A binding referendum to determine the fate of Whangarei's Harbour Board building will be held on June 5, months after initially planned.
The referendum announced yesterday in a council agenda will determine whether the Harbourside or Hundertwasser and Wairau Maori Art Centre proposals are chosen or if the building will be demolished.
Whangarei District councillors voted in November last year to hold the referendum in March this year, after a rowdy meeting where insults were thrown and traditional protocol ignored.
But in the agenda for next Wednesday's full council meeting it is revealed it would not be possible for council to hold the referendum next month due to strict electoral laws requiring 89 days from commencement of the referendum to completion.
The agenda said council received an updated Harbourside proposal - which excluded the Whangarei Art Museum and CHART - on December 19. Accounting firm Deloitte has since been engaged to compare the proposals on basis of construction cost, operational cost and expected visitors, and the evaluation should be completed early next month.