The Dunedin City Council yesterday filed paperwork with the court seeking a declaration from the court to clarify the legality of a quarry operating on Saddle Hill.
Saddle Views Estates, of which Calvin Fisher is the director, owned the quarry, which had been operating under claimed existing-use rights since 2002.
However, moves to expand the quarry up Jaffray's Hill - the smaller hump forming part of the saddle - had prompted community concern because of fears the work could alter the contour of the prominent landmark.
Council staff have been investigating and wanted documentation from Mr Fisher proving the quarry's existing-use rights, because it could find none on its files.
Yesterday, Mayor Dave Cull, and Cr Colin Weatherall who is chairman of the council's resource consents committee, issued a joint statement confirming they were yet to find evidence to support existing use rights.
Instead, they were turning to the Environment Court to resolve the issue, by seeking a declaration from the court about the legality of the quarry, as well as an enforcement order. Cr Weatherall, who represents the Saddle Hill-Green Island area, said in the statement no resource consent or clear proof of existing-use rights, which would allow the quarry's continued legal operation, could be found on council files.
However, there was evidence the quarry had been operating on site "at least" before 1945, and existing use would be allowed if certain conditions were complied with, he said.
Those conditions included an annual limit on the amount of material extracted from the site, no change to the site's footprint, and "most importantly", no change to the profile of Saddle Hill.
The enforcement order from the court, if granted, would ensure the council could make sure the conditions were met, he said.
"We hope the court will provide the council and local residents with the certainty we have been seeking."
Contacted yesterday, Cr Weatherall said Mr Fisher should have been notified of the court action this week, and it was hoped the council's application would be heard late next month or in June.
Mr Fisher had "every right to contest it" in court, and Cr Weatherall acknowledged there were "at least two views" on the quarry issue.
"There just hasn't been perhaps as much goodwill as we may have hoped for, but he has a view and we respect that."
Cr Weatherall said he did not know what the court action would cost the council, but expected it would be "thousands" of dollars "without a doubt".
"But it's a significant landscape matter and it needs to be addressed, and there's a significant amount of public interest in the matter."
Mr Fisher could not be reached for comment yesterday.
However, last August he told the Otago Daily Times he was not made aware of any "gentleman's agreement" limiting quarrying on the site when it was bought in 2002.
He questioned how he could therefore comply with it, and challenged Cr Weatherall to provide evidence of it.
