The Waitaki District Council’s 2.5ha property overlooking Oamaru Harbour is back in the spotlight after approaches by several parties interested in buying it.
At a council meeting yesterday, councillors voted to carry out a public engagement process, and ask Waitaki residents what direction the council should take.
Options included doing nothing, setting aside the land as a greenspace reserve,
developing it as a reserve similar to Cape Wanbrow, selling it, or seeking partners for a joint venture.
The decision was not unanimous, Cr Guy Percival voting against proceeding with an engagement process.
Cr Percival said he was "opposed to the sale or development of it, under any consideration", and believed consultation would take up resources and staff time, when they had "far more important things to do".
Other councillors raised concerns about going through a consultation process without knowing the value of the land.
"My concern is that we’re going to go through this, just having a vague idea of how the market is," Cr Kelli Williams said.
Council property manager Renee Julius told councillors the commercial value of the land was difficult to quantify at present.
"It will be as the market decides it."
Cr Jim Thomson said it was important for all of the information to be presented to the community during the consultation process.
"If we’re going to engage with the community, I would like to be able to say to them that if the council sold this , there would be X amount of money to be spent back on other projects," Cr Thomson said.
Mr Kircher said as the information was developed for consultation, associated costs could be included.
Council acting assets group manager Paul Hope said consultation really came down to three options: keep it as it is, develop it into a reserve, or use it for residential property.
"People are going to know one way or the other what they think is the best use of that land ... for the benefit of Oamaru and the district," Mr Hope said
In 2006, the council consented a controversial 27-lot division development at Forrester Heights. However, questions were raised about the council’s legal entitlement to sell the land.
In 2013, the Waitaki District Council Reserves and Other Land Empowering Act clarified the status of Forrester Heights as endowment land, overturning a clerical mistake from 1937 that classified the area as reserve land.
Later that year, the now-defunct Waitaki Ratepayers and Concerned Citizens Association presented then mayor Alex Familton with a petition supporting Forrester Heights becoming a reserve "never [to] be built on".
