In the meantime, getting on top of maintenance in the grounds looms as a priority.
A reserve management plan is to be presented to Dunedin city councillors tomorrow.
If approved, a conservation report for heritage sites within the 16.4ha reserve would be prepared, to shape future management.
An archaeological site survey would also be commissioned.
The Truby King Reserve and neighbouring privately owned buildings are a category 1 historic place, as well as a recreation area featuring forest, lawns and stone remnants.
The Seacliff Lunatic Asylum opened in 1879 and it featured the largest building in New Zealand, when built.
Mental hospital was adopted as the official term in 1905, but the site was notorious from its earliest days because of architectural faults and unstable subsoil.
A horrific fire in 1942 added to the hospital’s notoriety, killing 37 female patients who had been locked in a ward.
Most structures at the site were demolished in the mid-1970s.
An initial consultation document about how the reserve should be managed and developed was panned by critics when it was presented to the community in April.
They described a reserve that had been neglected, as overgrown foliage obscured pathways, and there were fears a minimalist approach to maintenance might continue.
Formation of a Truby King management committee had since been proposed to act as a liaison between the council and Seacliff community.
Some development plans suggested by consultants appear to have fallen from favour as immediate priorities.
Establishing a car park at the entrance had been promoted as necessary immediately, but the policy to be put before councillors was to "retain" an area next to the original Russell Rd entrance as a future visitor car park.
Removing a fence separating the old cricket ground from the rest of the reserve had been put forward as a priority, but this was no longer among the proposed policies.
Refurbishing the tennis court, maintaining the cricket ground for informal use, upgrading toilets and better explaining the site’s history were among the opportunities listed.
Increased maintenance, improving drainage and making pathways safer were also identified as an opportunity.
The plan advocates for an audit of trees at the site to ensure the character of the forest is retained.
The historic places listing noted the site tarnished the reputation of leading architect Robert Lawson.
"It occupies a dark place in the public imagination through its spectacular structural failure, which ruined the career of one of Otago’s most well-known architects, and its association with prominent doctor and superintendent Frederic Truby King."
