Tauranga residents have overwhelmingly supported keeping Mount Maunganui's library and Plunket Preschool on a prime $11.7 million block of council-owned land on Maunganui Rd.
Public feedback on the council's proposal to look at development options for the 1.6 hectare site resulted in 167 of the 194 submitters opposing the sale of the land which includes a park used by Little Big Markets.
Public opinion was less polarised on the future of the portion of the site leased to Zespri for its head office - the former Mount Maunganui Borough Council buildings.
While most did not want Zespri's future development to spill over into the park, some favoured Zespri being allowed to stay while others felt the company should be looking elsewhere for its future.
There were suggestions that Zespri could shift to the former Cosmopolitan Club site beside Blake Park or Trustpower's site at Te Maunga, once Trustpower shifted into the downtown.
