The Central Otago District Council's planning rule on the use of Oamaru stone in rural areas stands out like a house on a ridge.
A natural product that insulates well and weathers to a mellow yellow has been deemed unsuitable cladding, and publicity about the rule has prompted surprise and even horror in some quarters.
Oamaru stone - limestone - has come to be synonymous with North Otago specifically and Otago generally and has become part of our physical and perceptual landscapes.
As well as being practical, the stone has an emotional resonance with Southern residents.
The council is bound to be feeling under siege on this issue.
For a start, the exclusion from the list of building materials for rural homes was quickly translated by many that the stone had been banned.
To be fair to the council, it is worth explaining that Oamaru stone is still permitted as of right in towns and could well be approved in rural areas when cases come up of dwellings in places where they are not highly visible.
This council has at least tried to tackle the tricky matter of landscape protection when the area's record in the past has been mixed.
With the threat for years of rural depopulation and economic stagnation, the area's local authorities in the past allowed subdividing and housing scattered across rural areas with relatively permissive rules.
Some would argue that many of the houses and small blocks around Clyde and Alexandra mar the sense of being in the beautiful countryside, and delineations between town and country are blurred and untidy.
Central Otago confounded long-time official population predictions during the past decade and thrived.
Grapes blossomed and Central became popular and trendy.
The unique beauty of the Maniototo has also come to be widely recognised.
Thoughtful people, including a fair proportion of newcomers, realised that rural development needed to be better controlled if Central was not to undermine its attractiveness, especially under pressure of rapid growth and the demand for "lifestyle" properties.
The special allure of the district, its golden goose, should not be blemished or killed for the sake of individuals wanting the right to build where and how they liked.
Against this background, the council last year instituted changes to address rural development issues, as well as continuing to hold public meetings and calling for submissions.
A landscape architect was employed to help define where growth could be accommodated without wrecking the landscape and new rules brought in, including the rejection of colours like white and cream and thus Oamaru stone - excluded because of its "colour and reflectivity value".
The early public meetings tended to attract the type of people with special interests in environmental protection.
Add in the views of experts, who are likely to feel strongly about the importance of their specialty, and the council's 23 changes were such that they stirred up other interests around the district.
A total of 218 submissions were received.
From many residents, from architects and from the building industry, came 65 on Oamaru stone alone, "a cornerstone of early development and a strong feature in Central Otago".
Tensions between preservation and the private rights of landowners and companies are almost always inevitable.
Queenstown Lakes has, over many years, witnessed more than its fair share.
Central Otago, for its part, has needed to tighten the regulations; the thought of houses spoiling the hill above Omakau, the rocky beauty between Alexandra or Roxburgh or the remote sensation on large sections of the rail trail is disturbing.
But if development is prevented in the most vulnerable places, then differences about the impact of Oamaru stone must surely go away. It seems ridiculous to lump this long-time building material - already so much of the landscape - with unsuitable painting palates.
The understandable reaction to Oamaru stone's exclusion sends the council a clear message.
Fortunately, because the confirmation of planning changes is a long process - submissions are still possible until October 2 - the council still has the chance to change its mind.
It should take that opportunity.
