Thurlby Domain had hosted events for many years but domain owners Vicki and Revell Buckham discovered late last year it needed resource consent to hold more than 14 temporary events.
The proposal was the subject of a hearing over the past couple of days with opponents saying yesterday there was no doubt they were dealing with a non-complying application.
Thurlby Domain, on Speargrass Rd, was developed in the 1870s by political and business leader Bendix Hallenstein.
Weddings and other functions took place at the venue which has historic buildings.
Lawyer Jayne Macdonald, appeared for 13 of the 15 opposing submitters yesterday and said the proposal was for an events venue and not for a temporary venue.
The application was for 100 events a year, with a maximum of 150 guests at each.
Ms Macdonald said the proposal had an unacceptable effect on amenity values.
Amenity values went beyond the physical qualities in the area and if the consent was approved it would set an "undesirable precedent."
She said when the property was bought by the Buckhams in the 1990s, the council had a transition plan and that plan allowed for temporary events. But due to the way the proposal had been lodged it fell well outside the definition of a temporary venue.
She said allowing 100 events a year meant throughout the warmer months from November to April there would be activity at the property every day.
There was no commitment to heritage values in the application, she said, and some of the buildings were unsafe to use.
She said proposed conditions for the consent had continually changed before the hearing and she questioned the practicality of the conditions. No consent had been sought for the selling of alcohol which she said was an activity in its own right and consent was also needed for portable toilets.
"The conditions proposed are numerous, complex and increasingly put the onus on the QLDC rather than determining it through the consent process.
"It is not like the hiring of the local hall. You are given the keys, you lock the door and turn off the lights ... this is complicated," she said.
There was also evidence given about acoustics and planning.
Planner Sussanah Tait, on behalf of the opposing submitters, said the applicants were of good character but that did not allow granting of consent. She said 100 events was still too many for the site. Events could be stacked up with two on one day which could lead to 12 hours of continuous activity.
Council planning consultant Mary McConnell said after listening to evidence she would continue to recommend declining the consent, mainly because the amenity effects were more than minor and could not be mitigated.
When questioned what was the ideal number of events, she said a ballpark figure would be 50 events a year.
Hearing chairman Lee Beattie, along with commissioner Wendy Baker, at the end of the hearing requested more information on marquees and walls. Additional information from both the council and applicant would have to be filed by October 14.
Depending on the additional information, the hearing may have to reconvene next month.
