MELBOURNE - At 7:25 p.m., the Melbourne City Council failed to approve a conditional use permit and site plan for The Lofts at Waverly, a 120-foot condominium tower proposed at the public parking lot behind Meg O’Malley’s.

Council members deadlocked in a 3-3 tie. Mayor Harry Goode, Richard Contreras and Kathy Meehan voted yes, while Joanne Corby, Cheryl Palmer and John Thomas voted no.

Vice Mayor Mark LaRusso was absent. Therefore, the topic will resurface during a future City Council meeting.

Laird Gann, executive director of Melbourne Main Street, said two women handed out fliers Tuesday in the downtown business district, urging residents to attend the meeting and demand no votes. Gann said the fliers displayed his organization’s logo without permission — an unauthorized move he termed “insulting.”

Mayor Harry Goode ejected former councilwoman Pat Poole from the meeting after he said she argued against the project at the podium longer than the city’s allotted 5-minute time limit. He ordered a police officer to escort her from the council chambers, eliciting boos from the audience.

By a show of hands, about two dozen residents in the crowd indicated they did not want to see downtown building heights that surpass the existing 80-foot zoning limit.

Councilwoman Cheryl Palmer said it appears most Melbourne condominium high-rise proponents have not spent much time in town.

“I think it’s time that we listen to the longtime residents of the city of Melbourne,” Palmer said.

Informationg from: www.floridatoday.com

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