The first day of a hearing on the Mt Iron Management Reserve Plan was marked by drastically divided submissions over proposed bike tracks, access points and ecological impacts across the Wānaka landmark.
The council-approved draft was published in September following community and stakeholder engagement which began in November last year.
The draft’s significant proposals included furthering community ecological projects, potentially introducing bike tracks and discouraging unnecessary infrastructure such as cell towers.
The panel, consisting of chief councillors Lyal Cocks, Barry Bruce and Chis Hadfield, heard a variation of submissions from Wānaka residents and organisations.
The plan originally had 446 submissions, of which 379 were in support.
However, the hearing was attended by an equal number of opposing submitters speaking alongside supporters.
The largest issue seemed to be over the proposed bike tracks that could potentially go on the mountain, however there is no official design yet.
Many of those who opposed the submission had concerns over safety, environmental impacts and the natural experience associated with walking up the mountain.
Resident Jill Gardiner said the proposal would lead to "the ruination of Mt Iron".
"It should be preserved for its beauty and serenity."
She said the biking trails would not help conserve the natural landscape.
Former runner and resident Guy Stevens said that although he would support more walking trails, the mountainbiking tracks would make walking up the mountain "noisy" and ruin the overall experience for walkers.
"It’s slanted towards the mountainbikers to the detriment of the walkers," he said.
These opinions clashed with submitters who supported the bike tracks.
Bike Wānaka president Ewan Mackie gave his full support for the proposal saying that if the bike tracks are separate from the walking tracks there should not be any issues.
He disagreed that when it came to conservation and recreation "one can only happen at the detriment of the other".
Te Kakano Trustee Becky McCormack also supported the plan for its pledge to increase community involvement in environmental conservation.
There are also 10 proposed access points in the plan including the existing ones.
One of the entrances includes a 200m steep driveway on Aubrey Rd that was previously private but was bought by the council along with the other parts of Mt Iron.
Resident Karen Buckingham, who owns a house on the driveway with her husband said using the driveway should not be an option.
Mrs Buckingham said it was unsafe for bikers to use the narrow, residential driveway as a "downhill racecourse" and felt that the plan was "eroding the values of this reserve".
One of the final issues flagged during the hearing was the fire risks that some opposers felt remained largely neglected in the management plan.
The risk was described as a "credible threat to life" by Hidden Hills resident adviser Andrew Tomes.
He felt there needed to be more awareness raised on the issue as part of the plan.
The commissioning panel is set to deliberate today.
