Cr MacKenzie departed the meeting at 6.30pm following a vote on the development application (DA) for an $8.9 million rural land sharing community at Butterwick.

The plan for 29 environmentally-sustainable dwellings to be constructed in a cluster on a hill on the property on Green Wattle Creek Road was recommended for approval by council staff.

But councillors chose to defer a decision pending a site inspection set for October 27, causing Cr MacKenzie to be outraged at another delayed development approval.

"This development has been out there in the big wide world for months," he said to the Examiner.

"The councillors need to get off their backside like me and do things before they come to the meeting."

Cr MacKenzie said just 10 minutes before the meeting councillors Steve Tucker and John Morello were in his office saying they would approve the DA, but during voting the two councillors opted to defer the decision.

"I expect people to carry out their word, to honour what they agree to," Cr MacKenzie said.

Deputy mayor Steve Tucker confirmed he had intended to approve the DA, but following discussions in the committee meeting decided to vote with the other councillors.

"We had discussed it beforehand, but when we decided on the new meeting schedule we said if any councillors felt they needed more time to investigate something we would give it to them," he said.

"Bruce just wants everything to happen quickly, which is a good quality but not always possible."