City councilors appear poised to approve the Marriott Hotel’s controversial parking project – which would be a reversal of their prior thinking.
Earlier this month, the council voted 5-4 against the project, and directed City staff to prepare findings for a final vote formalizing the project’s denial. Staff did that – but the vote this last Monday had changed.
First, Councilor Gabe Shepherd was absent this week, which meant the denial was already going to be down at least one vote. This would’ve meant a tie at this latest council meeting – and the mayor, who doesn’t usually get to vote, does vote when there’s a tie.
But the mayor didn’t wind up voting either. Instead, Councilor Tracey Yee, who voted to deny the project two weeks ago, voted to approve it instead. Later in the meeting she explained she was on the fence when she originally voted to deny the project, and that on further reflection, she had concluded that her objections to the added parking weren’t based on the city’s codes, and that she should reverse herself.
In the end, the Council voted 5-3 against their prior findings that would’ve denied the project. After that, and some further discussion and deliberation, the council voted 6-2 to direct staff to prepare findings for approve the new parking.
Ultimately voting to deny were council members Charlyn Ellis and Briae Lewis – voting for new findings to greenlight the project were councilors Tony Cadena, Jan Napack, Tracey Yee, Laurie Chaplen, Paul Schaffer and Hyatt Lytle.
Councilors are set to review the new findings at their Sept. 3 meeting, and then vote – and we’ll keep you posted.
As an interesting aside, Tracey Yee has declined to run again, and has endorsed Carolyn Mayers to replace her. Mayers is vice-president of the Corvallis Planning Commission and introduced the motion at the commission to deny the Marriott’s parking proposal, and at press time, she is unopposed in her bid to replace Yee in November’s election.
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