By JIMMY LAWTON

OGDENSBURG – Ogdensburg City Council rejected Step By Step’s proposal to rezone the former Lincoln Elementary School from single family residential to planned development district in 5-1 vote Thursday at a special meeting.

The vote followed a brief executive session in which the council took to discuss a letter received May 27 from Step by Step Inc. attorney Carlo A.C. de Oliveria of Cooper Erving & Savage LLP, which alleged a no vote would constitute violations of state and federal laws.

Voting in in support of passing the zoning change was Mayor William Nelson, who said he believed the PDD should go back to the county for review. Councilor Jennifer Stevenson abstained from the vote because her realty company was involved in the property sale.

Prior to the vote the council was set to hear a presentation from Step By Step Director David Bayne, which was included on the agenda. However, in a split vote council had the presentation removed from the agenda. Councilor Wayne Ashley, who voted against allowing the presentation, said it was not approved by council to take place during the special meeting and therefore it could not be discussed.

Councilor William Hosmer said he was in favor of allowing the presentation, but only under the condition that equal time be offered to those attending the meeting in the same fashion as a public hearing.

The presentation was struck from the agenda with only councilor Hosmer and Mayor William Nelson opposed.

There was no public discussion from council regarding the PDD prior to the vote and no reason was given publicly for why it was denied.

After the meeting De Oliveria said he would be discussing legal options with Bayne to determine what to do next. He said the city’s actions went well beyond a standard Article 78 suit, which is filed against municipalities that pass laws or deny proposals for arbitrary and capricious reasons rather than what is allowed under law.

“Tonight we saw the city change the rules once again,” he said of the council’s decision to deny Bayne’s presentation.

De Oliveria alleged that bigotry played a role in the council’s decision to deny the PDD. He said the controversial zoning change was focused on the fact that people with mental health issues would be visiting the property and that is not a valid reason to deny a zoning change.

“At no point should the people become part of the discussion about a zoning change,” he said. “The city planning board has very specific reasons for which an application can be denied and that’s not one of them.”

He said the council sent a clear message that they believed it was alright to discriminate against the handicapped and added that comments made by residents in public hearings regarding the matter were “abhorrent” and “discriminatory.”

De Oliveria said that while Step By Step could reapply for a PDD or fight to get the property included in the ARD, neither was likely.

“My client probably won’t pursue any action other than the course of litigation,” he said.

Bayne declined comment following the meeting.