The discussion document signalling potential changes was opened up for public comment at the end of 2014.
At the time, Central Otago Mayor Tony Lepper said the new district plan would be "the most important document'' produced by his council.
The plan was a blueprint, establishing rules and regulations about zoning, subdivisions, building platforms, size of sections, colours that could be used and landscape requirements, among other things, he said.
More than 100 people made submissions to the discussion document and the council's hearings panel spent three days in March hearing from those who submitted.
Council planning and environment manager Louise van der Voort said as the result of that feedback, more work needed to be done on some issues before a draft plan was finalised.
She expected the plan to be completed and advertised for submissions by the end of this year or early next year.
The conflict between rural residential living and noisy rural activities was highlighted in the hearings on the discussion document last year.
Gas guns and sirens used for bird-scaring during the fruit season were spoiling rural residents' peace over summer, several submitters said.
Orchardists pointed out cherries boosted the Central Otago economy by about $50 million a year and the total fruit crop boosted it by about $100 million annually.
The document said the council had no plans to ban gas guns, wind machines or bird-scaring devices.
There were provisions in the district plan relating to noise in rural areas and those rules would be revisited to ensure they were effective.
Land use intensification also came under the spotlight.
In the discussion document, the council said despite concerns expressed by some people about the impact of dairying, there were no plans to introduce rural land-use rules that singled out dairying from other forms of farming.
Eight submissions said the council should be making it harder to establish dairy farms.
Other submissions supported design guidelines for buildings within heritage precincts and called for a focus on wilding pines.
