The Plattsburgh city attorney has determined the common council did not have enough votes when it authorized the mayor to execute a development agreement for a proposed hotel development last week.
The development is proposed for an area of land known as Harborside, the only developable waterfront parcel in the city.
At Thursday night’s vote, opponents raised a last-minute challenge questioning whether a supermajority, or a vote of five of the six councilors, would be required. The roll call was conducted without a determination and passed on a 3 to 3 vote with Mayor Chris Rosenquest breaking the tie.
Following the meeting, the city attorney said he would analyze the city code to determine the validity of the vote. On Monday said that a three-fourths majority was required and the vote failed.
Rosenquest says in a statement the city will lose hundreds, if not thousands of weekly visitors, and opponents “have provided no approach to finding a balanced resolution for growth and seem to lodge opposition simply for the sake of opposition.”
