Since February, council staff have been reviewing the city's present district plan to identify issues within the document, as part of work to move to a second generation plan by 2014.
The result was an "issues and options" report presented by council city development manager Dr Anna Johnson to yesterday's planning and environment committee meeting, spelling out what council staff believed needed to change.
Among the changes identified was the rezoning of the city's warehouse precinct south of Queens Gardens from large-scale retail to mixed-use, to encourage greater refurbishment and use of the area's heritage buildings.
Councillors at yesterday's meeting voted to approve the report for release to the public, for "informal feedback", beginning next month.
Key groups familiar with the old plan's strengths and weaknesses - including businesses, property developers and planners - would be the focus, but anyone was welcome to share their views, Dr Johnson said.
Council planners were already working closely with the city's larger organisations, including the University of Otago and Otago Regional Council, to ensure the review work aligned with, for example, the university's master plan.
The latest step in the consultation process went beyond what was required of the council, but further steps would follow, she said.
In a media statement, Dr Johnson said the council wanted to hear from people about issues which might not yet have been identified, feedback on the options identified, and new options to address those issues.
The feedback phase would include open days for interested people to discuss the work with council planners, the launch of a new website offering information, public workshops on specific topics within the plan, and in-depth discussions with key groups.
It was expected the work would lead to consultation on draft changes about June next year, and final notification of the second-generation district plan by February 2014.
