Waitaki district councillors want the issue of freedom camping investigated urgently, despite a recommendation it tread carefully.
The council's strategy committee recently considered a report from council policy adviser Ben Hopkins on freedom camping problems and how to control them.
Mr Hopkins told the committee it was an area in which the council needed to "tread carefully".
There was a clamour for something to be done because of ablution, health and environmental issues, but there was the issue of how to effectively introduce controls or education.
For example, in the Tasman district, when freedom campers were moved on, they camped again about 100m down the road.
In Taupo, some freedom campers were told to move, but downed "large quantities of alcohol" and said they could not drive.
Other councils faced "some very slippery eels" when trying to deal with freedom campers.
Mr Hopkins posed a series of questions the council needed to answer before considering the issue of freedom camping.
That was despite a request from the Waitaki Tourism Association for urgent action.
Association representative Frank Ash acknowledged to the committee it was not an easy situation, but something needed to be done.
Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton said people could not go into sand dunes at Katiki beach and the Moeraki Boulders because of the mess left by freedom campers.
"I believe the matter is urgent," he said.
The committee recommended the submission from the tourism association be received.
But Cr Gary Kircher described that as "like weak tea".
He felt the council should do something about freedom camping.
The committee then went a step further and recommended staff urgently look at ways and means to address the issues surrounding freedom camping.
