Demente said pressure from the Waitaki District Council (WDC) on the Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust (OWCT) to "operate under full commercialised paradigms" could mean the end for places such as the gallery.
She says "the niche artisan tenants who founded the internationally recognised culture that has defined the place face a very uncertain future" due to the increased ground rates and escalating compliance costs being heaped on to the OWCT.
"This, in my opinion, sucks.
"Whilst money can be found for street furniture trials ($66,000), yellow bird footprints along bucolic walkways, ‘transformation’, (many millions), an events centre ($15million, for established sports teams primarily), an integral part of our town’s identity is being forced toward extinction," she said.
The community trust has been instrumental in the revival of historic Oamaru over the past 35 years.
The trust began with ownership of eight buildings and today owns 16, all but two of which sit on harbour endowment land leased from the council at commercial rates.
"While we know we can’t just put this on to our tenants, it also means that we can’t run part of our tenancy, which has historically been really low rent, because they contribute in other ways like Donna.
"We still have to start revving these rents up to a degree, because we can’t afford it any more," he said.
Mr Vinbrux said the trust’s costs rose $27,000 in the last year and while the trust is not "singled out", it should not be put in the same category as other property owners.
"I think what council unfortunately tends to forget, over and over again, is that we are actually holding public assets for the community. We are not a commercial landlord as such," he said.
Trust property manager Jacob Barwick said the higher council rates go, the more limited is the trust’s ability to generate a commercial return on its buildings to fund restoration.
Council director of strategy, performance and design Joanne O’Neill said commercial properties within the Oamaru CBD, which included those in the Heritage Precinct, all had their rates calculated through the same model.
"We charge a ground rent of $51,500 per annum to the trust for titles, which are reviewed every seven years on a Glasgow lease," Ms O’Neill said.
"The next review is in 2030.
"Council does not levy fixed compliance costs on the Oamaru Civic Whitestone Trust."
Mr Vinbrux said it was frustrating for the trust.
"We go through this ever repeating cycle of having to convince council that we are actually part of council interest.
"We only have got clunky 150-year-old buildings that are far too large to get a good rent per square metre.
"This didn’t used to be so much of a problem when it came to council, because ground rent or rates were a tiny portion of things," he said.
Mr Vinbrux said the trust itself was a small business and while the Netflix film East of Eden, which was shot largely in the harbour precinct in January, helped it run at a $160,000 profit, it had run "a few years at a loss".
"It is frustrating, though, to see that there is kind of the mentality ‘oh, if you can’t run it as a profit, sell it off’.
"We’ve had one councillor pushing for that over and over again, which would ultimately, of course, completely destroy it.
"If we had to sell single properties off, this cohesion could be gone instantly and it would be to the detriment of the town," Mr Vinbrux said.
He said the trust had to look at other options to counteract the rising rent costs, including "cutting down spaces" or having "co-users, so small business owners are not facing costs alone".
Demente said the harbour precinct was much more than just a "shopping and lifestyle destination".
Earlier this year the community trust formally signed its assent to a process to achieve National Historic Landmark status for the area.
Ms O’Neill said the council’s central and harbour masterplan and its work to achieve heritage landmark status all involve enhancing the reputation and attractiveness of the heritage area, but they do not have a role in the commercial relationship between the trust and its tenants.
Mr Vinbrux, the former owner of the bakery in Harbour St, said he agreed with Demente that the council often overlooked the value of the "social and cultural expansion" provided by early and current Harbour St residents.
"I wholeheartedly agree with Donna about the council defining what makes a place. We were involved but overlooked and sidelined in that process.
"I think what is still being completely undervalued in that study is actually how many people moved to Oamaru because of the flair that Oamaru has.
"And without the precinct, this wouldn’t be there."
