If a proposed plan change is approved by the Queenstown Lakes District Council today, people will get a final chance to have their say on the future of their towns.
Plan Change 30, Urban Boundary Framework is designed to provide a clear direction for towns in the district, preventing urban sprawl and maximising land use.
By giving a clear indication which land could be developed over the next 20 years, the plan would "ensure the needs of the community continue to be met as it grows . . . [and] ensure that sufficient land remains available for development and that future land releases occur in a timely and co-ordinated manner", QLDC senior policy analyst Mark Rushworth said in his report.
However, he warns it is important the boundaries do not cause "town-cramming".
The areas included under the proposed plan change have been divided into the area centres of Queenstown, which includes Frankton and Kelvin Heights, and Wanaka, which includes Albert Town.
Arrowtown, Lake Hayes Estate, Lake Hawea, Luggate, Makarora, Glenorchy, Kingston, Cardrona and Arthurs Point have been defined as local centres.
One objective is to keep 85% of the district's urban growth within the area centres.
Mr Rushworth said the plan change was "intended to provide a strategic framework for managing the scale and location of urban growth", but there was "no certainty" land within an urban growth boundary would be "released for development".
The benefits of having town boundary frameworks include reducing energy consumption by encouraging people to live near their workplaces, ensuring the right "mix and balance of land uses" and helping the QLDC meet future infrastructure needs.
The issue has already been presented in a discussion document and at drop-in sessions in Queenstown and Wanaka last year, but only attracted about a dozen people, well down on the attendance at the Arrowtown Boundary plan meeting.
