Wanaka Wastebusters this week secured a 35-year lease on its present Ballantyne Rd site, after convincing the Wanaka Community Board not to approve a 10-year lease with several rights of renewal.
The Wastebusters organisation is run by a charitable society and will pay nothing to occupy the site, under the Queenstown Lakes District Council's community pricing policy.
The full council or its property sub-committee must now rubber-stamp the board's delegated decision, a process expected to be straightforward.
If Wanaka Wastebusters was a commercial organisation, it would probably have to pay about $24,000 a year to occupy the site, APL property manager Joanne Conroy said.
The site was not required for any other purpose and because it used to be part of a landfill, was unsuitable for most uses, she said.
Ms Conroy had recommended the board approve a 10-year lease with several rights of renewal so that Wastebusters would not be bound to the site and could have some flexibility when reviewing its operations, particularly if it wanted to move.
Wastebusters manager Sue Coutts said during the public forum the organisation wanted the long-term lease because secure tenure was viewed more favourably by funding organisations.
"We have been in an uncertain operating environment in the last couple of years and there's no assurance we could stay on the site ... Running Wanaka Wastebusters is incredibly challenging and we need every bit of help from guys to help us survive," Ms Coutts said.
The organisation could demonstrate it provided huge social, environmental and cultural benefits to the town, she said.
"Shaping Our Future [a series of community consultation meetings] is not something that happens in town halls; is not some game we play with whiteboards and sticky notes," Ms Coutts said.
Board chairman Lyal Cocks asked what would happen if Wastebusters decided to move on before its term was up.
Ms Conroy said "in theory they would not be able to, but the reality is the QLDC would probably let them".
Cr Leigh Overton asked whether a 10-year lease with rights of renewal made any difference to tenure security.
Ms Conroy said it should not. It was common for businesses to stretch out tenures like that and the QLDC could not refuse a renewal.
Board member Ken Copland asked if there would be penalties for leaving early.
"Not really, but it would be hard to foresee what might happen in 20 years," Ms Conroy said.
Cr Jude Battson moved to amend Ms Conroy's recommendation so that Wastebusters got 35-year tenure.
"The last 12 years have gone quickly and I think the next 10 will go very quickly. I support the 35-year term for certainty."
Cr Cocks seconded the motion, which was adopted unanimously.
• The tenure is specifically for 34 years and 364 days, a day short of 35 years. This avoids having to subdivide the land and create a separate title for the land under the Resource Management Act. Ms Conroy said the cost of creating a separate title was prohibitive and would be difficult. Legal issues for the site included it being partly freehold land and partly gravel reserve. There was also a unformed legal road cutting through the site which would be closed.
