Property developers are appealing to acting Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen over a technical change in town planning rules that they claim will weaken private ownership rights.
The Real Estate Developers Association also said it would launch a judicial review against the Town Planning Board if the appeal was rejected.
The row began early last year when a phrase written into 11 district zoning plans was redefined. The term 'existing building' was changed to mean a building or structure that is physically in existence.
The term - used in the zoning rules of the Town Planning Ordinance - had previously also included construction sites for which building plans had been approved by the authorities.
Under the old rules, all 'existing buildings' were exempt from new town planning restrictions, such as construction height limits or population density.
The change means that, in theory, the Town Planning Board can now call a halt to an approved property development when it re-zones an area of the city.
The association, whose membership includes Hong Kong's biggest property developers, opposed the change, but in February the board refused to halt the changes.