As Wanaka water-sports groups announced a joint proposal for a shared lakefront facility this week, other submitters to the Wanaka foreshore draft reserve management plan remained divided over built structures on lakefront reserve.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council had sought input on a reserve management plan for all council reserves along the Lake Wanaka foreshore, from Glendhu Bay to the Outlet Camp.
A group of lake users, including the Wanaka Rowing Club, Wanaka Lake Swimmers Club, kayakers and multisport athletes, submitted a proposal for a 420sq m sports facility in the southwestern corner of Roys Bay.
The move followed repeated attempts by the rowing club to find its own suitable lakeside site for a boat shed, which were stymied by objections from neighbours, lake user conflict concerns and other issues.
''It absolutely appals me the situation the [rowing] club has found itself in,'' Mike Saunders submitted to the draft plan.
''Firstly, indecision of council and secondly, the control a couple of people can have on a community. I support the rowing club getting facilities in whichever is the best location for them.''
However, lawyer Jan Caunter - submitting on behalf of several Morrows Mead and Stoney Creek residents - said the Lake Wanaka foreshore was Wanaka's greatest asset and had retained its attractiveness because of its predominantly natural and undeveloped state.
She said any future foreshore development should be focused in areas where there was existing building infrastructure, particularly around the Wanaka Yacht Club and Eely Point areas.
To avoid intrusion of buildings into the foreshore area, a rowing club facility should be built in the Wanaka Showgrounds on the Mt Aspiring Rd-MacDougall St corner, Ms Caunter submitted.
Marjorie Cook supported a ''carefully designed structure'' built on or near the Stoney Creek reserve to provide for organised water-sports club use.
She called for a foreshore plan that provided for ''sensitive and limited development catering for increased future water-sports and recreational use while protecting the mountain views etc''.
Ross Turner said the Millennium Track and adjoining reserve should be kept in its natural state and not leased or developed.
''Any building close to the lake in this area would be a major blot on a famous and beautiful landscape.''
Wanaka Yacht Club secretary Steve Dickey asked for a floating jetty to be built in front of the clubhouse on the eastern side of the lake and an increased clubhouse footprint for a Coastguard boat house, showers/changing rooms and a bigger members' lounge.
The need for a boat ramp at Eely Point was raised by several submitters, as was replacing the existing wharf on the lakefront.
Other suggestions included boat users being levied a fee to fund further foreshore amenities, revisiting the council's Freedom Camping Bylaw to make provision for responsible freedom campers, and a bylaw controlling ''antisocial behaviour'' by SUV drivers on the lake's foreshore, in order to protect the shoreline from associated damage.
Shane Gibson suggested a noise-emission policy for boat users in Roys Bay and a policy around two-stroke engines which exhaust through the water, to maintain the lake's water quality.
He also raised the possibility of closing Helwick St between Ardmore and Dunmore Sts to create ''an awesome area for dining and cafes similar to what Queenstown has in the Mall''.
Mr Saunders suggested closing Ardmore St between MacDougall and Dungarvon Sts, to give a ''really attractive vehicle-free area flowing from the park right to the lake''.
Greg Groves believed the swimming lane should be removed from Roys Bay, apart from at peak summer.
''It's a triathlete training tool, plain and simple, not about safely swimming in the lake, which can be achieved anywhere with common sense.''
The Forest and Bird Society Central Otago-Lakes branch requested the plan be extended to include Dublin Bay and that it provide for comprehensive management and enhancement of indigenous vegetation and comprehensive pest and weed control on the foreshore.
QLDC staff will review the public feedback on the plan before releasing the draft for formal public consultation in early October.
