Oceania Helicopters wants to operate up to 15 departures and 15 arrivals seven days a week from the site, about 1km south of Patiki Rd. The development is planned to include buildings, a helipad for two helicopters, parking for 24 cars and a 30,000-litre above-ground fuel tank.
Earthworks covering part of the site have been carried out without the consent of the council, which is now about to consider retrospective approval for the work.
The planners considered the potential for bird strikes on helicopters using the heliport.
A black-backed gull colony is nearby. While those birds are not protected, a number of other critically threatened bird species, such as the wrybill and New Zealand dotterel, live in the area.
Oceania Helicopters considers the risk of bird strike at less than one per month, causing only minor effects on bird populations.
The application has attracted more than 130 submissions.
Opponent Bill McKay, of the North Western Community Association, said yesterday that the planners' recommendation was "the right call," but he feared hearing commissioners might still approve the heliport, with conditions.
The Department of Conservation has suggested that if the heliport is not declined its flight path should avoid bird breeding grounds on Pollen and Traherne Islands but still go through the marine reserve.
