A quarry operator is being taken to court by the Dunedin City Council to stop it removing rock from a prominent landmark.
Saddle Hill overlooks the Taieri Plains and parts of Dunedin.
The council is seeking an interim enforcement order to prevent Saddle Views Estate from quarrying in areas that could affect the hill's ridgeline.
Quarry owner Calvin Fisher says there has been no impact on the hill's silhouette and believes the council is being over-zealous.
"The top of the mountain is actually just backfill from previous takings. In fact, on their last measurement the hill actually went up.
"The hill's actually higher than what it was before and there's constant movement on the edges - and always has been."
But Councillor Colin Weatherall says a hill that forms part of the ridge is starting to look lumpy and they had to take action.
"Once you lose the skyline or ridgeline, you have actually lost the hill. It's starting to have degrees of risks that it doesn't look like what it started off to be."
Mr Weatherall says if the injunction is opposed, there may be a hearing before a judge within the next few weeks.