The decision was made 11 to three, with councillor Peter Young abstaining, in front of a packed public gallery of up to 50 people.

Sunland lodged its application for the striking hotel complex, complete with 350 apartments, a giant aquarium, a museum and gallery, in June last year.

In the past 15 months, the application has received widespread community debate due to its contribution to traffic on the Southport Spit, its contribution to tourism and how it would fit in the Gold Coast City Plan, which has a three-story ceiling for buildings in the area.

Some opponents questioned the impact of approving a 44-storey development on other development applications on the Southport Spit, including the secretive ASF Consortia/Crown Resorts casino and a future development application by Sheraton Mirage.

The Southport Spit is crown land and effectively managed in trust by the council.

The council's planning officers raised 14 points against the development on Tuesday, and the decision was deferred until Thursday's meeting.

On Thursday afternoon councillors first voted to investigate spending around $150,000 investigating the option of being add a fifth lane to the Sundale Bridge, very close to the Southport Spit.

Mayor Tom Tate then moved a "mayoral minute" asking that Sunland's application be deferred for "no longer" than 12 months to have the state government begin a master plan, with the council, of the Southport Spit.

This is exactly the position put forward by Surfer's Paradise MP John Paul Langbroek in September 2015, when he called for developments to be judged against a Southport Spit master plan.

Cr Tate said it was in "the city's best interests" to learn the attitude of the state government towards future development on the Southport Spit.

That would effectively be a new review of the council's new city plan which did not make changes to the three-storey ceiling on the Southport Spit, when it was put in place in February 2016.

"We want to know the direction that they are going to take," Cr Tate said.

He later told the packed public gallery Sunland's development should be judged with the council knowing the state government's view of future development on the Southport Spit.

"Let's plan it right. Let's make sure it is planned in conjunction with the state government. But let's not lose the opportunity," he said.

Veteran councillor Dawn Crichlow voted against the motion to defer the decision saying the application would work effectively in Southport, but not on the Spit.

"The people do not want high rise development on the Spit," Cr Crichlow said.

Deputy mayor Donna Gates agreed master planning on the Southport Spit was needed.

"There is a very real need for a master plan for the Spit," she said.

Councillor Gary Baildon, a former mayor, said he became "fired-up" when councillors learned that the state government had allowed the ASF Consortia the right to build a casino next to Sea World in 2015.

"I thought we had a town plan that had some bones to it, but yet the state government has just allocated that land (to ASF) and said 'It's yours, what do you want to do with it?'," he said.

Cr Baildon said the state government has not "shown its hand" on the Spit.

"The terms of that (ASF) lease were changed from commercial to residential and we were not even advised, as I understand it," he said.

Cr Baildon strongly supported the call for a Southport Spit master plan.

A spokeswoman for Local Government Minister Jackie Trad said no decision had been made about master-planning the Southport Spit.

"Whilst we are happy to discuss the possibility of a master plan with Mayor Tate, the council's own Gold Coast City Plan – finalised just six months ago – already provides the planning framework for the Spit," the spokeswoman said.

The council's city plan clearly outlines the requirements for development like building heights, density, traffic and public open space.

"Council can review their city plan at any time in consultation with the community should they wish to do so," she said.

"Council's expert town planners have already undertaken a comprehensive assessment of the project against the current city plan."

Sunland Group chairman Soheil Abedian said the company would review the decision made by the Gold Coast City Council before decising whether to appeal, or wait.

"Sunland Group will consider all our options before making a decision."

It has previously said it could build a shopping centre on the site if its project was rejected.

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