Plattsburgh council 4-3 vote on hotel project facing scrutiny

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) - Thursday night’s Plattsburgh Common Council vote on a proposed harborside hotel project is being scrutinized by lawyers.

The council passed the hotel project with a 4-3 decision. However, Counselor Elizabeth Gibbs raised concerns prior to the vote regarding the threshold needed to approve the hotel development agreement. Gibbs said the vote required a super-majority rather than a simple majority.

After the meeting, the Corporation Council sent an email that said there would be a review of the city’s code and determine if the vote was legal. Gibbs believes it was not. “The fact that it was pushed through is improper and it is very likely the way I read that law.. that we broke the law. I do not know what that means as a municipality, I do not know,” she said.

Plattsburgh Mayor Chris Rosenquest says they are looking into the matter. “If there is a question like that, we want to do the right thing. But fundamentally, the bigger concern I have is having a council, a body of elected officials that are actively looking to undermine economic development and hotel development -- any kind of development -- in the city of Plattsburgh,” he said.

Rosenquest says the worst-case scenario is that the property on Dock Street is not developed. In the meantime, the Corporation Council says the review will be reported back to the council and that the mayor cannot sign any agreement until then.

It’s the second time in recent weeks that the project has run into procedural problems before the council.