Concerns about aircraft safety has joined other warnings delivered during council's Annual Plan hearings this month, including problems with commercial and recreational vessels using the same maintenance area and the need for a marina alongside the precinct to make it viable.
Mayor Stuart Crosby responded the former 600-tonne slip that was demolished to make way for the second Harbour Bridge also had to work around the issue of flight path height restrictions, similar to how a couple of the port's cranes exceeded height limits.
He said the issue of super yacht masts had been managed in the past and it did not mean the marine precinct would not be able to handle them.
Mr Crosby anticipated most of the business would be commercial vessels and yachts with unusually tall masts would not be the norm.
He stressed the issue of height restrictions was being taken into account with the more detailed second stage of the investigation into the financial viability of the marine precinct. It included giving certainty around issues such as whether to sell or lease land to marine businesses and costings around the proposed 200-tonne travel lift.
Mr Crosby said the council would be looking at the capacity of the travel lift. There is no point under-estimating the size of the haul-out facilities."
He agreed with submitters that moorings were important and said more berths than were available at present beside the site of the marine precinct would definitely be wanted.
While marine industry sources spoken to by the Bay of Plenty Times appreciated that the marine precinct would be a drawcard after eight years of not having lift-out facilities for big boats, they said there were fish hooks with the proposed location.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said it was not just a matter of getting a dispensation from flight path height rules for boats with tall masts because the boats could be on the hard stand for months and the airport would not be happy about such long encroachments.
It was more complex than simply saying the issue could be handled.
Rigs are right into the airspace. Height restrictions limit what could be brought up there."