The ACT Opposition had called on the Barr government to explain why it made a technical amendment to allow public housing to be built on land zoned for community facilities in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

In her motion, Liberals deputy leader Nicole Lawder asked the government to stop building residences on community-zoned land - unless it was for elderly or disabled people - until there was more clarity around what the zoning actually meant.

She referred to a freedom of information request, where site names had been redacted, as evidence the government planned to develop more community land into housing and said there was great concern that a technical amendment had been used to make such a great change.

"There are legitimate concerns from the public that the amendment was not a minor amendment and the government should explain how the amendment changes the territory plan," Ms Lawder said.

However Mr Gentleman said it was not accurate to say all community-zoned land could be used for public housing.

"The technical amendment to introduce social housing was to clarify what was already permitted in the territory plan," Mr Gentleman said.

"It did not extend the definition. It did not change the territory plan in its objectives nor did it increase the range of uses permitted in community facility zoned land.

"This technical amendment was not introduced to sneak through public housing but rather to clarify social housing is considered to be a kind of social housing and therefore permitted in the community facility zoned zone."

Housing minister Yvette Berry said Housing ACT already had more than 300 supportive housing blocks built on community-zoned land in its portfolio and it was in line with what the public expect the lad to be used for

"Community facility zoning is about social sustainability and inclusion and by using some community facility zoned land for supportive housing we are providing support to those who need it," Ms Berry said.

The Liberals also sought to refer the use of land zoned for community facilities to the standing committee on planning and urban renewal after intense community opposition to five public housing developments in Monash, Holder, Chapman, Mawson and Wright in a later amendment by Jeremy Hanson.

The developments must already be probed by an assembly committee after four petitions with a collective 2200 signatures were tabled in the ACT's parliament on Wednesday.

But the motion was voted down, despite the Greens expressing in-principle support.

Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur said she was concerned about the "tone" of the motion, which appeared to indicate elderly and disabled people were more deserving of housing than others.

As chair of the committee, she said they might not have the scope to take the issue on, with several important inquiries in the works.

But Ms Lawder fought back, saying her own husband was a public housing tenant for 25 years so she cast no aspersions on anyone who lived in it.

She also said as a member of the planning committee, she was not averse to a little more work.

Public housing has become an incredibly divisive issue in the territory since plans were unveiled for five new developments in March.

Nearby residents claimed the sites were inappropriate as the land was zoned for facilities for the community although the Barr government has mostly dismissed their objections as nimbyism.

The Canberra Liberals have argued the government attempted to circumvent public and parliamentary scrutiny by changing the definition of the zoning in 2015 via notifiable instrument.

The wording of the development code was changed from supportive housing - taken to mean housing for the elderly and for people with disabilities - to social housing, which broadened the use of the land.