Checkford Investments Ltd was granted land use consent to build on a Symes Rd property at Fruitlands in 2006, and sold a section to Ian and Kirsten Knights, whose partially-constructed house can be seen from historic tourist attraction Mitchell's Cottage.
The couple were recently served an abatement notice by the Central Otago District Council to stop building.
Mr and Mrs Knights and Checkford Investments Ltd applied to the council for conditions of consent to be changed to allow the construction of the house, as well as for retrospective consent for earthworks already undertaken on site. They appeared before a CODC hearings panel in Alexandra yesterday.
Opposing submitters, who included the Department of Conservation (Doc), New Zealand Historic Places Trust, Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust, and Central Otago Environmental Society, said granting the application would create a precedent for land owners to build in breach of consent, and later have those conditions amended.
Mrs Knights said she and her husband did not intentionally breach conditions. They had under-estimated how visible their house would be.
"We've reached this point through mistake and misunderstanding, not disregard for the conditions," she said.
Checkford Investments Ltd director Russell Checketts, who is a Symes Rd resident, said the company had been proved wrong in its estimate of the visibility of the Knights' home from Mitchell's Cottage, particularly during the construction phase.
It was suggested planting would provide significant screening of the home in four or five years, and complete screening in eight to 10 years. Until then, temporary cloth screens, hedges, and fences, could be put in place.
Doc Central Otago area manager Mike Tubbs said screening the property entirely with plants could ultimately fail through bad husbandry.
The department preferred "screening by something which can't be tampered with and therefore something which can not fail".
CODC planning consultant David Whitney recommended the application be granted and conditions of consent amended accordingly.
The hearings panel reserved its decision, which is expected to be released within 15 working days.
