At the meeting Kent said the committee had worked "damn hard" and was "overly efficient in examining every detail", because it was the first development it had considered under the accord.
Councillors passed the motion to recommend the site unanimously. Councillor Charles Sturt withdrew from the meeting, citing a conflict of interest, and did not vote.
The development would see 190 dwellings built between mid-2018 and 2022.
If approved by the minister, it would become the first development under Rotorua's Housing Accord.
The accord, signed in August 2017, was designed to fast-track the consent process to allow for houses to be built quickly.
It was proposed to ease pressure on Rotorua's housing stock and address affordability issues.
The RMA committee had recommended another proposed development not move forward at this stage.
The proposed development would have featured 130 dwellings, with a mixture of one- to four-bedroom houses, at 41 Hamurana Rd.
While the committee said it supported the concept, "at this point in time we consider that this form of development on this site would be incongruous with the existing environment".
"In addition, there is the potential for significant reverse sensitivity issues to arise with both traffic noise and in relation to the surrounding rural land to the north and west that we do not consider have been adequately addressed, and questions as to whether the soil contamination issues can be appropriately remediated."
At today's meeting councillors voted to return the proposal to the committee for further consideration.
In regard to the second proposal, Kent said the committee's initial recommendation was "no reflection on the project".
It was just a matter of whether "the i's are dotted and t's are crossed," he said.
He supported the prospect of the proposal going back to the committee for further consideration.
The motion was passed unanimously.
