Queenstown councillors have another bumper meeting this Thursday (July 29) to decide the district's future.

The 386-page agenda features the landmark Queenstown Lakes Spatial Plan, a new draft Freedom Camping Bylaw and a draft Queenstown Lakes Homes Strategy and Action Plan, to tackle the district's housing problems.

There are 15 items for the public agenda before events funding applications will be discussed behind closed doors. A breakdown of the major issues is provided below.

The meeting will be held from 1pm to 4pm at the council chambers on Gorge Road, Queenstown.

Members of the public can have their say in the public forum before the meeting, but must register 24 hours in advance and limit their speech to three minutes.

Queenstown Lakes Spatial Plan

The 116-page plan is a long-term vision and overarching framework on how the Whakatipu Basin and Upper Clutha communities can develop over the next 30 years, and how expected growth can be managed, rather than enabled.

It works on three principles - wellbeing, resilience and sustainability - and 15 strategies, including increasing density in appropriate locations, providing cost-effective infrastructure, prioritising investment in public transport and active travel, diversifying the economy and creating well-connected neighbourhoods for healthy communities.

Councillors have already approved the draft plan and will be asked to approve the final plan after some limited changes in response to the 147 submissions made during public consultation.

The project is a partnership between council, Iwi and the Crown, which councillors are also being asked to approve on Thursday. The spatial plan will inform the government's planned major reforms of New Zealand's resource management system.

Draft Freedom Camping Bylaw

The New Zealand Motor Caravan Association (NZMCA) has launched legal action over the council's current freedom camping bylaw, which it sees as much too restrictive. It bans freedom camping across much of the district. The court hearing date is February 2022.

In the meantime, QLDC has reviewed the 2019 bylaw. Councillors are being asked to approve public consultation on a new draft bylaw, which actually extends the ban to other areas, but does envisage some very limited freedom camping at specific sites.

The final approved bylaw would be reviewed every three years.