John Cossens owns Mt Maude Lodge on 20ha of land, next to State Highway 6.
A big portion of the property is rough farmland, and Dr Cossens wants to subdivide the property to allow three new houses to be built on sections of two, four and six hectares.
While he had reached agreement with the Queenstown Lakes District Council over the two smaller sections, the visibility from the highway of the building site on the largest section had stalled the process.
The matter will now be heard in the Environment Court.
Dr Cossens believes the council is being inconsistent in its approach to development on land in the rural zone and he describes its approach as "obstructive and entrenched".
He contrasts his own experience with the success of Universal Developments Ltd which was given council approval last week for its special housing area on the outskirts of Lake Hawea, despite considerable opposition in the township.
"There is a perverseness to this decision.
"We have been battling the council who are intent on taking us to the Environment Court over three new lots with an average of 5ha when they run over the wishes of the Hawea community to approve a 400-lot subdivision in the same zone as ours.
"They seem to bend the rules to suit themselves and then are dogmatic when it comes to enforcing them in cases like ours."
He considers many of the 98 groups and individuals appealing the proposed new district plan have the same issues he has.
"What many are objecting to is the council's belief that farming is the land use most appropriate across the majority of rural areas, when you don't need to be a rocket scientist to realise that the farming landscape is very much an historical one not consistent with modern-day reality and that there are likely other land uses that could protect rural character just as well."
He believed the council's "ideology" on the rural zones was "flawed".
"The underlying premise of the council argument to stiffen subdivision rules in rural areas is that the tourism economy would suffer if more rural subdivision happened.
"There is not a single shred of evidence to support this idea.
"There is absolutely no correlation between visitor numbers or satisfaction and rural subdivision."
Dr Cossens says at either end of his property houses have been or are about to be built.
The issue in his case was the visibility of the proposed building site from the highway 750m away.
He had agreed to a lower height limit, and offered to screen the house with planting.
He noted a neighbour's new shelter belt would soon make the site invisible from the highway, in any case.
