the committee for a design incorporating some of the existing facades, or one that better addressed the townscape values of the precinct.
The response was a wholly new building that incorporated none of the facades.
The district plan said the townscape was dependent on the historic buildings, and the new proposal meant to demolish them.
Mr Entwisle said the committee "should decline the application on this ground alone".
Heritage advocate Elizabeth Kerr said the applicant "steadfastly believes in speculative development", avoiding heritage management, adaptive re-use and sustainability, and a "mind-shift" was required.
The design was not sympathetic to precinct values.
"On the basis of the information provided, the application, if approved, has the potential to undermine the protections in the district plan, and the integrity of the district plan itself."
Historic places trust Otago Southland area manager Owen Graham said the proposal failed both gateway tests of the Resource Management plan: It was not consistent with the district plan, and the applicant had not provided evidence the adverse effects were no more than minor.
"The NZHPT remains opposed to council granting consent to this application in its entirety."
The committee is expected to make its decision early next year.
