The Queenstown Lakes District Council has called for an extension to prepare documents for court after more than 1000 applications were made to join appeals against its proposed district plan.
The council initially assumed it would need three to four weeks to file its first case management memorandum to the Environment Court regarding appeals to stage 1 of the plan.
The court directed the council to serve a memorandum before July 31, but the local authority soon became inundated with 100 appeals from parties concerned with decisions made over stage 1.
In a note to the court last week, the council’s legal representative, Katharine Hockly, highlighted the need for an extension.
"Given the large volume of appeals and section 274 notices filed with the court, the council now considers that its original estimate of time required for the preparation and filing of its first case management memorandum was not sufficient."
A total of 1153 applications were made to join appeals under section 274 of the Resource Management Act, some parties lodging more than one application.
The council has asked for the court to allow it to hand in its first case management memorandum by August 17.
The council needed to produce a report on the information loaded on to its website regarding the appeals, a categorised list of appeals and suggested order in which they should be dealt with, as well as proposed dates for mediation.
Ms Hockly also noted additional pressure was being put on the council due to a large number of legal advisers representing stage 1 appellants also being involved with the current stage 2 hearings, which are due to end on Thursday.
"Given the current workload of appellants’ counsel, the council considers that slightly more time than usual may be required for consultation on the above matters."
Appeals against stage 1 of the proposed district plan, which was approved in May, have closed.
The 100 appeals were made by some of the district’s biggest companies and groups, including Queenstown Airport Corporation, Cardrona Alpine Resort Ltd, Real Journeys, Remarkables Park Ltd and Ngai Tahu Tourism.
Most appeals relate to land-use rules and specific areas of land in the district.
Two other legal proceedings have also been filed on stage 1 of the proposed district plan — one asking for a declaration and the other seeking an enforcement order.
In response to the council’s request for an extension, the Environment Court said proceedings did not need to wait for the council’s full report to be filed.
Council planning policy manager Ian Bayliss said no extra costs were associated with an extension to the timetable and the case management memorandum was a "substantial piece of work".
"There are a number of appeals from utility-type agencies and a very large number of appeals from developers and landowners who have a huge amount to gain from appealing."
