Emotions have run high at Auckland Council, where the public has been excluded from a discussion involving reclamation of the Waitemata Harbour.

The council's development committee is set to reconsider an earlier decision, which created more generous rules allowing the city's port to expand into the harbour.

Committee chair Penny Hulse has ordered a full public gallery out on legal grounds, saying there will be a chance for public and stakeholder input at a later date.

Councillor Mike Lee responded by saying that was an abuse of process, and against the public interest.