Council under fire over Thiel’s luxury Wanaka lodge plan
The Queenstown Lakes District Council has come under fire for “witness shopping” after dropping its opposition to United States billionaire Peter Thiel’s luxury lodge plans.
Thiel’s company, Second Star Ltd, is appealing a council independent panel’s decision to decline consent for the visitor accommodation at Damper Bay, near Wānaka.
The council no longer opposes the application, but the Upper Clutha Environmental Society and the Longview Environmental Trust (LET) remain in opposition, in an Environment Court hearing in Queenstown.
Longview lawyer Phil Page said yesterday there was no evidence to explain why the council changed its mind.
When the decision to change tack was made, the council did not take advice from the landscape architect who advised the council during the original resource consent process, he said.
A different landscape architect was called to give evidence on behalf of the council in court. That witness agreed with Second Star’s assessment of the landscape effects.
“The council has plainly gone witness shopping after its decision was made, in order to justify it. But it doesn’t explain the basis for the change,” Page said.
Council lawyer Mary Davenport said the council was not advocating for the proposal but was now neutral.
The council went through assisted mediation and informal discussions with Second Star, she said.
Changes to the proposal, such as adding vegetation and screening, the extension of a hillock, and a new and improved track alignment made the proposal less visible and more acceptable to the council, she said.
“At no stage has the council considered it should compromise the integrity of the District Plan.”
The proposal included five buildings, up to 190m long and 9.6m high, to house up to 30 guests and support 15 to 30 staff.
Page said that the land was an Outstanding Natural Landscape (ONL), so there was very limited capacity for visitor accommodation, and no capacity for tourism-related activities.
The Second Star case focused on the visibility of the building from the Glendhu Bay to Wānaka track, which was also part of the Te Araroa trail and bordered the property, he said.
However, there was no evidence relating to the use of the property by staff and guests.
Upper Clutha Trails Trust chairman David Howard earlier told the court that the new alignment would avoid a steep part of the hill and make it more accessible for users.
However, Second Star would only pay $200,000 of the total $326,000 cost, and the trust would have to find funding for the balance.
Page said this was “frankly outrageous”. The Longview Environment Trust was formed by John May, who lived near the site, during the development of the nearby ecological restoration project at Emerald Bluffs.
Upper Clutha Environment Society spokesman Julian Haworth said the changes made to the plan did not significantly reduce the adverse effects of the proposal.
The society was concerned that the proposal would set a precedent for large-scale development in inappropriate ONL locations, he said.
Environment Court hearing Judge Prudence Steven and commissioner Mark Mabin were to visit the site today before receiving closing submissions from the parties.
Thiel, a German-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist, made his fortune as a co-founder of PayPal and an early investor in Facebook.