Mediation on Mosgiel's proposed new Countdown supermarket could begin before Christmas and be completed early next year.
A Dunedin City Council hearings committee issued Countdown's parent company Progressive Enterprises a consent last month to build a 3300sq m supermarket on an empty Gordon Rd site.
But that consent came with conditions.
Progressive appealed the consent on ''a few'' of those conditions, including a provision a walkway through the 174-bay car park includes a canopy for protecting pedestrians.
Countdown's general manager of property Adrian Walker told the Otago Daily Times last month the canopy would come at a high cost but offer little public benefit, connecting uncovered streets.
Hearings committee chairman Cr Andrew Noone said the procedure for all resource consent appeals was for them to be sent to the Environment Court, which then directed the parties to consider mediation.
That had happened and both parties had agreed to mediation.
They were now trying to nail down a date, expected to be before Christmas, for the process to begin.
Mediation would involve both parties ''putting their arguments on the table'' and examining whether either was ''willing to move'', he said.
If mediation was successful, a resolution would be expected within the first quarter of next year, Cr Noone said.
