The private plan change proposes 215 new houses for Arrowtown, including in areas at present zoned as rural general land.
Despite Cr Perkins' call to withdraw from the debate, the Queenstown Lakes District Council yesterday resolved at a meeting in Wanaka it would write a submission to the independent commissioners who would be hearing "plan change 29 - Arrowtown boundary".
The submission calls for 3.6ha of the council-owned former sewage ponds in Jopp St to be included in the Arrowtown urban zone. That land is also zoned rural general.
Plan change 29 was notified in August and submissions close on October 9.
The council wants to provide for residential housing in Jopp St through the Community Housing Trust's "affordable housing" scheme.
QLDC manager of regulatory and corporate services Roger Taylor advised the council that not making a submission on the urban boundary was not a preferred option because it would be contrary to indications given in the council's 2005 Hope (affordable housing) strategy and subsequent memorandum of understanding signed with the trust in 2007.
Cr Perkins is concerned about the proliferation of houses outside Arrowtown's urban boundary and fears Arrowtown will eventually look like a suburb of Queenstown.
He said he had tried to convince Arrowtown residents not to have a boundary battle with the council over the Jopp St proposal, but now the private zone change had been announced, many people would be upset, he said.
He felt urban boundary issues would possibly end up in the Environment Court and proposed a motion the council not lodge any submission on plan change 29.
However, meeting chairman and deputy mayor John S. Wilson, of Wanaka, made a procedural ruling the motion not proceed.
Cr Vanessa van Uden said the public would get a chance to have their say on all plan changes during public submission processes.
